CakePHP 2 Auth Not Working - Blowfish - authentication

Question

I'm using CakePHP 2.8.5. It's not letting me log in "Username or password is incorrect". This seems totally straightforward in the docs but it isn't working for me. I wonder if my model/data structure might be confusing CakePHP. I have a Users model, but the logins are associated with an Admins model. The login form and action are in the Pages model (it has forms for multiple models).
in AppController:
public $components = array(
'DebugKit.Toolbar',
'Flash',
'Session',
'Auth' => array(
'userModel' => 'Admin',
'authenticate' => array(
'Form' => array(
'fields' => array(
'username' => 'email',
'password' => 'password'
),
'passwordHasher' => 'Blowfish'
)
),
'loginAction' => array(
'controller' => 'pages',
'action' => 'login',
),
'logoutRedirect' => array(
'controller' => 'pages',
'action' => 'login',
),
'authError' => 'Please log in',
'authorize' => array('Controller')
)
);
My login view, in /View/Pages. "email" is the username field:
<?php
echo $this->Form->create('Admin');
echo $this->Form->input('email');
echo $this->Form->input('password');
echo $this->Form->end('Submit');
?>
PagesController:
public function login() {
if ($this->request->is('post')) {
if ($this->Auth->login()) {
return $this->redirect($this->Auth->redirect());
} else {
$this->Flash->error(__('Username or password is incorrect'));
}
}}
Top of Admin model:
App::uses('BlowfishPasswordHasher', 'Controller/Component/Auth');
Automatic Blowfish encryption in Admin model:
public function beforeSave($options = array()) {
if (isset($this->data['Admin']['password'])) {
$passwordHasher = new BlowfishPasswordHasher();
$this->data['Admin']['password'] = $passwordHasher->hash(
$this->data['Admin']['password']
);
}
return true;
}
I notice if I enter the same password for different Admins, I get a different encryption result, but I've read that's normal.
If you want to see anything else, I'll add it.

Answer 1

The userModel key is in the wrong place
Compare the config in the question:
public $components = array(
'DebugKit.Toolbar',
'Flash',
'Session',
'Auth' => array(
'userModel' => 'Admin',
'authenticate' => array(
'Form' => array(
'fields' => array(
'username' => 'email',
'password' => 'password'
),
'passwordHasher' => 'Blowfish'
)
),
To the config in the docs:
$this->Auth->authenticate = array(
'Basic' => array('userModel' => 'Member'),
'Form' => array('userModel' => 'Member')
);
In the question userModel is a top-level key, in the docs it is part of the individual authenticate keys. Looking at the api examples (or the doc blocks in the source code) the error is more clear:
... you can define settings that should be set to all authentications objects using the 'all' key:
$this->Auth->authenticate = array(
'all' => array(
'userModel' => 'Users.User',
'scope' => array('User.active' => 1)
),
'Form',
'Basic'
);
It is possible to define a global userModel for all authenticate objects to use, but the syntax is simply different than the question.
Use the all key
Therefore to define a user model to use for all authenticate options, use the all key:
public $components = array(
'DebugKit.Toolbar',
'Flash',
'Session',
'Auth' => array(
//'userModel' => 'Admin', // <- no
'authenticate' => array(
'all' => array(
'userModel' => 'Admin' // <- yes
),
'Form' => array(
'fields' => array(
'username' => 'email',
'password' => 'password'
),
'passwordHasher' => 'Blowfish'
)
),