getpcred Subroutine

Base Operating System and Extensions Technical Reference, Volume 1

getpcred Subroutine

Purpose

Reads the current process credentials.

Library

Security Library (libc.a)

Syntax

#include <usersec.h>

char **getpcred (Which)
int Which;

Description

The getpcred subroutine reads the specified process security credentials and returns them in a character buffer. It is the calling application's responsibility to free this memory.

The getpcred subroutine reads the specified process security credentials and returns them in a character buffer.

Parameters

Which

Specifies which credentials are read. This parameter is a bit mask and can contain one or more of the following values, as defined in the usersec.h file:

CRED_RUID: Real user name
CRED_LUID: Login user name
CRED_RGID: Real group name
CRED_GROUPS: Supplementary group ID
CRED_AUDIT: Audit class of the current process
Note: A process must have root user authority to retrieve this credential. Otherwise, the getpcred subroutine returns a null pointer and the errno global variable is set to EPERM.
CRED_RLIMITS: BSD resource limits
Note: Use the getrlimit subroutine to control resource consumption.
CRED_UMASK: The umask.

If the Which parameter is null, all credentials are returned.

Return Values

When successful, the getpcred subroutine returns a pointer to a string containing the requested values. If the getpcred subroutine is unsuccessful, a null pointer is returned and the errno global variable is set to indicate the error.

Error Codes

The getpcred subroutine fails if either of the following are true:

EINVAL	The Which parameter contains invalid credentials requests.
EPERM	The process does not have the proper authority to retrieve the requested credentials.

Other errors can also be set by any subroutines invoked by the getpcred subroutine.

Implementation Specifics

This subroutine is part of Base Operating System (BOS) Runtime.

Related Information

The ckuseracct subroutine, ckuserID subroutine, getpenv subroutine, setpenv subroutine, setpcred subroutine.

List of Security and Auditing Subroutines, Subroutines Overview in AIX Version 4.3 General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs.