Client-cert sample webapp doesn't work?

Question

In trying to understand how one can use client certificates with a Java webapp in the WS7, I figured I would start with the sample that comes with WS7 (in samples/java/webapps/security/client-cert). Unfortunately, the sample doesn't seem to work. I can install it just fine, and it runs, but it doesn't do what it is supposed to do. When I access the servlet from my browser, I see the message "Welcome to our Certificate secure zone." Unfortunately, it let me access this page without ever prompting me for a certificate, so it's not actually a certificate secure zone. I double-checked in the access logs to see, and sure enough index.jsp is being delivered to an unauthenticated user.
When I examine the web.xml deployment descriptor, it's not clear to me that it should work. Here's the web.xml:
<web-app>
  <display-name>Welcome to Certificate Security Zone</display-name>
  <servlet>
    <servlet-name>clientcert</servlet-name>
    <display-name>clientcert</display-name>
    <jsp-file>/index.jsp</jsp-file>
  </servlet>
  <session-config>
    <session-timeout>30</session-timeout>
  </session-config>
  <security-constraint>
    <web-resource-collection>
      <web-resource-name>clientcert security test</web-resource-name>
      <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
    </web-resource-collection>
  </security-constraint>
  <login-config>
    <auth-method>CLIENT-CERT</auth-method>
    <realm-name>certificate</realm-name>
  </login-config>
</web-app>This web.xml seems to imply that the mere presence of a login-config will secure the entire app. The servlet specification seems a bit vague on this point, but since there isn't any auth-constraint in the security-constraint, I don't think the login-config ever applies. I think the login-config only comes into play when a security-constraint requires authentication.
What am I missing in my understanding of the web.xml?
What might prevent this simple sample from working properly? Could there be some other ACL or web server setting that overrides?
Thanks,
Tom

Answer 1

If URI is not a protected resource and you want client authentication, you should use server.xml <ssl><client-auth>...</client-auth></ssl> instead of PathCheck line as I told. Value can be set to "required" or "optional".
However, if URL is a protected resource you DO NOT HAVE to add PathCheck or client-auth element in server.xml.*
After installing client-cert sample application using ant and ant deploy, here is what you have to do to make it work :
1) Add in http-listener element in instance's server.xml :
   <ssl><enabled>true</enabled></ssl>2) Make sure you have a certificate named "Server-Cert" in NSS db in <ws-install-dir>/https-<instance-name>/config or change the certificate name appropriately in server.xml.
3) To make it a protected resource, web.xml should have :
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE web-app PUBLIC '-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD Web Application 2.3//EN' 'http://java.sun.com/dtd/web-app_2_3.dtd'>
<web-app>
  <display-name>clientcert</display-name>
<servlet>
    <servlet-name>clientcert</servlet-name>
    <display-name>clientcert</display-name>
    <jsp-file>/index.jsp</jsp-file>
  </servlet>
  <session-config>
    <session-timeout>30</session-timeout>
  </session-config>
  <security-constraint>
    <web-resource-collection>
      <web-resource-name>Protected Area</web-resource-name>
      <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
      <http-method>DELETE</http-method>
      <http-method>POST</http-method>
      <http-method>GET</http-method>
      <http-method>PUT</http-method>
    </web-resource-collection>
    <auth-constraint>
      <role-name>*</role-name>
    </auth-constraint>
  </security-constraint>
  <security-constraint>
    <web-resource-collection>
      <web-resource-name>Protected Area</web-resource-name>
      <url-pattern>/roleprotected/*</url-pattern>
      <http-method>DELETE</http-method>
      <http-method>POST</http-method>
      <http-method>GET</http-method>
      <http-method>PUT</http-method>
    </web-resource-collection>
    <auth-constraint>
      <role-name>TestRoleOne</role-name>
    </auth-constraint>
  </security-constraint>
  <login-config>
    <auth-method>CLIENT-CERT</auth-method>
  </login-config>
  <security-role>
    <role-name>TestRoleOne</role-name>
  </security-role>
</web-app>4) And sun-web.xml should have :
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE sun-web-app PUBLIC "-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD Sun ONE Application Server 7.0 Servlet 2.3//EN" "http://www.sun.com/software/sunone/appserver/dtds/sun-web-app_2_3-0.dtd">
<sun-web-app>
<security-role-mapping>
   <role-name>TestRoleOne</role-name>
   <principal-name>[email protected], CN=Franzl Alpha, UID=alpha, OU=People, O=TestCentral, C=US</principal-name>
</security-role-mapping>
</sun-web-app>You will be able to access http://<host-name>:<port>/ without sending client certificate from the browser.
Now create client certificate and import this certificate in your browser.
Access from the browser, http://<host-name>:<port>/webapps-certificatebased-security/index.jsp browser should prompt for cert selection (if so configured) and the application should get certificate.
P/S I have tested it It works for me this way (without adding <ssl><client-auth> or PathCheck directive).