--- title: All Your GUCs in a Row: gss_accept_delegation | daily.dev description: PostgreSQL 16 introduced the `gss_accept_delegation` GUC, which allows a PostgreSQL server to accept forwarded Kerberos credentials from clients and use them... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-gss-accept-delegation-3116kygiv twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: All Your GUCs in a Row: gss_accept_delegation | daily.dev og:description: PostgreSQL 16 introduced the `gss_accept_delegation` GUC, which allows a PostgreSQL server to accept forwarded Kerberos credentials from clients and use them... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-gss-accept-delegation-3116kygiv og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/3116KyGIV.png og:image:alt: All Your GUCs in a Row: gss_accept_delegation og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # All Your GUCs in a Row: gss_accept_delegation **[Planet PostgreSQL](https://daily.dev/sources/planet-postgresql)** · 7 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary PostgreSQL 16 introduced the `gss_accept_delegation` GUC, which allows a PostgreSQL server to accept forwarded Kerberos credentials from clients and use them to authenticate to downstream services (like a second PostgreSQL server via `postgres_fdw` or `dblink`) as the original user. This enables true single sign-on across server hops with per-user authorization preserved. However, it defaults to `off` because enabling it means the server holds live, usable Kerberos credentials in memory — dramatically expanding the blast radius of a server compromise beyond just the local database. Enabling delegation requires four conditions to align simultaneously: the server GUC set to `on`, the client opting in via `gssdelegation=1`, the `pg_hba.conf` line permitting it, and forwardable Kerberos tickets. The `pg_stat_gssapi` view's `credentials_delegated` column lets administrators verify which connections are actually using delegation. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [All Your GUCs in a Row: krb\_caseins\_users and krb\_server\_keyfile](https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-krb-caseins-users-and-krb-server-keyfile-htqhbywz4) · Planet PostgreSQL · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [All Your GUCs in a Row: createrole\_self\_grant](https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-createrole-self-grant-vlby9kzr9) · Planet PostgreSQL · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [All Your GUCs in a Row: event\_triggers](https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-event-triggers-2eqdc3xmw) · Planet PostgreSQL · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#postgresql](https://daily.dev/tags/postgresql), [#kerberos](https://daily.dev/tags/kerberos) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-gss-accept-delegation-3116kygiv) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"All Your GUCs in a Row: gss_accept_delegation","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-gss-accept-delegation-3116kygiv","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-gss-accept-delegation-3116kygiv"},"datePublished":"2026-07-28T04:04:43.102Z","dateModified":"2026-07-28T04:05:05.557Z","description":"PostgreSQL 16 introduced the `gss_accept_delegation` GUC, which allows a PostgreSQL server to accept forwarded Kerberos credentials from clients and use them...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/e97a9802206b5b628d7ae440c268213b?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/e97a9802206b5b628d7ae440c268213b?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Planet PostgreSQL","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Planet PostgreSQL","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/logos/placeholder.jpg","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/planet-postgresql"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/all-your-gucs-in-a-row-gss-accept-delegation-3116kygiv","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security,postgresql,kerberos","timeRequired":"PT7M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Planet PostgreSQL","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/planet-postgresql"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"All Your GUCs in a Row: gss_accept_delegation"}]} ```