diff --git a/cake/libs/controller/components/auth.php b/cake/libs/controller/components/auth.php
index c6429a419..a7993c249 100644
--- a/cake/libs/controller/components/auth.php
+++ b/cake/libs/controller/components/auth.php
@@ -48,20 +48,36 @@ class AuthComponent extends Component {
 	public $components = array('Session', 'RequestHandler');
 
 /**
- * A reference to the object used for authentication
+ * An array of authentication objects to use for authenticating users.  You can configure
+ * multiple adapters and they will be checked sequentially when users are identified.
  *
  * @var object
  * @link http://book.cakephp.org/view/1278/authenticate
  */
-	public $authenticate = null;
+	public $authenticate = array('Form');
 
 /**
- * The name of the component to use for Authorization or set this to
- * 'controller' will validate against Controller::isAuthorized()
- * 'actions' will validate Controller::action against an AclComponent::check()
- * 'crud' will validate mapActions against an AclComponent::check()
- * array('model'=> 'name'); will validate mapActions against model $name::isAuthorized(user, controller, mapAction)
- * 'object' will validate Controller::action against object::isAuthorized(user, controller, action)
+ * Objects that will be used for authentication checks.
+ *
+ * @var array
+ */
+	protected $_authenticateObjects = array();
+
+/**
+ * A hash mapping legacy properties => to settings passed into Authenticate objects.
+ *
+ * @var string
+ * @deprecated Will be removed in 2.1+
+ */
+	protected $_authenticateLegacyMap = array(
+		'userModel' => 'userModel',
+		'userScope' => 'scope',
+		'fields' => 'fields'
+	);
+
+/**
+ * An array of authorization objects to use for authorizing users.  You can configure
+ * multiple adapters and they will be checked sequentially when authorization checks are done.
  *
  * @var mixed
  * @link http://book.cakephp.org/view/1275/authorize
@@ -363,15 +379,7 @@ class AuthComponent extends Component {
 				!empty($request->data[$model->alias][$this->fields['password']]);
 
 			if ($isValid) {
-				$username = $request->data[$model->alias][$this->fields['username']];
-				$password = $request->data[$model->alias][$this->fields['password']];
-
-				$data = array(
-					$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['username'] => $username,
-					$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['password'] => $password
-				);
-
-				if ($this->login($data)) {
+				if ($this->login()) {
 					if ($this->autoRedirect) {
 						$controller->redirect($this->redirect(), null, true);
 					}
@@ -456,18 +464,24 @@ class AuthComponent extends Component {
  * Each adapter will be checked in sequence, if any of them return true, then the user will 
  * be authorized for the request.
  *
- * @param mixed $user The user to check the authorization of, if empty the user in the session will be used.
+ * @param mixed $user The user to check the authorization of. If empty the user in the session will be used.
+ * @param CakeRequest $request The request to authenticate for.  If empty, the current request will be used.
  * @return boolean True if $user is authorized, otherwise false
  */
-	public function isAuthorized($user = null) {
+	public function isAuthorized($user = null, $request = null) {
 		if (empty($user) && !$this->user()) {
 			return false;
 		} elseif (empty($user)) {
 			$user = $this->user();
 		}
-		$this->loadAuthorizeObjects();
+		if (empty($request)) {
+			$request = $this->request;
+		}
+		if (empty($this->_authorizeObjects)) {
+			$this->loadAuthorizeObjects();
+		}
 		foreach ($this->_authorizeObjects as $authorizer) {
-			if ($authorizer->authorize($user, $this->request) === true) {
+			if ($authorizer->authorize($user, $request) === true) {
 				return true;
 			}
 		}
@@ -483,6 +497,7 @@ class AuthComponent extends Component {
 		if (empty($this->authorize)) {
 			return;
 		}
+		$this->_authorizeObjects = array();
 		foreach (Set::normalize($this->authorize) as $class => $settings) {
 			$className = $class . 'Authorize';
 			if (!class_exists($className) && !App::import('Component', 'auth/' . $class . '_authorize')) {
@@ -596,15 +611,14 @@ class AuthComponent extends Component {
  * @return boolean True on login success, false on failure
  * @link http://book.cakephp.org/view/1261/login
  */
-	public function login($data = null) {
+	public function login($request = null) {
 		$this->__setDefaults();
 		$this->_loggedIn = false;
 
-		if (empty($data)) {
-			$data = $this->data;
+		if (empty($request)) {
+			$request = $this->request;
 		}
-
-		if ($user = $this->identify($data)) {
+		if ($user = $this->identify($request)) {
 			$this->Session->write($this->sessionKey, $user);
 			$this->_loggedIn = true;
 		}
@@ -739,80 +753,51 @@ class AuthComponent extends Component {
 	}
 
 /**
- * Identifies a user based on specific criteria.
+ * Use the configured authentication adapters, and attempt to identify the user
+ * by credentials contained in $request.
  *
- * @param mixed $user Optional. The identity of the user to be validated.
- *              Uses the current user session if none specified.
- * @param array $conditions Optional. Additional conditions to a find.
- * @return array User record data, or null, if the user could not be identified.
+ * @param CakeRequest $request The request that contains authentication data.
+ * @return array User record data, or false, if the user could not be identified.
  */
-	public function identify($user = null, $conditions = null) {
-		if ($conditions === false) {
-			$conditions = null;
-		} elseif (is_array($conditions)) {
-			$conditions = array_merge((array)$this->userScope, $conditions);
-		} else {
-			$conditions = $this->userScope;
+	public function identify(CakeRequest $request) {
+		if (empty($this->_authenticateObjects)) {
+			$this->loadAuthenticateObjects();
 		}
-		$model = $this->getModel();
-		if (empty($user)) {
-			$user = $this->user();
-			if (empty($user)) {
-				return null;
+		foreach ($this->_authenticateObjects as $auth) {
+			$result = $auth->authenticate($request);
+			if (!empty($result) && is_array($result)) {
+				return $result;
 			}
-		} elseif (is_object($user) && is_a($user, 'Model')) {
-			if (!$user->exists()) {
-				return null;
-			}
-			$user = $user->read();
-			$user = $user[$model->alias];
-		} elseif (is_array($user) && isset($user[$model->alias])) {
-			$user = $user[$model->alias];
 		}
+		return false;
+	}
 
-		if (is_array($user) && (isset($user[$this->fields['username']]) || isset($user[$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['username']]))) {
-			if (isset($user[$this->fields['username']]) && !empty($user[$this->fields['username']])  && !empty($user[$this->fields['password']])) {
-				if (trim($user[$this->fields['username']]) == '=' || trim($user[$this->fields['password']]) == '=') {
-					return false;
-				}
-				$find = array(
-					$model->alias.'.'.$this->fields['username'] => $user[$this->fields['username']],
-					$model->alias.'.'.$this->fields['password'] => $user[$this->fields['password']]
-				);
-			} elseif (isset($user[$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['username']]) && !empty($user[$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['username']])) {
-				if (trim($user[$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['username']]) == '=' || trim($user[$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['password']]) == '=') {
-					return false;
-				}
-				$find = array(
-					$model->alias.'.'.$this->fields['username'] => $user[$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['username']],
-					$model->alias.'.'.$this->fields['password'] => $user[$model->alias . '.' . $this->fields['password']]
-				);
-			} else {
-				return false;
-			}
-			$data = $model->find('first', array(
-				'conditions' => array_merge($find, $conditions),
-				'recursive' => 0
-			));
-			if (empty($data) || empty($data[$model->alias])) {
-				return null;
-			}
-		} elseif (!empty($user) && is_string($user)) {
-			$data = $model->find('first', array(
-				'conditions' => array_merge(array($model->escapeField() => $user), $conditions),
-			));
-			if (empty($data) || empty($data[$model->alias])) {
-				return null;
-			}
+/**
+ * loads the configured authentication objects.
+ *
+ * @return mixed either null on empty authenticate value, or an array of loaded objects.
+ */
+	public function loadAuthenticateObjects() {
+		if (empty($this->authenticate)) {
+			return;
 		}
-
-		if (!empty($data)) {
-			if (!empty($data[$model->alias][$this->fields['password']])) {
-				unset($data[$model->alias][$this->fields['password']]);
+		$this->_authenticateObjects = array();
+		foreach (Set::normalize($this->authenticate) as $class => $settings) {
+			$className = $class . 'Authenticate';
+			if (!class_exists($className) && !App::import('Component', 'auth/' . $class . '_authenticate')) {
+				throw new CakeException(__('Authentication adapter "%s" was not found.', $class));
 			}
-			return $data[$model->alias];
+			if (!method_exists($className, 'authenticate')) {
+				throw new CakeException(__('Authentication objects must implement an authenticate method.'));
+			}
+			foreach ($this->_authenticateLegacyMap as $old => $new) {
+				if (empty($settings[$new]) && !empty($this->{$old})) {
+					$settings[$new] = $this->{$old};
+				}
+			}
+			$this->_authenticateObjects[] = new $className($settings);
 		}
-		return null;
+		return $this->_authenticateObjects;
 	}
 
 /**
diff --git a/cake/tests/cases/libs/controller/components/auth.test.php b/cake/tests/cases/libs/controller/components/auth.test.php
index 54689c841..27f9b6c10 100644
--- a/cake/tests/cases/libs/controller/components/auth.test.php
+++ b/cake/tests/cases/libs/controller/components/auth.test.php
@@ -582,13 +582,17 @@ class AuthTest extends CakeTestCase {
 		$this->Controller->Auth->startup($this->Controller);
 		$user = $this->Controller->Auth->user();
 		$expected = array('AuthUser' => array(
-			'id' => 1, 'username' => 'mariano', 'created' => '2007-03-17 01:16:23', 'updated' => date('Y-m-d H:i:s')
+			'id' => 1, 
+			'username' => 'mariano', 
+			'created' => '2007-03-17 01:16:23',
+			'updated' => date('Y-m-d H:i:s')
 		));
 		$this->assertEqual($user, $expected);
 		$this->Controller->Session->delete('Auth');
 
 		$this->Controller->request->data['AuthUser'] = array(
-			'username' => 'blah', 'password' => ''
+			'username' => 'blah', 
+			'password' => ''
 		);
 
 		$this->Controller->Auth->startup($this->Controller);
@@ -598,7 +602,8 @@ class AuthTest extends CakeTestCase {
 		$this->Controller->Session->delete('Auth');
 
 		$this->Controller->request->data['AuthUser'] = array(
-			'username' => 'now() or 1=1 --', 'password' => ''
+			'username' => 'now() or 1=1 --', 
+			'password' => ''
 		);
 
 		$this->Controller->Auth->startup($this->Controller);
@@ -608,7 +613,8 @@ class AuthTest extends CakeTestCase {
 		$this->Controller->Session->delete('Auth');
 
 		$this->Controller->request->data['AuthUser'] = array(
-			'username' => 'now() or 1=1 #something', 'password' => ''
+			'username' => 'now() or 1=1 #something', 
+			'password' => ''
 		);
 
 		$this->Controller->Auth->startup($this->Controller);
@@ -617,14 +623,6 @@ class AuthTest extends CakeTestCase {
 		$this->assertNull($user);
 		$this->Controller->Session->delete('Auth');
 
-		$this->Controller->Auth->userModel = 'UuidUser';
-		$this->Controller->Auth->login('47c36f9c-bc00-4d17-9626-4e183ca6822b');
-
-		$user = $this->Controller->Auth->user();
-		$expected = array('UuidUser' => array(
-			'id' => '47c36f9c-bc00-4d17-9626-4e183ca6822b', 'title' => 'Unique record 1', 'count' => 2, 'created' => '2008-03-13 01:16:23', 'updated' => '2008-03-13 01:18:31'
-		));
-		$this->assertEqual($user, $expected);
 		$this->Controller->Session->delete('Auth');
 	}
 
