avatarBalaji Dharma

Summary

The web content describes setting up LDAP authentication in a Laravel application using the Adldap2-Laravel package, including the installation of OpenLDAP and phpLDAPadmin for testing purposes within a Docker environment managed by Laravel Sail.

Abstract

The article provides a detailed guide on integrating LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) authentication into a Laravel application. It begins with an introduction to LDAP and the Adldap2-Laravel package, which facilitates LDAP integration. The tutorial outlines the steps to install a basic Laravel admin panel using Laravel Sail, a Docker-based development environment. It addresses a common issue encountered during the installation of the Adldap2-Laravel package due to conflicting package versions and provides a solution to resolve it. The guide further includes instructions for publishing LDAP configuration files, setting up OpenLDAP and phpLDAPadmin within the Docker environment, and importing users into phpLDAPadmin. The process aims to enable LDAP authentication for the Laravel application, with the next part of the series promising to cover the actual LDAP authentication implementation.

Opinions

  • The author acknowledges the complexity of integrating LDAP authentication and provides a step-by-step solution to streamline the process for Laravel developers.
  • There is an emphasis on the use of Laravel Sail for simplifying the development setup, showcasing its benefits for managing Docker-based environments.
  • The article anticipates common installation issues and proactively offers troubleshooting advice, reflecting a user-centric approach.
  • The author endorses the Adldap2-Laravel package as a suitable tool for LDAP integration, indicating confidence in its capabilities and ease of use.
  • By including screenshots and specific commands, the author conveys a commitment to creating a comprehensive and user-friendly guide.

Laravel LDAP authentication - Laravel Docker install OpenLDAP and phpLDAPadmin

Laravel LDAP authentication with an example - part 1

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

The LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is an open and cross-platform protocol used for directory services authentication. we going to learn to set up LDAP authentication using the Adldap2-Laravel package.

In this post, we going to install the Adldap2-Laravel package. Also going to install OpenLDAP & phpLDAPadmin to test the LDAP authentication.

1. Laravel Installation

In Laravel installation, we need users with roles & permission. So we going to start LDAP setup using by installing the Basic Laravel Admin Panel

Basic Laravel Admin Panel is based on Laravel Sail. What is Sail? Sail is a built-in solution for running your Laravel project using Docker.

  • To get started, you need to install Docker Desktop.
  • You may run the following command in your terminal
  • Windows open WSL2 Linux terminal. Docker Desktop WSL 2 backend
  • docker run --rm --pull=always -v "$(pwd)":/opt -w /opt laravelsail/php81-composer:latest bash -c "composer create-project balajidharma/basic-laravel-admin-panel my-ldap-app && cd my-ldap-app && php artisan sail:install --with=mysql,redis,meilisearch,mailhog,selenium"
  • cd my-ldap-app
  • ./vendor/bin/sail pull mysql redis meilisearch mailhog selenium
  • ./vendor/bin/sail build
  • ./vendor/bin/sail up -d
  • ./vendor/bin/sail npm install
  • ./vendor/bin/sail npm run dev
  • ./vendor/bin/sail artisan migrate --seed --seeder=BasicAdminPermissionSeeder
  • Now open http://localhost/

2. Adldap2-Laravel package installtion

Now we going to install the Adldap2-Laravel to our application. Run the below composer installation command

./vendor/bin/sail composer require adldap2/adldap2-laravel

You will get the below error due to conflicts with another required package

Info from https://repo.packagist.org: #StandWithUkraine
Using version ^6.1 for adldap2/adldap2-laravel
./composer.json has been updated
Running composer update adldap2/adldap2-laravel
Loading composer repositories with package information
Updating dependencies
Your requirements could not be resolved to an installable set of packages.
Problem 1
    - adldap2/adldap2-laravel v6.1.6 requires adldap2/adldap2 ^10.1 -> satisfiable by adldap2/adldap2[v10.1.0, ..., v10.4.2].
    - adldap2/adldap2-laravel[v6.1.0, ..., v6.1.1] require illuminate/support ~5.5|~6.0|~7.0 -> found illuminate/support[v5.5.0, ..., 5.8.x-dev, v6.0.0, ..., 6.x-dev, v7.0.0, ..., 7.x-dev] but these were not loaded, 
likely because it conflicts with another require.
    - adldap2/adldap2-laravel[v6.1.2, ..., v6.1.5] require illuminate/support ~5.5|~6.0|~7.0|~8.0 -> found illuminate/support[v5.5.0, ..., 5.8.x-dev, v6.0.0, ..., 6.x-dev, v7.0.0, ..., 7.x-dev, v8.0.0, ..., 8.x-dev] 
but these were not loaded, likely because it conflicts with another require.
    - adldap2/adldap2[v10.1.0, ..., v10.4.0] require psr/log ~1.0 -> found psr/log[1.0.0, ..., 1.1.4] but the package is fixed to 3.0.0 (lock file version) by a partial update and that version does not match. Make sure you list it as an argument for the update command.
    - adldap2/adldap2[v10.4.1, ..., v10.4.2] require psr/simple-cache ~1.0|~2.0 -> found psr/simple-cache[1.0.0, 1.0.1, 2.0.0, 2.x-dev] but the package is fixed to 3.0.0 (lock file version) by a partial update and that version does not match. Make sure you list it as an argument for the update command.
    - Root composer.json requires adldap2/adldap2-laravel ^6.1 -> satisfiable by adldap2/adldap2-laravel[v6.1.0, ..., v6.1.6].
Use the option --with-all-dependencies (-W) to allow upgrades, downgrades and removals for packages currently locked to specific versions.
You can also try re-running composer require with an explicit version constraint, e.g. "composer require adldap2/adldap2-laravel:*" to figure out if any version is installable, or "composer require adldap2/adldap2-laravel:^2.1" if you know which you need.
Installation failed, reverting ./composer.json and ./composer.lock to their original content.

