Fix (APAR): PK62468 Status: Fix Release: 6.1.0.17,6.1.0.15,6.1.0.11 Operating System: AIX,HP-UX,i5/OS,Linux,Linux pSeries,Linux zSeries,OS/400,Solaris,Windows Supersedes Fixes: CMVC Defect: xxxxxx Byte size of APAR: 90696 Date: 2008-04-24 Abstract: WebSphere Application Server fails to start if some of the LDAP attributes are missing Description/symptom of problem: PK62468 resolves the following problem: ERROR DESCRIPTION: In WebSphere Application Server version 6.1 when setting LDAP config values in the adminconsole a series of actions will cause groupMemberIdMap to be removed from the security.xml file. This will cause a null pointer exception during server startup. In the adming console, clicking Save then emptying the entry for Group member ID Map causes a removal of the groupMemberIdMap attribute from the security.xml LDAP entry. The results are: during startup you will receive the following error: Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException at java.util.Hashtable.put(Hashtable.java:632) at com.ibm.ws.security.core.SecurityConfig.setLDAPProperties(Securi tyConfig.java:1887) at com.ibm.ws.security.core.SecurityConfig.setRegistry(SecurityConf ig.java:2793) at com.ibm.ws.security.core.SecurityConfig.setValues(SecurityConfig .java:1124) at com.ibm.ws.security.core.distSecurityComponentImpl.initializeSec urityConfig(distSecurityComponentImpl.java:802) at com.ibm.ws.security.core.distSecurityComponentImpl.initialize(di stSecurityComponentImpl.java:236) A java.lang.NullPointerException should not be thrown. LOCAL FIX: Although not recommended; manually adding the groupMemberIdMap="" missing entry and restarting the server will allow the server to start without the java.lang.NullPointerExcep tion PROBLEM SUMMARY USERS AFFECTED: Users of WebSphere Application Server with Standalone Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Registry PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: WebSphere Application Server fails to start if some of the LDAP attributes are missing RECOMMENDATION: None There is not a null object check prior to inserting a property in the LDAP User registry while constructing the properties object. As a result, a server fails to start due to NullPointerException. PROBLEM CONCLUSION: With this fix, the null object check is made prior to inserting a property. The fix for this APAR is currently targeted for inclusion in fixpack 6.1.0.19. Please refer to the Recommended Updates page for delivery information: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&uid=swg27004980 Directions to apply fix: NOTE: Choose the: 1) Release the fix applies to 2) The Editions that apply 3) Delete the Editions & Methods that do not apply and this Note Fix applies to Editions: Release 6.1 _X_ Application Server (Express or BASE) _X_ Network Deployment (ND) __ WebSphere Business Integration Server Foundation (WBISF) __ Edge Components __ Developer __ Extended Deployment (XD) Install Fix to: Method: __ Application Server Nodes __ Deployment Manager Nodes _X_ Both NOTE: The user must: * Have Administrative rights in Windows, or be the Actual Root User in a UNIX environments. * Logged in with the same authority level when unpacking a fix, fix pack or refresh pack. * Be at V6.0.2.2 or newer of the Update Installer. This can be checked by reviewing the level of the Update Installer in file /updateinstaller/version.txt. The Update Installer can be downloaded from the following link: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&uid=swg21205991 For detailed instructions to Extract the Update Installer see the following Technote: http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&uid=swg21205400 1) Copy PKxxxxx.pak file directly to the maintenance directory 6.1.0.11-WS-WAS-IFPK62468.pak - for WebSphere Application Server version 6.1.0.11 without Feature Packs. 6.1.0.15-WS-WAS-IFPK62468.pak - for WebSphere Application Server version 6.1.0.15 without Feature Packs. 6.1.0.15-WS-WASFeature-IFPK62468.pak - for WebSphere Application Server version 6.1.0.15 with Feature Packs. 6.1.0.17-WS-WAS-IFPK62468.pak - for WebSphere Application Server version 6.1.0.17 without Feature Packs. 6.1.0.17-WS-WASFeature-IFPK62468.pak - for WebSphere Application Server version 6.1.0.17 with Feature Packs. 2) Shutdown WebSphere Manually execute setupCmdLine.bat in Windows or . ./setupCmdLine.sh in Unix from the WebSphere instance that maintenance is being applied to. 3) Launch Update Installer 4) Enter the installation location of the WebSphere product you want to update. 5) Select the "Install maintenance package" operation. 6) Enter the file name of the maintenance package to install (PKxxxxx.pak file which was copied in the maintenance directory). 7) Install the maintenance package. 8) Restart WebSphere Directions to remove fix: NOTE: * The user must have Administrative rights in Windows, or be the Actual Root User in a UNIX environments. * FIXES MUST BE REMOVED IN THE ORDER THEY WERE APPLIED * DO NOT REMOVE A FIX UNLESS ALL FIXES APPLIED AFTER IT HAVE FIRST BEEN REMOVED * YOU MAY REAPPLY ANY REMOVED FIX Example: If your system has fix1, fix2, and fix3 applied in that order and fix2 is to be removed, fix3 must be removed first, fix2 removed, and fix3 re-applied. 1) Shutdown WebSphere Manually execute setupCmdLine.bat in Windows or . ./setupCmdLine.sh in Unix from the WebSphere instance that uninstall is being run against. 2) Start Update Installer 3) Enter the installation location of the WebSphere product you want to remove the fix. 4) Select "Uninstall maintenance package" operation. 5) Enter the file name of the maintenance package to uninstall (PKxxxxx.pak). 6) UnInstall maintenance package. 7) Restart WebSphere Directions to re-apply fix: 1) Shutdown WebSphere. 2) Follow the Fix instructions to apply the fix. 3) Restart WebSphere. Additional Information: