tbenyon

External Login allows you to login to your WordPress site using an ‘external database’ instead of the WordPress database. This means if you already have a login system you can integrate that into your WordPress site. The ‘external database’ that you would like to use does not have to be a WordPress database.
The plugin will re-create users in the WordPress database which has has two benefits: 
 1. It will allow you to use WordPress correctly with other plugins that require a named user to be logged in. 
 2. If the ‘external database’ is not available, you can allow the plugin to log them in with the local WordPress version of their user.
<h3>Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Use your current table of users in a different database to login to WordPress</li>
<li>Map the names for your database fields against the required WordPress fields</li>
<li>Map roles from your ‘external database’ to those found in WordPress e.g. a student in the ‘external database’ becomes an editor in the WordPress database.</li>
<li>Every time a user logs in, their WordPress user will be updated with the details from the ‘external database’.</li>
<li>Exclude certain users from accessing the WordPress admin area based on any field in the Users table on the External Database</li>
<li>Ability to fall back to the generated WordPress user for login if the ‘external database’ is unavailable.</li>
<li>Block users based on their role</li>
<li>Block a user based on any field in your users table</li>
<li>Redirect the user after being successfully authenticated</li>
<li>Support for different database types:
<ul>
<li>MySQL</li>
<li>PostgreSQL</li>
<li>Microsoft SQL</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Many password hashing methods are supported including:
<ul>
<li>bcrypt</li>
<li>md2</li>
<li>md4</li>
<li>md5</li>
<li>sha1</li>
<li>sha256</li>
<li>sha384</li>
<li>sha512</li>
<li>no hashing</li>
<li>and more…</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Support for separate password salts for each password</li>
<li>Support for one salt for all passwords</li>
<li>Support for salts being prepended or appended to the password</li>
<li>Test the connection in the settings menu to make sure your data is being pulled correctly</li>
<li>Option to delete plugin data on plugin deactivation</li>
</ul>
<h3>Is this plugin what I need?</h3>
To give an idea of whether this plugin does the job you need it to, here is the basic logic flow: 
1. User logs in to the normal WordPress login screen. 
2. We hash the users password with the method and salt (if given) that is chosen in the settings 
3. We so a simple SQL query to the external database to see if their username and the hashed password match a user. 
4. We create or update the details of the new user. 
5. We log that user in 
6. When the user logs out of WordPress the WordPress session ends
Please note that this system is built for the login process to be a completely different login process to anything else. 
If you are looking for Single Sign On (log in to one website and you’re logged in else where) you should be looking for a OAuth solution in my opinion.
<h3>FUNCTIONALITY WARNINGS AND LIMITATIONS</h3>
<ol>
<li>ALWAYS take a backup of your database and test the functionality before using this plugin in production.</li>
<li>Users created in WordPress will be overwritten if users in the external database have the same username. This could be fixed by appending usernames with a separate string.</li>
<li>Edits to a user made in WordPress will be overwritten when the user logs back in with the ‘external database’. This is only the case for fields that are being pulled from the external database.</li>
</ol>
<h3>Security Notes</h3>
Database User 
It is recommended that you create a new Database user to access the external database. This way you can set appropriate permissions to the user so that they do not have write access.
Hashing 
For the security of your users, your ‘external database’ should be hashing your users passwords. Although support is given for other hashing methods, ‘bcrypt’ is advised as it uses SLOW hashing. Without this it would be far easier for someone to derive your users password through a brute force attack if they gained access to your database.
It is also highly recommended that a salt is used. This is done by default with ‘bcrypt’. Using one salt for all passwords is supported but it is recommended to use a separate salt for each password as a different field in your database. This helps prevent the use of ‘rainbow tables’ to derive your users passwords.
For explanation and more information on this I recommend <a href="https://martinfowler.com/articles/web-security-basics.html" rel="nofollow ugc">this article</a> starting from the section “Hash and Salt Your Users’ Passwords”.
Storing Settings in wp-config.php 
You may prefer to store your settings in ‘wp-config.php’. This could have security benefits, so long as you are careful not to store your code in a publicly accessible repository and you ensure your wp-config file cannot be accessed on the server.
Below is an example of code that can be added to ‘wp-config.php’.
<pre><code>// ** EXTERNAL LOGIN SETTINGS ** //
/** EXLOG - The External Database Name */
define('EXTERNAL_LOGIN_OPTION_DB_NAME', 'dojo2016');

/** EXLOG - The External Database Host */
define('EXTERNAL_LOGIN_OPTION_DB_HOST', 'localhost');

/** EXLOG - The External Database Port */
define('EXTERNAL_LOGIN_OPTION_DB_PORT', '3306');

/** EXLOG - The External Database Username */
define('EXTERNAL_LOGIN_OPTION_DB_USERNAME', 'root');

/** EXLOG - The External Database Password */
define('EXTERNAL_LOGIN_OPTION_DB_PASSWORD', 'root');

/** EXLOG - The External Database Type */
define('EXTERNAL_LOGIN_OPTION_DB_TYPE', 'mysql');

/** EXLOG - Password Salt */
define('EXTERNAL_LOGIN_OPTION_DB_SALT', 'ksjefh2lkrh2r2oh23');
</code></pre>
You can of course set these with environment variables if you wish in the following way:
<pre><code>/** EXLOG - The External Database Name */
define('EXTERNAL_LOGIN_OPTION_DB_NAME', getenv('MY_EXLOG_DB_NAME_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE'));
</code></pre>
All settings (except from those mapping roles) can currently be set this way. For a full list and possible settings see the “FAQ” question – “What values can I set in wp-config.php?”.
<h3>Special Thanks</h3>
A special thank you to Ben Lobaugh for a <a href="https://ben.lobaugh.net/blog/7175/wordpress-replace-built-in-user-authentication" rel="nofollow ugc">great article</a> which I used heavily for this plugin.
<h3>DONATE</h3>
Like the plugin and want to <a href="https://www.paypal.me/tombenyon" rel="nofollow ugc">buy me a beer</a>? Well, thank you!

