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@title User Guide: Multi-Factor Authentication
@group userguide
Explains how multi-factor authentication works in Phabricator.
Overview
========
Multi-factor authentication allows you to add additional credentials to your
account to make it more secure.
This sounds complicated, but in most cases it just means that Phabricator will
make sure you have your mobile phone (by sending you a text message or having
you enter a code from a mobile application) before allowing you to log in or
take certain "high security" actions (like changing your password).
Requiring you to prove you're really you by asking for something you know (your
password) //and// something you have (your mobile phone) makes it much harder
for attackers to access your account. The phone is an additional "factor" which
protects your account from attacks.
Requiring re-authentication before performing high security actions further
limits the damage an attacker can do even if they manage to compromise a
login session.
How Multi-Factor Authentication Works
=====================================
If you've configured multi-factor authentication and try to log in to your
account or take certain high security actions (like changing your password),
you'll be stopped and asked to enter additional credentials.
Usually, this means you'll receive an SMS with a security code on your phone, or
you'll open an app on your phone which will show you a security code.
In both cases, you'll enter the security code into Phabricator.
If you're logging in, Phabricator will log you in after you enter the code.
If you're taking a high security action, Phabricator will put your account in
"high security" mode for a few minutes. In this mode, you can take high security
actions like changing passwords or SSH keys freely without entering any more
credentials. You can explicitly leave high security once you're done performing
account management, or your account will naturally return to normal security
after a short period of time.
While your account is in high security, you'll see a notification on screen
with instructions for returning to normal security.
Configuring Multi-Factor Authentication
=======================================
To manage authentication factors for your account, go to
Settings > Multi-Factor Auth. You can use this control panel to add or remove
authentication factors from your account.
You can also rename a factor by clicking the name. This can help you identify
factors if you have several similar factors attached to your account.
For a description of the available factors, see the next few sections.
Factor: Mobile Phone App (TOTP)
===============================
TOTP stands for "Time-based One-Time Password". This factor operates by having
you enter security codes from your mobile phone into Phabricator. The codes
change every 30 seconds, so you will need to have your phone with you in order
to enter them.
To use this factor, you'll download an application onto your smartphone which
can compute these codes. Two applications which work well are **Authy** and
**Google Authenticator**. These applications are free, and you can find and
download them from the appropriate store on your device.
Your company may have a preferred application, or may use some other
application, so check any in-house documentation for details. In general, any
TOTP application should work properly.
After you've downloaded the application onto your phone, use the Phabricator
settings panel to add a factor to your account. You'll be prompted to enter a
master key into your phone, and then read a security code from your phone and
type it into Phabricator.
Later, when you need to authenticate, you'll follow this same process: launch
the application, read the security code, and type it into Phabricator. This will
prove you have your phone.
Don't lose your phone! You'll need it to log into Phabricator in the future.
Recovering from Lost Factors
============================
If you've lost a factor associated with your account (for example, your phone
has been lost or damaged), an administrator can strip the factor off your
account so that you can log in without it.
IMPORTANT: Before stripping factors from a user account, be absolutely certain
that the user is who they claim to be!
It is important to verify the user is who they claim they are before stripping
factors because an attacker might pretend to be a user who has lost their phone
in order to bypass multi-factor authentication. It is much easier for a typical
attacker to spoof an email with a sad story in it than it is for a typical
attacker to gain access to a mobile phone.
A good way to verify user identity is to meet them in person and have them
solemnly swear an oath that they lost their phone and are very sorry and
definitely won't do it again. You can also work out a secret handshake in
advance and require them to perform it. But no matter what you do, be certain
the user (not an attacker //pretending// to be the user) is really the one
making the request before stripping factors.
After verifying identity, administrators can strip authentication factors from
user accounts using the `bin/auth strip` command. For example, to strip all
factors from the account of a user who has lost their phone, run this command:
```lang=console
# Strip all factors from a given user account.
phabricator/ $ ./bin/auth strip --user <username> --all-types
```
You can run `bin/auth help strip` for more detail and all available flags and
arguments.
This command can selectively strip types of factors. You can use
`bin/auth list-factors` for a list of available factor types.
```lang=console
# Show supported factor types.
phabricator/ $ ./bin/auth list-factors
```
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