# VMware Server and PAM

## Theophile

I've installed VMware Server beta 22088 on a gentoo machine and am trying to log into it via the remote console on another gentoo machine. But all my login attempts are geing rejected. This is what is showing up in my /var/log/auth.log file:

```
Mar 30 23:33:28 Farmer vmware-authd[19834]: PAM-listfile: Refused user root for service vmware-authd

Mar 31 00:30:39 Farmer vmware-authd[19844]: PAM-listfile: Refused user mythtv for service vmware-authd

```

As you can see, I've tried with root and with regular user.

For anyone who may be familiar with vmware, here's what's reported by vmware's /tmp/vmauthd.log:

```
Mar 31 00:30:38: app| Log for VMware Server pid=19844 version=e.x.p build=build-22009 option=BETA

Mar 31 00:30:38: app| VMAuthd started.

Mar 31 00:30:38: app| start

Mar 31 00:30:38: app| Using system libcrypto, version 90705F

Mar 31 00:30:38: app| Connect from 192.168.1.103

Mar 31 00:30:38: app| Connecting via SSL

Mar 31 00:30:39: app| LOGIN FAILURE from 192.168.1.103, mythtv

Mar 31 00:30:39: app| VMAuthdSocketRead: read failed.  Closing socket for reading.

Mar 31 00:30:39: app| VMAuthdSocketWrite: writing to a closed socket: 221 Goodbye

Mar 31 00:30:39: app|

```

Does anyone have any idea why PAM would be refusing these logins?

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## ViViDVeW

Check this bugzilla for details on vmware-server and PAM problems in gentoo.

https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=122500

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## mmarch

I had to add root to the vmware group.

This line in /etc/group (which has been automatically added during vmware-server installation):

vmware:x:452:

has to be changed in:

vmware:x:452:root

HTH

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