External Login


Hi @tbenyon, man! what an amazing plugin you have created! I stumbled upon this one an hour ago. I was a little afraid it wouldn't work since it hasn't been updated in a while, but luckily it seems to work without a problem with version 6.4.3. I really congratulate you, the plugin looks very good and offers very useful options. I think I am in tune with the feeling of the entire community when saying THANK YOU! (yes, in very huge capital letters).



I have a little question. I wouldn't dare bother you with direct advice, I'll just settle for you to please give me a couple of pieces of tips that point me in the right direction: I have two websites "A" and "B" made with WordPress. "A" has the content and "B" has the users. Is it possible for "A" to use "B's" users without adding data to "A's" wp_users and wp_usermeta tables? I ask this question because I noticed that when I log in with a user from "B", it automatically adds a user record on "A's" DB tables, which is not what I want, but just enable users from "B" on the website "A", is that possible? Thank you.


What a piece of plugin!

External Login allows users to log in to the WordPress site with a different database of users.

frederixhotspot

This plugin allows any WordPress page to act as an External Login page for CloudWiFi.
It handles the entire flow: 
1. Login: Displays a login button that redirects the user back to the hotspot. 
2. Success: Displays a success message after authorization. 
3. Error: Displays detailed error messages if the login fails (e.g., timeout, license exceeded).
Features: 
* One Shortcode: Use <code>[frederix_external_login]</code> for everything. 
* Automatic Mode: Automatically detects if it should show the Login button, Success message, or Error message based on the URL parameters. 
* Flexible Configuration: Use different pages for Login/Success/Error if desired. 
* Customizable Messages: Change the button text and messages via shortcode attributes. 
* Secure: Validates and sanitizes all inputs.
<h3>Shortcode Options</h3>
You can customize the shortcode with the following attributes:
<ul>
<li><code>mode</code>: Controls what the shortcode displays.
<ul>
<li><code>auto</code> (default): Automatically switches based on URL status (<code>status=success</code> or <code>status=error</code>).</li>
<li><code>login</code>: Forces the display of the login button.</li>
<li><code>success</code>: Forces the display of the success message.</li>
<li><code>error</code>: Forces the display of the error message.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><code>text</code>: The text on the login button. Default: “Login & Connect”.</li>
<li><code>success_message</code>: The message shown on success. Default: “You are now logged in…”</li>
<li><code>error_message</code>: The fallback error message. Default: “An unknown error occurred.”</li>
<li><code>tos_url</code>: (Mandatory for Login) URL to your Terms of Service page.</li>
<li><code>privacy_url</code>: (Mandatory for Login) URL to your Privacy Policy page.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Examples</h3>
Standard Setup (One Page for everything): 
 [frederix_external_login tos_url=”/agb” privacy_url=”/datenschutz”]
Custom Button Text: 
 [frederix_external_login text=”Start Free WiFi” tos_url=”/agb” privacy_url=”/datenschutz”]
Separate Error Page: 
If you want a dedicated error page with a custom message: 
 [frederix_external_login mode=”error” error_message=”Something went wrong. Please ask at the reception.”]
<h3>Dynamic Styling</h3>
The plugin automatically adds CSS classes to the main container based on the Hotspot parameters. This allows you to style the page differently for each location.
Classes added: 
* <code>fhk-hotspot-{hotspotId}</code> 
* <code>fhk-location-{locationId}</code> 
* <code>fhk-external-{externalId}</code>
Example CSS: 
If you want a green button for Location 123 and a blue button for Location 456:
<pre><code>`css
</code></pre>
/* Location 123 – Green */ 
.fhk-location-123 .frederix-login-button { 
 background-color: green; 
}
/* Location 456 – Blue */ 
.fhk-location-456 .frederix-login-button { 
 background-color: blue; 
} 
 <code><h3>Conditional Content</h3> 
You can show or hide any content (images, text, other shortcodes) based on the location or hotspot ID using the</code>[frederix_show_if]` shortcode.
Attributes: 
* <code>location</code>: Comma-separated list of Location IDs. 
* <code>hotspot</code>: Comma-separated list of Hotspot IDs. 
* <code>external</code>: Comma-separated list of External IDs.
Example 1: Show a specific logo only for Location 123:
<pre><code>`text
</code></pre>
[frederix_show_if location=”123″]
[/frederix_show_if] 
 `
Example 2: Show a special notice for multiple Hotspots:
<pre><code>`text
</code></pre>
[frederix_show_if hotspot=”HS-01, HS-02″]
Special maintenance today in this area!
[/frederix_show_if] 
 `
Example 3: Combine with the login shortcode:
<pre><code>`text
</code></pre>
[frederix_show_if location=”123″]
Welcome to the Beach Club!
<pre><code>[frederix_external_login text="Connect to Beach WiFi"]
</code></pre>
[/frederix_show_if]
[frederix_show_if location=”456″]
Welcome to the Lobby!
<pre><code>[frederix_external_login text="Connect to Lobby WiFi"]
</code></pre>
[/frederix_show_if] 
 `

Frederix External Login

Handles the external login flow for CloudWiFi, including success and error pages.

External Login vs Frederix External Login