<question><para>I can't get LDAP authentication to work. What's wrong with my configuration?</para></question>
<question><para>I can't get LDAP authentication to work. What's wrong with my configuration?</para></question>
<answer>
<answer>
<para>
Note that the permissions for an LDAP directory often do not allow you to read the password
for a user. Hence it is often not possible to use the <linkxlink:href="#faq-what-is-userdetailservice"><interfacename>UserDetailsService</interfacename>
approach</link> where Spring Security compares the stored password with the one submitted by the user.
The most common approach is to use LDAP <quote>bind</quote>, which is one of the operations
supported by <linkxlink:href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Directory_Access_Protocol">the LDAP protocol</link>.
With this approach, Spring Security validates the password by attempting to authenticate to the directory
as the user.
</para>
<para>The most common problem with LDAP authentication is a lack of knowledge of the
<para>The most common problem with LDAP authentication is a lack of knowledge of the
directory server tree structure and configuration. This will be different in different
directory server tree structure and configuration. This will be different in different
companies, so you have to find it out yourself. Before adding a Spring Security LDAP
companies, so you have to find it out yourself. Before adding a Spring Security LDAP