PAM_SM_CLOSE_SESSION(3)

✨ PAM_SM_CLOSE_SESSION ✨

okay so bestie, we're in the Linux-PAM Manual today and this one is a little function from PAM_SM_CLOSE_SESSION(3) that basically closes out a session. it's giving "end of the group chat, everybody say bye" energy 💅 and honestly? iconic.

---

🌸 NAME 🌸

pam_sm_close_session — the PAM service function that handles terminating session management. yes queen, she's the one who actually shuts it down 🎀

---

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <security/pam_modules.h>

int pam_sm_close_session(pam_handle_t *pamh, int flags, int argc,
                         const char **argv);

copy it exactly, bestie, every character matters, no cap ✨

---

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so pam_sm_close_session is literally the service module's own implementation of the pam_close_session(3) interface. like, PAM has a vibe, and this is how your module shows up and matches it 🫶

this function gets called to terminate a session. periodt. that's the whole gig.

nnn so about flags — the only valid value is zero or:

• PAM_SILENT — do not emit any messages 🤫 like, not a single one. be quiet, be mysterious, be lowkey.

fr fr though: only zero or PAM_SILENT. don't get creative with it 🙈

---

⭐ RETURN VALUES ⭐

• PAM_SESSION_ERR — cannot make/remove an entry for the specified session 😭 things did not slay, the session bookkeeping just didn't happen.
• PAM_SUCCESS — the session was successfully terminated 👑 we ate, we closed it out, we're done here.

---

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go show these besties some love too, they're all part of the same friend group iykyk:

• pam(3)
• pam_close_session(3)
• pam_sm_close_session(3)
• pam_strerror(3)
• PAM(8)

---

and that's the whole page, bestie 🎀💜 so this was Linux-PAM, dated 07/08/2026, and the title is literally the same as the name because PAM_SM_CLOSE_SESSION(3) is her whole government name. mwah 💋 see u in the next session ✨🦋