The issue is due to adldap2/adldap2 package requiring the psr/simple-cache 2.0.0 but Laravel is using 3.0.0. To resolve the issue use the option — with-all-dependencies (-W) to allow upgrades, downgrades, and removals for packages currently locked to specific versions.

./vendor/bin/sail composer require adldap2/adldap2-laravel --with-all-dependencies

3. Publish LDAP configurations

Publish the configuration file using:

./vendor/bin/sail artisan vendor:publish --provider="Adldap\Laravel\AdldapServiceProvider"
./vendor/bin/sail artisan vendor:publish --provider="Adldap\Laravel\AdldapAuthServiceProvider"

The ldap.php and ldap_auth.php files will be published inside the config folder.

4. Install Open LDAP

We need an LDAP connection to test the LDAP authentication. So, in this step, we going to install the Open LDAP & phpLDAPadmin application in our Laravel sail docker.

Open docker-compose.yml and add the below section

    "
    "
    openldap:
        image: osixia/openldap:1.5.0
        ports:
            - 389:389
        volumes:
            - ldap_data:/var/lib/ldap
            - ldap_config:/etc/ldap/slapd.d
    phpldapadmin:
        image: osixia/phpldapadmin:latest
        environment:
            PHPLDAPADMIN_LDAP_HOSTS: "openldap"
            PHPLDAPADMIN_HTTPS: "false"
        ports:
            - "8080:80"
        depends_on:
            - openldap
networks:
    sail:
        driver: bridge
volumes:
    "
    "
    ldap_data:
        driver: local
    ldap_config:
        driver: local

After that stop container and do the build again

./vendor/bin/sail down
./vendor/bin/sail build
./vendor/bin/sail up -d

5. Import users using phpLDAPadmin

Access your phpLDAPadmin on http://localhost:8080/

Login to phpLDAPadmin using the below admin coordinates

Login DN: cn=admin,dc=example,dc=org

Password: admin

After login click the import icon

On the import, screen paste the below code on the “paste your LDIF here” textarea

# LDIF Export for ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
# Server: openldap (openldap)
# Search Scope: sub
# Search Filter: (objectClass=*)
# Total Entries: 6
#
# Generated by phpLDAPadmin (http://phpldapadmin.sourceforge.net)
# Version: 1.2.5
version: 1
# Entry 1: ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
dn: ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
objectclass: organizationalUnit
objectclass: top
ou: groups
# Entry 2: cn=admin,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
dn: cn=admin,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
cn: admin
gidnumber: 500
memberuid: admin
objectclass: posixGroup
objectclass: top
# Entry 3: cn=users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
dn: cn=users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
cn: users
gidnumber: 502
memberuid: admin
memberuid: writer
objectclass: posixGroup
objectclass: top
# Entry 4: cn=Admin User,cn=users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
dn: cn=Admin User,cn=users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
cn: Admin User
gidnumber: 500
givenname: Admin
homedirectory: /home/users/adminuser
mail: [email protected]
objectclass: inetOrgPerson
objectclass: posixAccount
objectclass: top
sn: User
uid: admin
uidnumber: 1000
userpassword: {MD5}ISMvKXpXpadDiUoOSoAfww==
# Entry 5: cn=Writer User,cn=users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
dn: cn=Writer User,cn=users,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
cn: Writer User
gidnumber: 501
givenname: Writer
homedirectory: /home/users/writer
mail: [email protected]
objectclass: inetOrgPerson
objectclass: posixAccount
objectclass: top
sn: User
uid: writer
uidnumber: 1001
userpassword: {MD5}ISMvKXpXpadDiUoOSoAfww==
# Entry 6: cn=writer,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
dn: cn=writer,ou=groups,dc=example,dc=org
cn: writer
gidnumber: 501
memberuid: writer
objectclass: posixGroup
objectclass: top

After successful import, you are able to see user groups and users on the left panel.

We successfully installed the OpenLDAP package on Laravel Sail docker. Next part we do the LDAP authentication.

Part 2 — Laravel LDAP authentication — Laravel login with Open LDAP

Thank you for reading.

Stay tuned for more!

Follow me at balajidharma.medium.com.

Laravel
PHP
Web Development
Ldap
Laravel Framework
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