diff --git a/src/core/server-setup-rec.h b/src/core/server-setup-rec.h
index ecdde3f3..2c9614c7 100644
--- a/src/core/server-setup-rec.h
+++ b/src/core/server-setup-rec.h
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ char *address;
 int port;
 char *password;
 
+int sasl_mechanism;
+char *sasl_password;
+
 char *ssl_cert;
 char *ssl_pkey;
 char *ssl_pass;
diff --git a/src/irc/core/Makefile.am b/src/irc/core/Makefile.am
index 7d885d20..20caaeb1 100644
--- a/src/irc/core/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/irc/core/Makefile.am
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ libirc_core_a_SOURCES = \
         irc-servers-setup.c \
         irc-session.c \
         irc-cap.c \
+        sasl.c \
         lag.c \
         massjoin.c \
         modes.c \
@@ -50,6 +51,7 @@ pkginc_irc_core_HEADERS = \
         irc-servers.h \
         irc-servers-setup.h \
         irc-cap.h \
+        sasl.h \
         modes.h \
         mode-lists.h \
 	module.h \
diff --git a/src/irc/core/irc-chatnets.c b/src/irc/core/irc-chatnets.c
index d757bf8d..cfb7deec 100644
--- a/src/irc/core/irc-chatnets.c
+++ b/src/irc/core/irc-chatnets.c
@@ -48,6 +48,10 @@ static void sig_chatnet_read(IRC_CHATNET_REC *rec, CONFIG_NODE *node)
 	rec->max_msgs = config_node_get_int(node, "max_msgs", 0);
 	rec->max_modes = config_node_get_int(node, "max_modes", 0);
 	rec->max_whois = config_node_get_int(node, "max_whois", 0);
+
+	rec->sasl_mechanism = config_node_get_str(node, "sasl_mechanism", NULL);
+	rec->sasl_username = config_node_get_str(node, "sasl_username", NULL);
+	rec->sasl_password = config_node_get_str(node, "sasl_password", NULL);
 }
 
 static void sig_chatnet_saved(IRC_CHATNET_REC *rec, CONFIG_NODE *node)
@@ -78,7 +82,7 @@ static void sig_chatnet_saved(IRC_CHATNET_REC *rec, CONFIG_NODE *node)
 static void sig_chatnet_destroyed(IRC_CHATNET_REC *rec)
 {
 	if (IS_IRC_CHATNET(rec))
-                g_free(rec->usermode);
+		g_free(rec->usermode);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/irc/core/irc-chatnets.h b/src/irc/core/irc-chatnets.h
index 22da90c5..2bb10fa9 100644
--- a/src/irc/core/irc-chatnets.h
+++ b/src/irc/core/irc-chatnets.h
@@ -17,12 +17,15 @@
 struct _IRC_CHATNET_REC {
 #include "chatnet-rec.h"
 
-        char *usermode;
+	char *usermode;
+
+	char *sasl_mechanism;
+	char *sasl_username;
+	char *sasl_password;
 
 	int max_cmds_at_once;
 	int cmd_queue_speed;
-	int max_query_chans; /* when syncing, max. number of channels to
-				put in one MODE/WHO command */
+	int max_query_chans; /* when syncing, max. number of channels to put in one MODE/WHO command */
 
 	/* max. number of kicks/msgs/mode/whois per command */
 	int max_kicks, max_msgs, max_modes, max_whois;
diff --git a/src/irc/core/irc-core.c b/src/irc/core/irc-core.c
index e3ceeeef..a9221e02 100644
--- a/src/irc/core/irc-core.c
+++ b/src/irc/core/irc-core.c
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 #include "irc-channels.h"
 #include "irc-queries.h"
 #include "irc-cap.h"
+#include "sasl.h"
 
 #include "irc-servers-setup.h"
 #include "channels-setup.h"
@@ -119,6 +120,7 @@ void irc_core_init(void)
 	netsplit_init();
 	irc_expandos_init();
 	cap_init();
+	sasl_init();
 
 	settings_check();
 	module_register("core", "irc");
@@ -128,6 +130,7 @@ void irc_core_deinit(void)
 {
 	signal_emit("chat protocol deinit", 1, chat_protocol_find("IRC"));
 
