Demo Userpass Auth Method

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to enable and manage the userpass auth method in Vault. We’ll cover:

Enabling and inspecting auth backends
Configuring and listing policies
Creating, reading, and updating users
Authenticating with the userpass method

Enable the userpass Auth Method
Inspect Auth Backends
Manage Policies
Create and Configure Users
Authenticate with userpass

1. Enable the userpass Auth Method

First, see which auth methods are currently enabled:

vault auth list

Example output:

Path	Type	Accessor	Description
token/	token	auth_token_9e81d3bb	token based credentials

Enable userpass at the default path:

vault auth enable userpass

Success message:

Success! Enabled userpass auth method at: userpass/

:::note Custom Path You can also enable userpass under a custom mount point, for example local:

vault auth enable -path=local userpass

::: After enabling, verify both default and custom mounts:

vault auth list

Path	Type	Accessor	Description
local/	userpass	auth_userpass_abcd123	n/a
userpass/	userpass	auth_userpass_efgh456	n/a
token/	token	auth_token_9e81d3bb	token based credentials

If you only need the default mount, disable the custom one:

vault auth disable local

Now you should see:

vault auth list

Path	Type	Accessor	Description
token/	token	auth_token_9e81d3bb	token based credentials
userpass/	userpass	auth_userpass_efgh456	n/a

2. Inspect Auth Backends

Vault supports multiple auth methods. To view all enabled backends:

vault auth list

Mount Point	Auth Method	Description
token/	token	Token-based authentication
userpass/	userpass	Username & password

For more details, see the Vault Authentication Methods reference.

3. Manage Policies

Before creating users, check existing policies:

vault policy list

Example output:

default
kv-policy
root

We’ll use kv-policy in this demo to grant Key/Value access.

4. Create and Configure Users

4.1 Create Users

Add a new user named automation with kv-policy:

vault write auth/userpass/users/automation \
    password=Password1 \
    policies=kv-policy

Success message:

Success! Data written to: auth/userpass/users/automation

Verify the list of userpass users:

vault list auth/userpass/users

Keys
automation

Add a second user bryan:

vault write auth/userpass/users/bryan \
    password=Secret123 \
    policies=kv-policy

Confirm both users:

vault list auth/userpass/users

Keys
automation
bryan

4.2 Read and Update User Configuration

Read Current Settings

Inspect the automation user:

vault read auth/userpass/users/automation

Key	Value
policies	[kv-policy]
token_ttl	0s
token_max_ttl	0s
token_no_default_policy	false

By default, TTLs are 0s, inheriting the system defaults.

Update Token TTL

Set a 24-hour token TTL for automation:

vault write auth/userpass/users/automation token_ttl=24h

Verify the update:

vault read auth/userpass/users/automation

Key	Value
token_ttl	24h
policies	[kv-policy]

:::note Token Time-To-Live (TTL) Defining token_ttl limits how long a login token remains valid. Adjust according to your security requirements. :::

5. Authenticate with userpass

Now that your user is configured, log in with:

vault login -method=userpass username=automation

Enter the password when prompted. Example response:

Success! You are now authenticated.

Key                    Value
---                    -----
token                  hvs.CAE...5sNTd
token_accessor         62meW...3mjErMQwlQ
token_duration         24h
token_renewable        true
token_policies         ["default" "kv-policy"]
token_meta_username    automation

You now have a token scoped to kv-policy with a 24-hour TTL. To reuse the token directly:

vault login hvs.CAE...5sNTd

Success message:

Success! Token renewed successfully.

:::warning Security Reminder Always store your Vault tokens securely. Avoid checking plaintext tokens into version control or logs. :::

Conclusion

You’ve successfully:

Enabled and inspected the userpass auth method
Listed and managed Vault policies
Created users and customized their token TTL
Authenticated via userpass for secure, password-based access

For more on Vault auth methods and best practices, visit the HashiCorp Vault Documentation.

Introduction

Create a working Vault server configuration given a scenario

Monitor a Vault Environment

Employ the Vault Security Model

Build Fault-Tolerant Vault Environments

Understand the Hardware Security Module (HSM) Integration

Scale Vault for Performance

Configure Access Control

Configure Vault Agent

Exam Experience and Expectations

Demo Userpass Auth Method

Table of Contents

1. Enable the userpass Auth Method

2. Inspect Auth Backends

3. Manage Policies

4. Create and Configure Users

4.1 Create Users

4.2 Read and Update User Configuration

Read Current Settings

Update Token TTL

5. Authenticate with userpass

Conclusion

Watch Video

Practice Lab

​Table of Contents

​1. Enable the userpass Auth Method

​2. Inspect Auth Backends

​3. Manage Policies

​4. Create and Configure Users

​4.1 Create Users

​4.2 Read and Update User Configuration

​Read Current Settings

​Update Token TTL

​5. Authenticate with userpass

​Conclusion

Watch Video

Practice Lab

Table of Contents

1. Enable the userpass Auth Method

2. Inspect Auth Backends

3. Manage Policies

4. Create and Configure Users

4.1 Create Users

4.2 Read and Update User Configuration

Read Current Settings

Update Token TTL

5. Authenticate with userpass

Conclusion