WAS v8.5 > Secure applications > Secure web services > Secure web services > Web Services Security concepts > Web Services Security concepts > Web Services Security provides message integrity, confidentiality, and authentication
Username token
We can use the <UsernameToken> element to propagate a user name and, optionally, password information. Also, we can use this token type to carry basic authentication information. Both a user name and a password are used to authenticate the SOAP message.
OASIS: Web Services Security UsernameToken Profile 1.0
A UsernameToken element containing the user name is used in identity assertion. Identity assertion establishes the identity of the user based on the trust relationship.
The following example shows the syntax of the <UsernameToken> element:
<wsse:UsernameToken wsu:Id="Example-1"> <wsse:Username> ... </wsse:Username> <wsse:Password Type="..."> ... </wsse:Password> <wsse:Nonce EncodingType="..."> ... </wsse:Nonce> <wsu:Created> ... </wsu:Created> </wsse:UsernameToken>
The Web Services Security specification defines the following password types:
- http://docs.oasis-open.org/wss/2004/01/oasis-200401-wss-username-token-profile-1.0#PasswordText (default)
- This type is the actual password for the user name.
- http://docs.oasis-open.org/wss/2004/01/oasis-200401-wss-username-token-profile-1.0#PasswordDigest
- The type is the digest of the password for the user name. The value is a base64-encoded SHA1 hash value of the UTF8-encoded password.
The following example illustrates the use of the <UsernameToken> element:
<S:Envelope
xmlns:S="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
xmlns:wsse="http://docs.oasis-open.org/wss/2004/01/oasis-200401-wss-wssecurity-secext-1.0.xsd"> <S:Header> ...
<wsse:Security> <wsse:UsernameToken> <wsse:Username>Joe</wsse:Username> <wsse:Password>ILoveJava</wsse:Password> </wsse:UsernameToken> </wsse:Security> </S:Header> </S:Envelope>
OASIS: Web Services Security UsernameToken Profile 1.1
WebSphere Application Server supports both Username Token Profile 1.0 and v1.1 standards.
WAS does not support the following functions:
- In both versions of the Username Token Profile specification, the digest password type is not supported
- In both versions of the Username Token Profile specification, key derivation based on a password is not supported.
We can use policy sets to configure the UsernameToken using the dmgr console. Also, we can use the Web Services Security APIs to attach the Username token to the SOAP message. The following figure describes the creation and validation of the Username token for the JAX-RPC and the JAX-WS programming models.
Creating and validating the Username token using the JAAS Login Module and the JAAS CallbackHandler in JAX-RPC
Creating and validating the Username token using the JAAS Login Module and the JAAS CallbackHandler in JAX-WS
The WSS API is available only when we are using the JAX-WS programming model.
On the generator side, the Username token is created using the JAAS LoginModule and using the JAAS CallbackHandler to pass the authentication data. The JAAS LoginModule creates the UsernameToken object and passes it to the Web Services Security run time.
On the consumer side, the Username Token XML format is passed to the JAAS LoginModule for validation or authentication, and the JAAS CallbackHandler is used to pass the authentication data from the Web Services Security run time to the JAAS LoginModule. After the token is authenticated, a UsernameToken object is created and is passed to the Web Service Security run time.
The following example provides sample code for creating Username tokens:
WSSFactory factory = WSSFactory.getInstance();
WSSGenerationContext gencont = factory.newWSSGenerationContext();
// Attach the username token to the message.
UNTGenerationCallbackHandler ugCallbackHandler =
newUNTGenerationCallbackHandler("alice", "ecila");
SecurityToken ut = factory.newSecurityToken(ugCallbackHandler,
UsernameToken.class);
gencont.add(ut);
// Generate the WS-Security header
gencont.process(msgctx);
Related concepts:
Nonce, a randomly generated token
Binary security token
XML token
Security token
Related information:
OASIS Standard Specification Web Services Security UsernameToken Profile 1.0
OASIS Standard Specification Web Services Security UsernameToken Profile 1.1