SECURITY

Acceptable entries in the ACL
Acceptable entries in the ACL include:
Each ACL entry can have a maximum of 255 characters.

Add names to the ACL in hierarchical format for better security. For example:


For more information about creating hierarchical name schemes, see the topic Creating a hierarchical name scheme.

Types of ACL entries

Wildcard entries

To allow general access to a database, you can enter hierarchical names with a wildcard character (*) in the ACL. You can use wildcards in the common name and organizational unit components.

Users and/or servers who do not already have a specific user or group name entry in the ACL, and whose hierarchical names include the components that contain a wildcard, are given the highest level of access specified by every one of the wildcard entries that match.

Here is an ACL entry in wildcard format:


This entry grants the chosen access level to:
This entry does not grant the chosen access level to:
You can use a wildcard only at the leftmost portion of the ACL entry. For example, you can't use the entry:
to represent these entries:
When you use a wildcard ACL entry, set the user type as Unspecified, Mixed Group, or Person Group.

User names

You can add to an ACL the names of any individuals with certified Notes user IDs or Internet users who authenticate using name-and-password or SSL client authentication.


For more information about setting a maximum level of access for Internet users, see the topic Maximum Internet name-and-password access.

Server names

You can add server names to an ACL to control the changes a database receives from a database replica. To ensure tighter security, use the full hierarchical name of the server -- for example, Server1/Sales/Acme -- regardless of whether the name of the server being added is in a different hierarchical organization than that of the server that stores the database.

Group names

You add a group name -- for example, Training -- to the ACL to represent multiple users or servers that require the same access. Users must be listed in groups with a primary hierarchical name or an alternate name. Groups can also have wildcard entries as members. Before you can use a group name in an ACL, you must create the group in the Domino Directory or in either a secondary Domino Directory or an external LDAP Directory that has been configured for group authorization in the Directory Assistance database.

Note Be sure that any group names you use in an ACL comply with the specified guidelines for creating them. The use of erroneous names may cause access problems.

For more information on naming guidelines for group names, see the chapter "User and Server Configuration.

For more information on naming guidelines for group names, see the topic Creating a group with the Domino Administrator.

Tip Use individual names rather than group names for the managers of a database. Then when users choose Create - Other - Memo to Database Manager, they'll know whom they are addressing.

Groups provide a convenient way to administer a database ACL. Using a group in the ACL offers the following advantages:


Tip You can also use groups to let certain users control access to the database without giving them Manager or Designer access. For example, you can create groups in the Domino Directory for each level of database access needed, add the groups to the ACL, and allow specific users to own the groups. These users can then modify the groups, but they can't modify the database design.

Terminations group
When employees leave your organization, you should remove their names from all groups in the Domino Directory and add them to a Deny List Only group used to deny access to servers. The Deny Access list in the Server document contains the names of Notes users and groups who no longer have access to Domino servers. You should also make sure that the names of terminated employees are removed from the ACLs of all databases in your organization. When you delete a person from the Domino Directory, you have the option to "Add deleted user to deny access group," if such a group has been created. (If no such group exists, the dialog box displays "No Deny Access group selected or available.")

For more information on Deny List Only groups, see the topic Creating and modifying groups.

For more information on the Deny Access list, see the topic Deny access list.

Alternate names

An alternate name is an optional alias name that an administrator assigns to a registered Notes user. You can add alternate names to an ACL. An alternate name provides the same level of security as the user's primary hierarchical name. For a user whose primary name is Sandra Brown/West/Sales/Acme, an example of an alternate name format would be Sandy Smith/ANWest/ANSales/ANAcme, where AN is an alternate name.

For more information about alternate names, see the topic Adding an alternate language and name to a user ID.

LDAP users

You can use a secondary LDAP directory to authenticate Internet users. You can then add the names of these Internet users to database ACLs to control user access to databases.

You can also create groups in the secondary LDAP directory that include the Internet user names and then add the groups as entries in Notes database ACLs. For example, an Internet user may try to access a database on a Domino Web server. If the Web server authenticates the user, and if the ACL contains a group named "Web," the server can look up the Internet user's name in the group "Web" located in the foreign LDAP directory, in addition to searching for the entry in the primary Domino Directory. Note that for this scenario to work, the Directory Assistance database on the Web server must include an LDAP Directory Assistance document for the LDAP directory with the Group Expansion option enabled. You can also use this feature to look up the names of Notes users stored in foreign LDAP directory groups for database ACL checking.

