- 1 year ago
Piping password to kinit on a windows server
To automate the process of providing a password to kinit
on a Windows server, you can use the echo
command to pipe the password to kinit
via the standard input (stdin). However, it's important to note that passing passwords through command-line arguments or scripts can be a security risk, as passwords might be visible in logs or process listings.
Instead, consider using a keytab file to authenticate with kinit
without providing the password directly. A keytab is a file containing pairs of Kerberos principals (users or services) and encrypted keys. It allows authentication without the need to enter the password interactively.
Here's how you can use a keytab file for authentication:
Generate the keytab file on a system where you have access to a Kerberos ticket-granting ticket (TGT). Use the
ktpass
command on a Windows server with the Active Directory Domain Services role installed or thektutil
command on a Linux machine.Copy the keytab file to the Windows server where you want to authenticate with
kinit
.Use the
kinit
command with the-k
option to specify the keytab file for authentication:
bashkinit -k -t path_to_keytab username@REALM
Replace path_to_keytab
with the path to the keytab file, and username@REALM
with the appropriate Kerberos principal.
Using a keytab file is more secure because it avoids passing the password directly in command-line arguments or scripts. It also allows automated authentication without user interaction. However, make sure to protect the keytab file, as it grants access to the specified Kerberos principal without requiring a password.