Novell Authentication

generated: '2026-09-13'
method: searched
source: https://www.novell.com/documentation/groupwise25/gwsdk_web_services/data/b7m3i3i.html
name: Novell API authentication
description: >-
  Authentication profile for Novell's two callable API surfaces, read from the GroupWise 25 SDK documentation
  still served on www.novell.com. Both surfaces are customer-hosted and both authenticate against the
  customer's own GroupWise system - there is no Novell-operated identity provider, no API key issuance, no
  OAuth authorization server and no OpenID Connect discovery document anywhere on the Novell domain (every
  /.well-known/ probe 404d; see well-known/novell-well-known.yml). The strongest credential on offer is the
  GroupWise Trusted Application key, which is a system-wide impersonation credential minted by the customer's
  own GroupWise administrator.
  DERIVED FROM DOCUMENTATION, NOT A SPEC: no OpenAPI, WSDL or other machine-readable contract could be
  obtained for either surface, so there is no securitySchemes block behind this file.
oauth2: false
openid_connect: false
mutual_tls: false
api_keys_issued_by_provider: false
schemes:
  - id: groupwise-soap-plaintext
    api: novell:groupwise-web-services-soap
    type: credential-in-body
    transport: SOAP over HTTP or HTTPS
    description: >-
      loginRequest carries a types:auth element of type PlainText containing the GroupWise username and
      password. There is no separate authorization header; the credential travels inside the SOAP body.
    example_shape: |
      <loginRequest>
        <types:auth types:PlainText>
          <username>...</username>
          <password>...</password>
        <auth/>
        <application>...</application>
      </loginRequest>
    session:
      mechanism: session key
      description: >-
        loginResponse returns a session key that every subsequent method must carry for the life of the
        session. loginRequest must be the first call; no other method may be invoked before it.
      idle_timeout_minutes: 30
      keepalive: >-
        getTimestampRequest accepts a noop parameter that holds both the GroupWise session and the HTTP
        keep-alive connection open.
      termination: logoutRequest
    transport_security:
      https_available: true
      https_default: false
      note: >-
        HTTPS is supported but must be explicitly enabled per POA ("each POA needs to have SSL connections
        enabled for SOAP"). Because the password is in the request body, a POA left on plain HTTP transmits
        GroupWise credentials in cleartext. This is a deployment decision made by the customer, not a
        property of the protocol.
    source: https://www.novell.com/documentation/groupwise25/gwsdk_web_services/data/b7m3i3q.html
  - id: groupwise-trusted-application
    api: novell:groupwise-web-services-soap
    type: shared-secret impersonation
    description: >-
      A Trusted Application logs in to ANY account in the GroupWise system without knowing that user's
      password. The GroupWise administrator creates a trusted application name and key and decides which
      applications may use it; the application passes the name and key to loginRequest in place of a user
      credential.
    blast_radius: >-
      System-wide. A trusted application key grants mailbox read and write access to every account in the
      GroupWise system. It is the highest-privilege credential this API has and there is no documented scope,
      audience or per-mailbox restriction on it.
    scopes: none
    rotation: >-
      Not documented. Revocation is administrative - the GroupWise administrator removes or disables the
      trusted application entry.
    source: https://www.novell.com/documentation/groupwise25/gwsdk_web_services/data/b7m3i43.html
    reference: https://www.novell.com/documentation/developer/groupwise_sdk/gwsdk_gwtapp/data/bktitle.html
  - id: groupwise-admin-rest-login
    api: novell:groupwise-administration-rest-api
    type: session
    description: >-
      The Admin REST API exposes gw-api/system/login, gw-api/system/login/{path} and gw-api/system/logout as
      its session endpoints, and the shipped sample code is configured with a URL, an admin user name and a
      password in src/main/resources/config.properties. The credential is therefore a GroupWise administrator
      account on the customer's own system.
    per_admin_scoping:
      documented: true
      note: >-
        gw-api/async filters the job list to jobs submitted by the admin making the request, which confirms
        the service tracks caller identity per administrator rather than treating all callers as one
        principal.
    recover_connection:
      note: >-
        gw-api/system/login/{path} creates a read-only "Recover" connection to a backup copy of a domain
        database - a distinct, deliberately read-only authentication mode.
    scopes: none
    source: https://www.novell.com/documentation/developer/groupwise_sdk/gwsdk_gwadminweb/data/application.htm
  - id: edirectory-ldap-bind
    api: novell:dsml-for-edirectory-soap
    type: ldap-bind
    description: >-
      DSML for eDirectory is a servlet the customer deploys in front of their own eDirectory tree; the
      identity that matters is the eDirectory LDAP bind behind it. Simple bind and SASL are eDirectory
      features, not properties Novell documents at the DSML layer.
    source: https://www.microfocus.com/documentation/edirectory-developer-documentation/dsml-for-edirectory-soap/
discovery_documents:
  openid_configuration: null
  oauth_authorization_server: null
  oauth_protected_resource: null
  note: >-
    All three probed 404 on www.novell.com and are unreachable on the apex (TLS SAN mismatch). The only
    identity provider on any Novell-branded host is extlogin.opentext.com, an OpenText SAML 2.0 SSO endpoint
    that fronts support.novell.com and the Micro Focus support portal - it gates OpenText customer support,
    not these APIs.