When you add the name of an LDAP directory user or group to a database ACL, use the LDAP format for the name, but use a forward slash (/), rather than a comma (,), as a delimiter. For example, if the name of a user in the LDAP directory is:


enter the following in the database ACL:
To enter the name of a nonhierarchical LDAP directory group in an ACL, enter only the attribute value, not the attribute name. For example, if the nonhierarchical name of the LDAP group is:
in the ACL enter only:
To enter the name of a hierarchical group name, include LDAP attribute names in ACL entries. For example, if the hierarchical name of the group is:
in the ACL enter:
Note that if the attribute names you specify exactly correspond to those used in Notes -- cn, ou, o, c -- the ACL won't display the attributes.

For example, if you enter this name in an ACL:


because the attributes exactly correspond to those used by Notes, the name appears in the ACL as:
Acceptable ACL entries for LDAP users
LDAP DNACL entry
cn=Scott Davidson+ id=1234, ou=Sales,o=Acmecn=Scott Davidson+id=1234/ou=Sales/o=Acme
cn=Scott Davidson,o=Acme\, Inccn=Scott Davidson/o=Acme, Inc

Note If the LDAP name includes a backslash followed by another character, omit that backslash when you specify the name in the database ACL.

uid=smd12345,dc=Acme,dc=Comuid=smd12345/dc=Acme/dc=Com
uid=Sandra Smith,o=Acme,c=USuid=Sandra Smith/o=Acme/c=US

Anonymous

Any user or server that accesses a server without first authenticating is known by the name "Anonymous" at that server. Anonymous database access is given to Internet users and to Notes users who have not authenticated with the server.

Anonymous access is generally used in databases that reside on servers available to the general public. You can control the level of database access granted to an anonymous user or server by entering the name Anonymous in the access control list, and assigning an appropriate level of access. Typically you assign Anonymous users Reader access to a database.

The default ACL entry for Anonymous for all database templates (.NTF files) has an access level of Reader, so that users or servers can successfully read from the template when creating or refreshing .NSF files based on that template.

The default ACL entry for Anonymous for database (.NSF files) files is No Access.

The table below describes the different conditions for access that an anonymous user would have to a database:
Anonymous access enabled for Internet protocolAnonymous access not enabled for Internet protocol
Anonymous access enabled in database ACLUsers access the database with the Anonymous entry's access level. For example, if Anonymous access is set to Reader, anonymous users who access the database will be granted Reader access.Users are prompted to authenticate when they attempt to access any resource on the server. If the user is not listed in the database (through a group entry, a wildcard entry, or if the user name is explicitly listed), then the user accesses the database with the -Default- entry's access level.
Anonymous given "no access" in database ACL If Anonymous has been granted "No Access" (and the Read & Write public documents privileges are not enabled) Anonymous users are not allowed access to the database and they will be prompted to authenticate. When they authenticate, the name is checked in the database ACL to determine the level of database access that should be granted.
Anonymous not listed in database ACLAnonymous users access the database with the -Default- entry's access level. For example, if -Default- access is set to Reader, and there is no Anonymous entry in the ACL, anonymous users who access the database will be granted Reader access.
Anonymous users (both those who are given access to a database through the Anonymous entry and those who have access through the -Default- entry) who attempt to do something in the database that is not allowed for their access level will be prompted to authenticate. For example, if Anonymous is set to Reader, and an anonymous user tries to create a new document, that user is prompted to authenticate with a name and password.

Tip If you want all users to authenticate with a database, then make sure that Anonymous is in the database ACL with an access level of No Access, and be sure that the Read Public Documents and Write Public Documents are not enabled. Add the Internet user's name to the ACL with the level of access you want them to have.

The Domino server uses the group name Anonymous solely for access control checks. For example, if Anonymous has Author access in the database ACL, the true name of the user appears in the Authors field of those documents. The Domino server can display only the true name of anonymous Notes users, but not of anonymous Internet users, in the Authors field of the document. Authors fields are never a security feature, regardless if anonymous access is used; if the validity of the author's name is needed for security, then the document should be signed.

Replica IDs

To allow an agent in one database to use @DbColumn or @DbLookup to retrieve data from another database, enter the replica ID of the database containing the agent in the ACL of the database containing the data to be retrieved. The database containing the agent must have at least Reader access to the database containing the data to be retrieved. Both databases must be on the same server. An example of a replica ID in a database ACL is 85255B42:005A8fA4. You can enter the replica ID in uppercase or lowercase letters, but do not enclose it in quotation marks.

If you do not add the replica ID to the access control list, the other database can still retrieve data if the -Default- access level of your database is Reader or higher.

Order of evaluation for ACL entries

ACL entries are evaluated in a specific order to determine the access level that will be granted to an authenticated user trying to access the database. If a user fails to authenticate with a server, and the server permits access anyway, access will be computed as though the user's name was "Anonymous."


See also