Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) configurations contain attributes that enable you to control the behavior of both the client and the server SSL endpoints. You can assign SSL configurations to have specific management scopes. The scope that an SSL configuration inherits depends upon whether you create it using a cell, node, server, or endpoint link in the configuration topology.
When you create an SSL configuration, you can set the following SSL connection attributes:
. You can view an SSL configuration at the level it was created and in the inherited scope below that point in the topology. If you want the entire cell to view an SSL configuration, you must create the configuration at the cell level in the topology.
SSL configuration in the security.xml file
<repertoire xmi:id="SSLConfig_1" alias="NodeDefaultSSLSettings"
managementScope="ManagementScope_1" type="JSSE">
<setting xmi:id="SecureSocketLayer_1" clientAuthentication="false"
clientAuthenticationSupported="false" securityLevel="HIGH" enabledCiphers=""
jsseProvider="IBMJSSE2" sslProtocol="SSL_TLS" keyStore="KeyStore_1"
trustStore="KeyStore_2" trustManager="TrustManager_1" keyManager="KeyManager_1"
clientKeyAlias="default" serverKeyAlias="default"/>
</repertoire>
The SSL configuration attributes from
the previous code sample are described in Table 1. security.xml attribute | Description | Default | Associated SSL property |
---|---|---|---|
xmi:id | The xml:id attribute represents the unique identifier for this XML entry and determines how the SSL configuration is linked to other XML objects, such as SSLConfigGroup. This system-defined value must be unique. | The administrative configuration service defines the default value. | None. This value is used only for XML associations. |
alias | The alias attribute defines the name of the SSL configuration. Direct selection uses the alias attribute and the node is not prefixed to the alias. Rather, the management scope takes care of ensuring that the name is unique within the scope. | The default is CellDefaultSSLSettings. |
com.ibm.ssl.alias |
managementScope | The managementScope attribute defines the management scope for the SSL configuration and determines the visibility of the SSL configuration at runtime. | The default scope is the cell. |
The managementScope attribute is not mapped to an SSL property. However, it confirms whether or not the SSL configuration is associated with a process. |
type | The type attribute defines the Java Secure Socket Extension (JSSE) or System
Secure Sockets Layer (SSSL) configuration option. JSSE is the SSL
configuration type for most secure communications within WebSphere Application Server.
|
The default is JSSE. | com.ibm.ssl.sslType |
clientAuthentication | The clientAuthentication attribute determines whether SSL client authentication is required. | The default is false. | com.ibm.ssl.clientAuthentication |
clientAuthenticationSupported | The clientAuthenticationSupported attribute
determines whether SSL client authentication is supported. The client
does not have to supply a client certificate if it does not have a
client certificate. Attention:
When you set the
clientAuthentication attribute to true, you override
the value that is set for the clientAuthenticationSupported attribute. |
The default is false. | com.ibm.ssl.client.AuthenticationSupported |
securityLevel | The securityLevel attribute determines the cipher suite group. Valid values include STRONG (128-bit ciphers), MEDIUM (40-bit ciphers), WEAK (for all ciphers without encryption), and CUSTOM (if the cipher suite group is customized. When you set the enabledCiphers attribute with a specific list of ciphers, the system ignores this attribute. | The default is STRONG. | com.ibm.ssl.securityLevel |
enabledCiphers | You can set the enabledCiphers attribute to specify a unique list of cipher suites. Separate each cipher suite in the list with a space. | The default is the securityLevel attribute for cipher suite selection. | com.ibm.ssl.enabledCipherSuites |
jsseProvider | The jsseProvider attribute defines a specific JSSE provider. | The default is IBMJSSE2. | com.ibm.ssl.contextProvider |
sslProtocol | The sslProtocol attribute defines the SSL handshake
protocol. Valid options include:
The listSSLProtocols command provides more information about which protocol are valid in particular configurations, such as FIPS 140-2 or SP800-131. |
The default is SSL_TLS. | com.ibm.ssl.protocol |
keyStore | The keyStore attribute defines the keystore and attributes of the keyStore instance that the SSL configuration uses for key selection. | The default is CellDefaultKeyStore. |
For more information, see Keystore configurations. |
trustStore | The trustStore attribute defines the key store that the SSL configuration uses for certificate signing verification. | The default is CellDefaultTrustStore. |
A trustStore is a logical JSSE term. It signifies a key store that contains signer certificates. Signer certificates validate certificates that are sent to WebSphere Application Server during an SSL handshake. |
keyManager | The keyManager attribute defines the key manager that WebSphere Application Server uses to select keys from a key store. A JSSE key manager controls the javax.net.ssl.X509KeyManager interface. A custom key manager controls the javax.net.ssl.X509KeyManager and the com.ibm.wsspi.ssl.KeyManagerExtendedInfo interfaces. The com.ibm.wsspi.ssl.KeyManagerExtendedInfo interface provides more information from WebSphere Application Server. | The default is IbmX509. | com.ibm.ssl.keyManager defines a well-known key manager and accepts the algorithm and algorithm|provider formats, for example IbmX509 and IbmX509|IBMJSSE2. com.ibm.ssl.customKeyManager defines a custom key manager and takes precedence over the other keyManager properties. This class must implement javax.net.ssl.X509KeyManager and can implement com.ibm.wsspi.ssl.KeyManagerExtendedInfo. For more information, see csec_sslx509certIDkeyman.html |
trustManager | The trustManager determines which trust manager or list of trust managers to use for determining whether to trust the peer side of the connection. A JSSE trust manager implements the javax.net.ssl.X509TrustManager interface. A custom trust manager might also implement com.ibm.wsspi.ssl.TrustManagerExtendedInfo interface to get more information from the WebSphere Application Server environment. | The default is IbmPKIX, which can be configured for certificate revocation list (CRL) verification when the certificate contains a CRL distribution point. The other option is IbmX509. | com.ibm.ssl.trustManager defines a well-known trust manager, which is required for most handshake situations. com.ibm.ssl.trustManager performs certificate expiration checking and signature validation. You can define com.ibm.ssl.customTrustManagers with additional custom trust managers that are called during an SSL handshake. Separate additional trust managers with the vertical bar (|) character. For more information, see csec_sslx509certtrustdecisions.html |
Client SSL configurations are managed using the ssl.client.props properties file. The ssl.client.props file is located in the ${USER_INSTALL_ROOT}/properties directory for each profile. For more information about configuring this file, see the ssl.client.props client configuration file. Specifying any javax.net.ssl system properties will override the corresponding property in the ssl.client.props file.