Errors after enabling security

Use this information if you are experiencing errors after security is enabled. What kind of error are you seeing?

• Authentication error accessing a Web page

• Authorization error accessing a Web page

• Error Message: CWSCJ0314E: Current Java 2 security policy reported a potential violation

• CWMSG0508E: The JMS Server security service was unable to authenticate user ID: error displayed in SystemOut.log when starting an application server

• Error Message: CWSCJ0237E: One or more vital LTPAServerObject configuration attributes are null or not available after enabling security and starting the application server

• An AccessControlException is reported in the SystemOut.log

• Error Message: CWSCJ0336E: Authentication failed for user {0} because of the following exception {1}

For general tips on diagnosing and resolving security-related problems, see the topic Troubleshooting the security component.

Authentication error accessing a Web page

Possible causes for authentication errors include:

• Incorrect user name or passwords. Check the user name and password and make sure that they are correct.

• Security configuration error : User registry type is not set correctly. Check the user registry property in global security settings in the administrative console. Verify that the user registry property is the intended user registry.

• Internal program error. If the client application is a Java standalone program, this program might not gather or send credential information correctly.

If the user registry configuration, user ID, and password appear correct, use the WebSphere Application Server trace to determine the cause of the problem. To enable security trace, use the

com.ibm.ws.security.*=all=enabled trace specification.

Authorization error accessing a Web page

If a user who is supposed to have access to a resource does not, a configuration step is probably missing. Review Assignin_users_to_administrator_roles.html. Specifically:

• Check the required roles for the accessed Web resource.

• Check the authorization table to make sure that the user, or the groups to which the user belongs, is assigned to one of the required roles.

• View required roles for the Web resource in the deployment descriptor of the Web resource.

• View the authorization table for the application that contains the Web resource, using the administrative console.

• Test with a user who is granted the required roles, to see if the user can access the problem resources.

• If the user is required to have one or more of the required roles, use the administrative console to assign that user to required roles, stop, and restart the application.

If the user is granted required roles, but still fails to access the secured resources, enable security trace, using

com.ibm.ws.security.*=all=enabled as the trace specification. Collect trace information for further resolution.

Error Message: CWSCJ0314E: Current Java 2 security policy reported a potential violation on server

If you find errors on your server similar to:

Error Message: CWSCJ0314E: Current Java 2 Security policy reported a potential violation of 
Java 2 Security Permission. Please refer to Problem Determination Guide for further information.
{0}Permission/:{1}Code/:{2}{3}Stack Trace/:{4}Code Base Location/:{5}

The reported exception might be critical to the secure system. Turn on security trace to determine the potential code that might have violated the security policy. Once the violating code is determined, verify if the attempted operation is permitted with respect to Java 2 Security, by examining all applicable Java 2 security policy files and the application code. A more detailed report is enabled by either configuring RAS trace into debug mode, or specifying a Java property.

• Check the trace enabling section for instructions on how to configure Reliability Availability Serviceability (RAS) trace into debug mode, or

• Specify the following property in the Application Servers > server_name > ProcessDefinition > Java Virtual Machine panel from the administrative console in the Generic JVM arguments panel:

  • Add the

    java.security.debug run-time flag

  • Valid values:

    access

    Print all debug information including required permission, code, stack, and code base location.

    stack

    Print debug information including required permission, code, and stack.

    failure

    Print debug information including required permission, and code.

For a review of Java security policies, see the Java 2 Security documentation at http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/docs/guide/security/index.html. Tip: If the application is running with a Java Mail application programming interface (API), this message might be benign. You can update the installed
Enterprise Application root/META-INF/was.policy file to grant the following permissions to the application:

• permission java.io.FilePermission "${user.home}${/}.mailcap", "read";

• permission java.io.FilePermission "${user.home}${/}.mime.types", "read";

• permission java.io.FilePermission "${java.home}${/}lib${/}mailcap", "read";

• permission java.io.FilePermission "${java.home}${/}lib${/}mime.types", "read";

Error message: CWMSG0508E: The JMS Server security service was unable to authenticate user ID:" error displayed in SystemOut.log when starting an application server

This error can result from installing the Java Message Service (JMS) API sample and then enabling security. You can follow the instructions in the Configure and Run page of the corresponding JMS sample documentation to configure the sample to work with WebSphere Application Server security.

