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Configure Federal Information Processing Standard Java Secure Socket Extension files

Use this topic to configure Federal Information Processing Standard Java Secure Socket Extension files.

In WebSphere Application Server, the Java Secure Socket Extension (JSSE) provider used is the IBMJSSE2 provider. This provider delegates encryption and signature functions to the Java Cryptography Extension (JCE) provider. Consequently, IBMJSSE2 does not need to be Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)-approved because it does not perform cryptography. However, the JCE provider requires FIPS-approval.

WebSphere Application Server provides a FIPS-approved IBMJCEFIPS provider that IBMJSSE2 can utilize. The IBMJCEFIPS provider that is shipped in WebSphere Application Server v8.5 supports the following SSL ciphers:

When enabling the Use the United States FIPS algorithms option on the server SSL certificate and key management panel, the runtime always uses IBMJSSE2, despite the contextProvider specified for SSL (IBMJSSE or IBMJSSE2S). Also, because FIPS requires the SSL protocol be TLS, the runtime always uses TLS when FIPS is enabled, regardless of the SSL protocol setting in the SSL repertoire. This simplifies the FIPS configuration in v8.5 because an administrator needs to enable only the Use the United States FIPS algorithms option on the server SSL certificate and key management panel to enable all transports using SSL.

  1. Click Security > SSL certificate and key management > Manage FIPS.

  2. Select the Enable FIPS 140-2 option and click Apply. This option makes IBMJSSE2 and IBMJCEFIPS the active providers.

  3. Accommodate Java clients that must access enterprise beans.

    Change the com.ibm.security.useFIPS property value from false to true in the profile_root/properties/ssl.client.props file.

  4. Ensure that the com.ibm.ssl.protocol property within the profile_root/properties/ssl.client.props file is set to TLS.

  5. Ensure that the java.security file includes the provider.

    Edit the java.security file to insert the IBMJCEFIPS provider (com.ibm.crypto.fips.provider.IBMJCEFIPS) before the IBMJCE provider, and also renumber the other providers in the provider list. The IBMJCEFIPS provider must be in the java.security file provider list.

    (iseries) The java.security file is located in the profile_root/properties directory.

    (dist)(zos) The java.security file is located in the WASHOME/java/jre/lib/security directory.

    The IBM SDK java.security file looks like the following example after completing this step:
    (dist)(zos) 

    security.provider.1=com.ibm.crypto.fips.provider.IBMJCEFIPS 
   security.provider.2=com.ibm.crypto.provider.IBMJCE 
   security.provider.3=com.ibm.jsse.IBMJSSEProvider 
   security.provider.4=com.ibm.jsse2.IBMJSSEProvider2 
   security.provider.5=com.ibm.security.jgss.IBMJGSSProvider   
   security.provider.6=com.ibm.security.cert.IBMCertPath   
   security.provider.7=com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11impl.provider.IBMPKCS11Impl
   security.provider.8=com.ibm.security.cmskeystore.CMSProvider
   security.provider.9=com.ibm.security.jgss.mech.spnego.IBMSPNEGO
   security.provider.10=com.ibm.security.sasl.IBMSASL  
   security.provider.11=com.ibm.xml.crypto.IBMXMLCryptoProvider  
   security.provider.12=com.ibm.xml.enc.IBMXMLEncProvider   
   security.provider.13=org.apache.harmony.security.provider.PolicyProvider

    (iseries) 

       security.provider.1=com.ibm.crypto.fips.provider.IBMJCEFIPS
   security.provider.2=com.ibm.crypto.provider.IBMJCE
   security.provider.3=com.ibm.jsse.IBMJSSEProvider
   security.provider.4=com.ibm.jsse2.IBMJSSEProvider2
   security.provider.5=com.ibm.security.jgss.IBMJGSSProvider
   security.provider.6=com.ibm.security.cert.IBMCertPath
   security.provider.7=com.ibm.i5os.jsse.JSSEProvider
   security.provider.8=com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11.provider.IBMPKCS11
   security.provider.9=com.ibm.security.jgss.mech.spnego.IBMSPNEGO
   security.provider.10=com.ibm.security.cmskeystore.CMSProvider
   security.provider.11=com.ibm.security.sasl.IBMSASL
   security.provider.12=com.ibm.xml.crypto.IBMXMLCryptoProvider
   security.provider.13=com.ibm.xml.enc.IBMXMLEncProvider
   security.provider.14=org.apache.harmony.security.provider.PolicyProvider