+	sasl_deinit();
 	cap_deinit();
 	irc_expandos_deinit();
 	netsplit_deinit();
@@ -140,7 +143,7 @@ void irc_core_deinit(void)
 	irc_irc_deinit();
 	irc_servers_deinit();
 	irc_chatnets_deinit();
-        irc_session_deinit();
+	irc_session_deinit();
 
 	chat_protocol_unregister("IRC");
 }
diff --git a/src/irc/core/irc-servers-setup.c b/src/irc/core/irc-servers-setup.c
index 5659991b..9a9a8347 100644
--- a/src/irc/core/irc-servers-setup.c
+++ b/src/irc/core/irc-servers-setup.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include "irc-chatnets.h"
 #include "irc-servers-setup.h"
 #include "irc-servers.h"
+#include "sasl.h"
 
 /* Fill information to connection from server setup record */
 static void sig_server_setup_fill_reconn(IRC_SERVER_CONNECT_REC *conn,
@@ -79,6 +80,29 @@ static void sig_server_setup_fill_chatnet(IRC_SERVER_CONNECT_REC *conn,
 		conn->cmd_queue_speed = ircnet->cmd_queue_speed;
 	if (ircnet->max_query_chans > 0)
 		conn->max_query_chans = ircnet->max_query_chans;
+
+	/* Validate the SASL parameters filled by sig_chatnet_read() */
+	conn->sasl_mechanism = SASL_MECHANISM_NONE;
+
+	if (ircnet->sasl_mechanism != NULL) {
+		if (!g_ascii_strcasecmp(ircnet->sasl_mechanism, "plain")) {
+			/* The PLAIN method needs both the username and the password */
+			if (ircnet->sasl_username != NULL && *ircnet->sasl_username &&
+			    ircnet->sasl_password != NULL && *ircnet->sasl_password) {
+				conn->sasl_mechanism = SASL_MECHANISM_PLAIN;
+				conn->sasl_username = ircnet->sasl_username;
+				conn->sasl_password = ircnet->sasl_password;
+			} else
+				g_warning("The fields sasl_username and sasl_password are either undefined or empty");
+		}
+		else if (!g_ascii_strcasecmp(ircnet->sasl_mechanism, "external")) {
+				conn->sasl_mechanism = SASL_MECHANISM_EXTERNAL;
+				conn->sasl_username = NULL;
+				conn->sasl_password = NULL;
+		}
+		else
+			g_warning("Unsupported SASL mechanism \"%s\" selected", ircnet->sasl_mechanism);
+	}
 }
 
 static void init_userinfo(void)
diff --git a/src/irc/core/irc-servers.c b/src/irc/core/irc-servers.c
index e9920d91..ad4d09cc 100644
--- a/src/irc/core/irc-servers.c
+++ b/src/irc/core/irc-servers.c
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 #include "irc-servers-setup.h"
 #include "irc-servers.h"
 #include "irc-cap.h"
+#include "sasl.h"
 #include "channel-rejoin.h"
 #include "servers-idle.h"
 #include "servers-reconnect.h"
@@ -215,6 +216,9 @@ static void server_init(IRC_SERVER_REC *server)
 		g_free(cmd);
 	}
 
+	if (conn->sasl_mechanism != SASL_MECHANISM_NONE)
+		cap_toggle(server, "sasl", TRUE);
+
 	irc_send_cmd_now(server, "CAP LS");
 
 	if (conn->password != NULL && *conn->password != '\0') {
diff --git a/src/irc/core/irc-servers.h b/src/irc/core/irc-servers.h
index f809fab5..41c4b9c2 100644
--- a/src/irc/core/irc-servers.h
+++ b/src/irc/core/irc-servers.h
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ struct _IRC_SERVER_CONNECT_REC {
 	char *usermode;
 	char *alternate_nick;
 