You can verify the installation of the message-driven bean sample by launching the installation program, selecting Custom, and browsing the components which are already installed in the Select the features you like to install panel. The JMS sample is shown as Message-Driven Bean Sample, under Embedded Messaging.

You can also verify this installation by using the administrative console to open the properties of the application server that contains the samples. Select MDBSamples and click uninstall.

Error message: CWSCJ0237E: One or more vital LTPAServerObject configuration attributes are null or not available after enabling security and starting the application server.

This error message can result from selecting LTPA as the authentication mechanism, but not generating the LTPA keys. The LTPA keys encrypt the LTPA token.

To resolve this problem:

1. Click Security > Secure administration, applications and infrastructure> Authentication > Authentication mechanisms and expiration> LTPA

2. Enter a password, which can be anything.

3. Enter the same password in Confirm Password.

4. Click Apply.

5. Click Generate Keys.

6. Click Save.

The AccessControlException exception, is reported in the SystemOut.log

The problem is related to the Java 2 security feature of WebSphere Application Server, the API-level security framework that is implemented in WebSphere Application Server. An exception similar to the following example displays. The error message and number can vary.

CWSRV0020E: [Servlet Error]-[validator]: Failed to load servlet: 
java.security.AccessControlException: access denied 
(java.io.FilePermission 



app_server_root/installedApps/server1/adminconsole.ear/adminconsole.war/ 
WEB-INF/validation.xml read) 

CWSRV0020E: [Servlet Error]-[validator]: Failed to load servlet: 
java.security.AccessControlException: access denied 
(java.io.FilePermission 


app_server_root/systemApps/isclite.ear/isclite.war/WEB-INF/validation.xml read) 

For an explanation of Java 2 security, how and why to enable or disable it, how it relates to policy files, and how to edit policy files, see the Java 2 security topic in the information center navigation. The topic explains that Java 2 security is not only used by this product, but developers can also implement it for their business applications. Administrators might need to involve developers, if this exception is created when a client tries to access a resource that is hosted by WebSphere Application Server.

Possible causes of these errors include:

• Syntax errors in a policy file.

• Syntax errors in permission specifications in the ra.xml file that is bundled in a .rar file. This case applies to
  resource adapters that support connector access to CICS or other resources.

• An application is missing the specified permission in a policy file, or in permission specifications in ra.xml file bundled in a .rar file.

• The class path is not set correctly, preventing the permissions for the resource.xml file for Service Provider Programming Interface (SPI) from being correctly created.

• A library called by an application, or the application, is missing a doPrivileged block to support access to a resource.

• Permission is specified in the wrong policy file.

To resolve these problems:

• Check all of the related policy files to verify that the permission shown in the exception, for example java.io.FilePermission, is specified.

• Look for a related ParserException exception in the SystemOut.log file which reports the details of the syntax error. For example:

  CWSCJ0189E: Caught ParserException while creating template for application policy 
  
  
  profile_root/config/cells/cell_name/nodes/node/app.policy

  Where:

  • cell_name represents the name of your cell.

  • profile_name represents the name of your profile.

  • node represents the name of your node.

  The exception is com.ibm.ws.security.util.ParserException: line 18: expected ';', found 'grant'

• Look for a message similar to: CWSCJ0325W: The permission permission specified in the policy file is unresolved.

• Check the call stack to determine which method does not have the permission. Identify the class path of this method. If it is hard to identify the method, enable the Java2 security Report.

  • Configuring RAS trace by specifying com.ibm.ws.security.core.*=all=enabled, or specifying a Java

    property.java.security.debug property. Valid values for the

    java.security.debug property are:

    access

    Print all debug information including: required permission, code, stack, and code base location.

    stack

    Print debug information including: required permission, code, and stack.

    failure

    Print debug information including: required permission and code.

  • The report shows:

    Permission

    The missing permission.

    Code

    Which method has the problem.

    Stack Trace

    Where the access violation occurred.

    CodeBaseLocation

    The detail of each stack frame.