    If we are using the Oracle Java SE Development Kit, the java.security file looks like the following example after completing this step: 

        security.provider.1=sun.security.provider.Sun   
    security.provider.2=com.ibm.crypto.fips.provider.IBMJCEFIPS   
    security.provider.3=com.ibm.crypto.provider.IBMJCE
    security.provider.4=com.ibm.jsse.IBMJSSEProvider  
    security.provider.5=com.ibm.jsse2.IBMJSSEProvider2  
    security.provider.6=com.ibm.security.jgss.IBMJGSSProvider  
    security.provider.7=com.ibm.security.cert.IBMCertPath  
    #security.provider.12=com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11.provider.IBMPKCS11
    security.provider.8=com.ibm.security.jgss.mech.spnego.IBMSPNEGO
    security.provider.9=com.ibm.security.cmskeystore.CMSProvider  
    security.provider.10=com.ibm.security.sasl.IBMSASL  
    security.provider.11=com.ibm.xml.crypto.IBMXMLCryptoProvider  
    security.provider.12=com.ibm.xml.enc.IBMXMLEncProvider

    Edit the java.security file to uncomment the line with the IBMJCEFIPS provider and also renumber the rest of the provider list. The IBMJCEFIPS provider must be in the java.security file provider list. The java.security file is located in the WASHOME/java/jre/lib/security directory. To edit the file... (zos)

    1. Copy the java.security file to a directory that has write permissions.

    2. Edit the java.security file to comment out the line with the IBMJCE provider, uncomment the line with the IBMJCEFIPS provider, and save the file.

      The IBM Software Development Kit (SDK) java.security file looks like the following example prior to completing this step: 

      #security.provider.1=com.ibm.crypto.fips.provider.IBMJCEFIPS
security.provider.1=com.ibm.crypto.provider.IBMJCE
security.provider.2=com.ibm.jsse.IBMJSSEProvider
security.provider.3=com.ibm.jsse2.IBMJSSEProvider2
security.provider.4=com.ibm.security.jgss.IBMJGSSProvider
security.provider.5=com.ibm.security.cert.IBMCertPath
security.provider.6=com.ibm.crypto.pkcs11.provider.IBMPKCS11
security.provider.7=com.ibm.security.cmskeystore.CMSProvider
security.provider.8=com.ibm.security.jgss.mech.spnego.IBMSPNEGO

    3. Configure the security.overridePropertiesFile and java.security.properties system properties for each Java Virtual Machine (JVM) in the cell. Add the following property and value pairs:

      for the java.security file.

      This table describes custom properties for specifying a new location for the java.security file.

      Property name Value
      security.overridePropertiesFile true
      java.security.properties Specify the new location of the java.security file.

      Specify the previous set of system properties for the deployment manager, the node agent, and other application servers. For the deployment manager, specify this set of system properties for both the control and the servant. For the node agent, specify this set of system properties for the control. For all application servers, specify this set of system properties for the adjunct, control, and servant. For example...to specify these system properties for the control on an application server:

      1. In the console, click Servers > Application servers > server_name.

      2. Under Server infrastructure, click Java and Process Management > Process Definition > Control.

      3. Under Additional properties, click Java Virtual Machine > Custom properties.

      4. Enter the properties as two sets of name and value pairs.

      5. Click Save.


What to do next

After completing these steps, a FIPS-approved JSSE or JCE provider offers increased encryption capabilities. However, when we use FIPS-approved providers:

(dist) Attention: The following error might occur when you attempt to stop WebSphere Application Server after enabling the FIPS option:

Uncomment the following entry in the java.security file if it was previously removed or commented out, then restart the server:

When enabling FIPS, we cannot configure cryptographic token devices in the SSL repertoires. IBMJSSE2 must use IBMJCEFIPS when utilizing cryptographic services for FIPS.

The following FIPS 140-2 approved cryptographic providers that are the only devices that are supported with the FIPS option:

The relevant certificates are listed on the NIST website (csrc.nist.gov) and FIPS 140-2 Pre-validation List

To unconfigure the FIPS provider, reverse the changes made in the previous steps. After you reverse the changes, verify that we have made the following changes to the sas.client.props, soap.client.props, and java.security files:

(zos) When we use the FIPS provider, the IBM Software Development Kit (SDK) might issue an error message that refers to a bad certificate. Although this error message can result from a multitude of reasons, review your security configuration and consider one of the following actions:


Related

Develop extensions to the WebSphere security infrastructure
Global security settings
The Beginner’s Guide to Cryptography