server.policy file permissions

Java 2 security uses several policy files to determine the granted permission for each Java program.

The server.policy file is a default policy file that is shared by all of the WAS appservers on a node. The server.policy file is not a configuration file that is managed by the repository and the file replication service. Changes to this file are local and do not replicate to the other machine.

If the default permissions for a server (the union of the permissions that is defined in the java.policy file and the server.policy file) are enough, no action is required. The default server policy is picked up automatically. If a specific change is required to some of the server programs on a node, update the server.policy file with the Policy Tool. Refer to the Using PolicyTool to edit policy files topic to edit policy files. Changes to the server.policy file are local for the node. Syntax errors in the policy files cause the application server to fail. Edit these policy files carefully. An updated server.policy file is applied to all the server programs on the local node. Restart the servers for the updates to take effect.

If you want to add permissions to an application, use app.policy and the was.policy file. When you do need to modify the server.policy file, locate this file at: install_root/properties/server.policy. This file contains these default permissions

// Allow to use ibm jdk extensions
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/java/ext/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// Allow to use ibm tools
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/java/tools/ibmtools.jar" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// Allow to use sun tools
grant codeBase "file:/QIBM/ProdData/Java400/jdk14/lib/tools.jar" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// Allow to use sun tools (V5R2M0 codebase)
grant codeBase "file:/QIBM/ProdData/OS400/Java400/jdk/lib/tools.jar" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// WebSphere system classes
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/plugins/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/lib/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/classes/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// Allow the WebSphere deploy tool all permissions
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/deploytool/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// Allow the WebSphere deploy tool all permissions
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/optionalLibraries/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// Allow Channel Framework classes all permission
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/installedChannels/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

grant codeBase "file:${user.install.root}/lib/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

grant codeBase "file:${user.install.root}/classes/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

If some server programs on a node require permissions that are not defined as defaults in the server.policy file and the server.policy file, update the server.policy file. The missing permission creates the java.security.AccessControlException exception. The missing permission is listed in the exception data.

For example

java.security.AccessControlException: access denied (java.io.FilePermission 
C:\WebSphere\AppServer\java\jre\lib\ext\mail-impl.jar read)

The previous two lines are split into two lines for illustrative purposes only.

When a Java program receives this exception and adding this permission is justified, add a permission to the server.policy file.

For example

grant codeBase "file:user_client_installed_location" {   
permission java.io.FilePermission 
"C:\WebSphere\AppServer\java\jre\lib\ext\mail.jar", "read"; };

To decide whether to add a permission, refer to Access control exception .

Restart all of the Java processes for the updated server.policy file to take effect.

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Related tasks
Migrating, coexisting, and interoperating – Security considerations Using PolicyTool to edit policy files Configuring static policy files Related reference
app.policy file permissions client.policy file permissions filter.policy file permissions java.policy file permissions

 

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