    Usually, permission and code are enough to identify the problem. The following example illustrates a report:

    Permission: 
    
    
    app_server_root/logs/server1/SystemOut_02.08.20_11.19.53.log : 
    access denied (java.io.FilePermission 
    
    
    app_server_root/logs/server1/SystemOut_02.08.20_11.19.53.log delete) 
    
    Code: 
     com.ibm.ejs.ras.RasTestHelper$7  in  
    {file:app_server_root/installedApps/app1/JrasFVTApp.ear/RasLib.jar } 
    
    Stack Trace: 
    
    java.security.AccessControlException: access denied (java.io.FilePermission 
    
    
    app_server_root/logs/server1/SystemOut_02.08.20_11.19.53.log delete ) 
            at java.security.AccessControlContext.checkPermission                               (AccessControlContext.java(Compiled Code)) 
            at java.security.AccessController.checkPermission                               (AccessController.java(Compiled Code))
            at java.lang.SecurityManager.checkPermission                               (SecurityManager.java(Compiled Code)) 
                                   . 
    Code Base Location: 
    
    com.ibm.ws.security.core.SecurityManager : 
    file:/app_server_root/plugins/com.ibm.ws.runtime_6.1.0.jar 
      ClassLoader: com.ibm.ws.bootstrap.ExtClassLoader 
      Permissions granted to CodeSource 
    (file:/app_server_root/plugins/com.ibm.ws.runtime_6.1.0.jar <no certificates>
    
      { 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission java.vendor read); 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission java.specification.version read); 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission line.separator read); 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission java.class.version read); 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission java.specification.name read); 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission java.vendor.url read); 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission java.vm.version read); 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission os.name read); 
        (java.util.PropertyPermission os.arch read); 
       } 
       ( This list continues.)
    

    Where:

    • app1 represents the name of your application.

    • app_server_root represents the installation root directory for WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment .

    • profile_root represents the location and name of a particular profile in your system.

    • profile1 or profile_name represents the name of your profile.

    • server1 or server_namerepresents the name of your application server.

• If the method is SPI, check the resources.xml file to ensure that the class path is correct.

• To confirm that all of the policy files are loaded correctly, or what permission each class path is granted, enable the trace with

  com.ibm.ws.security.policy.*=all=enabled . All loaded permissions are listed in the trace.log file. Search for the app.policy, was.policy and ra.xml files. To check the permission list for a class path, search for Effective Policy for classpath.

• If there are any syntax errors in the policy file or the ra.xml file, correct them with the policytool. Avoid editing the policy manually, because syntax errors can result.

• If a permission is listed as

  Unresolved , it does not take effect. Verify that the specified permission name is correct.

• If the class path that is specified in the resource.xml file is not correct, correct it.

• If a required permission does not exist in either the policy files or the ra.xml file, examine the application code to see if you need to add this permission. If so, add it to the proper policy file or the ra.xml file.

• If the permission is not granted outside of the specific method that is accessing this resource, modify the code needs to use a doPrivileged block.

• If this permission does exist in a policy file or a ra.xml file and the permission was loaded correctly, but the class path still does not have the permission in its list, the location of the permission might not be correct. Read Java 2 security in the information center navigation carefully to determine in which policy file or ra.xml file to specify that permission.

Tip: If the application is running with the Java Mail API, you can update the installed Enterprise Application root/META-INF/was.policy file to grant the following permissions to the application:

• permission java.io.FilePermission "${user.home}${/}.mailcap", "read";

• permission java.io.FilePermission "${user.home}${/}.mime.types", "read";

• permission java.io.FilePermission "${java.home}${/}lib${/}mailcap", "read";

• permission java.io.FilePermission "${java.home}${/}lib${/}mime.types", "read";

Error Message: CWSCJ0336E: Authentication failed for user {0} because of the following exception {1}

This error message results if the user ID that is indicated is not found in the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) user registry. To resolve this problem:

1. Verify that your user ID and password are correct.

2. Verify that the user ID exists in the registry.

3. Verify that the base distinguished name (DN) is correct.

4. Verify that the user filter is correct.

5. Verify that the bind DN and the password for the bind DN are correct. If the bind DN and password are not specified, add the missing information and retry.

6. Verify that the host name and LDAP type are correct.

Related tasks

Related reference

Access problems after enabling security

Searchable topic ID: rtrb_secprobs2