@@ -850,22 +848,80 @@ class AuthTest extends CakeTestCase {
 			'AuthMockThree'
 		);
 		$mocks = $this->Controller->Auth->loadAuthorizeObjects();
+		$request = $this->Controller->request;
 
 		$this->assertEquals(3, count($mocks));
 		$mocks[0]->expects($this->once())
 			->method('authorize')
-			->with(array('User'))
+			->with(array('User'), $request)
 			->will($this->returnValue(false));
-		
+
 		$mocks[1]->expects($this->once())
 			->method('authorize')
-			->with(array('User'))
+			->with(array('User'), $request)
 			->will($this->returnValue(true));
-		
+
 		$mocks[2]->expects($this->never())
 			->method('authorize');
-	
-		$this->assertTrue($this->Controller->Auth->isAuthorized(array('User')));
+
+		$this->assertTrue($this->Controller->Auth->isAuthorized(array('User'), $request));
+	}
+
+/**
+ * test that loadAuthorize resets the loaded objects each time.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+	function testLoadAuthorizeResets() {
+		$this->Controller->Auth->authorize = array(
+			'Controller'
+		);
+		$result = $this->Controller->Auth->loadAuthorizeObjects();
+		$this->assertEquals(1, count($result));
+
+		$result = $this->Controller->Auth->loadAuthorizeObjects();
+		$this->assertEquals(1, count($result));
+	}
+
+/**
+ * @expectedException CakeException
+ * @return void
+ */
+	function testLoadAuthenticateNoFile() {
+		$this->Controller->Auth->authenticate = 'Missing';
+		$this->Controller->Auth->identify($this->Controller->request);
+	}
+
+/**
+ * test that loadAuthorize resets the loaded objects each time.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+	function testLoadAuthenticateResets() {
+		$this->Controller->Auth->authenticate = array(
+			'Form'
+		);
+		$result = $this->Controller->Auth->loadAuthenticateObjects();
+		$this->assertEquals(1, count($result));
+
+		$result = $this->Controller->Auth->loadAuthenticateObjects();
+		$this->assertEquals(1, count($result));
+	}
+
+/**
+ * test that loadAuthenticate merges in legacy authentication settings.
+ *
+ * @return void
+ */
+	function testLoadAuthenticateSettingsPass() {
+		$this->Controller->Auth->userModel = 'AuthUser';
+		$this->Controller->Auth->userScope = array('AuthUser.active' => 1);
+		$this->Controller->Auth->fields = array('username' => 'user', 'password' => 'passwd');
+
+		$this->Controller->Auth->authenticate = array('Form');
+		$objects = $this->Controller->Auth->loadAuthenticateObjects();
+		$result = $objects[0];
+		$this->assertEquals($result->settings['userModel'], 'AuthUser');
 	}
 
 /**
@@ -1463,7 +1519,8 @@ class AuthTest extends CakeTestCase {
 		$authUser = $PluginModel->find();
 
 		$this->Controller->request->data['TestPluginAuthUser'] = array(
-			'username' => $authUser['TestPluginAuthUser']['username'], 'password' => 'cake'
+			'username' => $authUser['TestPluginAuthUser']['username'],
+			'password' => 'cake'
 		);
 
 		$this->Controller->request->addParams(Router::parse('auth_test/login'));
@@ -1476,8 +1533,12 @@ class AuthTest extends CakeTestCase {
 
 		$this->Controller->Auth->startup($this->Controller);
 		$user = $this->Controller->Auth->user();
-		$expected = array('TestPluginAuthUser' => array(
-			'id' => 1, 'username' => 'gwoo', 'created' => '2007-03-17 01:16:23', 'updated' => date('Y-m-d H:i:s')
+		$expected = array(
+			'TestPluginAuthUser' => array(
+				'id' => 1,
+				'username' => 'gwoo',
+				'created' => '2007-03-17 01:16:23',
+				'updated' => date('Y-m-d H:i:s')
 		));
 		$this->assertEqual($user, $expected);
 		$sessionKey = $this->Controller->Auth->sessionKey;