+	int sasl_mechanism;
+	char *sasl_username;
+	char *sasl_password;
+
 	int max_cmds_at_once;
 	int cmd_queue_speed;
 	int max_query_chans;
diff --git a/src/irc/core/sasl.c b/src/irc/core/sasl.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8bffc3d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/irc/core/sasl.c
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+#include "module.h"
+#include "misc.h"
+#include "settings.h"
+
+#include "irc-cap.h"
+#include "irc-servers.h"
+#include "sasl.h"
+
+#define SASL_TIMEOUT (20 * 1000) // ms
+
+static gboolean sasl_timeout (IRC_SERVER_REC *server)
+{
+	/* The authentication timed out, we can't do much beside terminating it */
+	g_critical("The authentication timed out, try increasing the timeout and check your connection "
+	           "to the network.");
+	irc_send_cmd_now(server, "AUTHENTICATE *");
+	cap_finish_negotiation(server);
+
+	return G_SOURCE_REMOVE;
+}
+
+static void sasl_start (IRC_SERVER_REC *server, const char *data, const char *from)
+{
+	IRC_SERVER_CONNECT_REC *conn;
+
+	conn = server->connrec;
+
+	switch (conn->sasl_mechanism) {
+		case SASL_MECHANISM_PLAIN:
+			irc_send_cmd_now(server, "AUTHENTICATE PLAIN");
+			break;
+
+		case SASL_MECHANISM_EXTERNAL:
+			irc_send_cmd_now(server, "AUTHENTICATE EXTERNAL");
+			break;
+	}
+	server->sasl_timeout = g_timeout_add(SASL_TIMEOUT, (GSourceFunc) sasl_timeout, server);
+}
+
+static void sasl_fail (IRC_SERVER_REC *server, const char *data, const char *from)
+{
+	/* Stop any pending timeout, if any */
+	g_source_remove(server->sasl_timeout);
+
+	g_critical("Authentication failed, make sure your credentials are correct and that the mechanism "
+	           "you have selected is supported by this server.");
+
+	/* Terminate the negotiation */
+	cap_finish_negotiation(server);
+}
+
+static void sasl_already (IRC_SERVER_REC *server, const char *data, const char *from)
+{
+	g_source_remove(server->sasl_timeout);
+
+	/* We're already authenticated, do nothing */
+	cap_finish_negotiation(server);
+}
+
+static void sasl_success (IRC_SERVER_REC *server, const char *data, const char *from)
+{
+	g_source_remove(server->sasl_timeout);
+
+	/* The authentication succeeded, time to finish the CAP negotiation */
+	g_warning("SASL authentication succeeded");
+	cap_finish_negotiation(server);
+}
+
+static void sasl_step (IRC_SERVER_REC *server, const char *data, const char *from)
+{
+	IRC_SERVER_CONNECT_REC *conn;
+	GString *req;
+	char *enc_req;
+
+	conn = server->connrec;
+
+	/* Stop the timer */
+	g_source_remove(server->sasl_timeout);
+
+	switch (conn->sasl_mechanism) {
+		case SASL_MECHANISM_PLAIN:
+			/* At this point we assume that conn->{username, password} are non-NULL.
+			 * The PLAIN mechanism expects a NULL-separated string composed by the authorization identity, the
+			 * authentication identity and the password.
+			 * The authorization identity field is optional and can be omitted, the server will derive the
+			 * identity by looking at the credentials provided.
+			 * The whole request is then encoded in base64. */
+
+			req = g_string_new(NULL);
+
+			g_string_append_c(req, '\0');
+			g_string_append(req, conn->sasl_username);
+			g_string_append_c(req, '\0');
+			g_string_append(req, conn->sasl_password);
+
+			enc_req = g_base64_encode((const guchar *)req->str, req->len);
+
+			irc_send_cmdv(server, "AUTHENTICATE %s", enc_req);
+
+			g_free(enc_req);
+			g_string_free(req, TRUE);
+			break;
+
+		case SASL_MECHANISM_EXTERNAL:
+			/* Empty response */
+			irc_send_cmdv(server, "+");
+			break;
+	}
+
+	/* We expect a response within a reasonable time */
+	server->sasl_timeout = g_timeout_add(SASL_TIMEOUT, (GSourceFunc) sasl_timeout, server);
+}
+
+void sasl_init(void)
+{
+	signal_add_first("server cap ack sasl", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_start);
+	signal_add_first("event authenticate", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_step);
+	signal_add_first("event 900", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_success);
+	signal_add_first("event 902", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_fail);
+	signal_add_first("event 904", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_fail);
+	signal_add_first("event 905", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_fail);
+	signal_add_first("event 907", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_already);
+}
+
+void sasl_deinit(void)
+{
+	signal_remove("server cap ack sasl", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_start);
+	signal_remove("event authenticate", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_step);
+	signal_remove("event 900", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_success);
+	signal_remove("event 902", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_fail);
+	signal_remove("event 904", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_fail);
+	signal_remove("event 905", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_fail);
+	signal_remove("event 907", (SIGNAL_FUNC) sasl_already);
+}
diff --git a/src/irc/core/sasl.h b/src/irc/core/sasl.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fcf87e16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/irc/core/sasl.h
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#ifndef __SASL_H
+#define __SASL_H
+
+enum {
+	SASL_MECHANISM_NONE = 0,
+	SASL_MECHANISM_PLAIN,
+	SASL_MECHANISM_EXTERNAL,
+	SASL_MECHANISM_MAX
+};
+
+void sasl_init(void);
+void sasl_deinit(void);
+
+#endif