PAM_GET_DATA(3)

💖 PAM_GET_DATA 💖

okay so real quick — this page is PAM_GET_DATA(3), and it lives in the Linux-PAM Manual, which is the whole vibe here. let's get into it bestie 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

pam_get_data — get module internal data

like, it grabs the internal data your module stashed away. that's the whole thing. 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

#include <security/pam_modules.h>

int pam_get_data(const pam_handle_t *pamh, const char *module_data_name,
                 const void **data);

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so this function and pam_set_data(3) are literally a duo — think main character energy, but for managing module-specific data that's only meaningful to the PAM module that's calling. nobody else cares about it, and that's the point. 💅

pam_get_data goes looking for the object associated with the (hopefully) unique string module_data_name, inside the PAM context that the pamh argument points to.

if the call to pam_get_data succeeds, you get data pointing at that object. but — and this is the important part ngl — that data is not a copy. so your module should treat it as constant. don't be out here editing it, okay? 🙈

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⭐ RETURN VALUES ⭐

• PAM_SUCCESS — slay, the data was successful retrieved. ✨
• PAM_SYSTEM_ERR — you handed over a NULL pointer as the PAM handle, or an application tried to call this function. not it. 💀
• PAM_NO_MODULE_DATA — there's no module specific data present. empty. nothing. nada. 😭

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🎀 SEE ALSO 🎀

pam_end(3), pam_set_data(3), pam_strerror(3)

go read those too, they're iconic, iykyk 💜

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lowkey reminder: data points at the real object, not a copy — treat it as constant, bestie. no cap. 🔥

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that's the whole page! brought to you by Linux-PAM, dated 07/08/2026, filed under PAM_GET_DATA(3) — mwah, go forth and manage your module data responsibly 💅✨🎀