Java: Query Active Directory information with minimal user information

Question

So, here's the situation. We'd like to be able to query active directory for a user's roles/group memberships, etc. Now, I can already do that using standard Java API (javax.naming), but I need a username, domain server name/address, and a password to do it. Users also have limited rights, so I can't use any external calls to fancy administrative tools.

In Java, is there a way that I can get that information with just the username and domain server name/address? I'm also open to 3rd party packages to do this. Alternatively, you could provide me with (or point me to) information on what to configure in AD to allow this.

Hopefully that makes sense. I'm not an AD guru, so the more info the better.

Answer 1

Your problem of needing to login first is because AD does not allow anonymous querying. Before you can query the database you must login ("bind" in LDAP terms) as a valid user with sufficient rights to issue the query.

If your AD admin is willing, you could have them create a special user (we call ours "ldapquery") that is permitted to bind and query the database. The userid and password for that user would become configuration values in your code.

Answer 2

Okay, so expounding on what others have told me and the vast research I had to do with the clues given here, it appears that I'd just use my "special user" as the login info in my code, transparent to the user, and then perform the query using their credentials. So: in the code, bind using the "special user", then perform the query with the current user as a query parameter (sAMAccountName=username).

Thanks all, for your input.