Web Agent Guides › Web Agent Configuration Guide › Protecting Web Applications › How to Pass the Authenticated User Name to Applications

How to Pass the Authenticated User Name to Applications

The REMOTE_USER CGI environment variable holds the name of the user authenticated by the web server. When the Web Agent is installed on a web server, SiteMinder replaces the native authentication of the web server, so REMOTE_USER is usually blank.

If you have applications that require the REMOTE_USER variable, you need to ensure that the REMOTE_USER variable is populated.

However, for web servers where REMOTE_USER cannot be populated or is not required, the Web Agent's default HTTP header, HTTP_SM_USER provides an alternate method of passing a user name to an application.