RMI over SSL under Web Start can't find trusted certificate

Question

I have implemented RMI over SSL to get a Java EJB Client application talking to a JRun server over SSL. It works fine from the command line, but when I try to run it as a Web Start application, I get
java.security.cert.CertificateException: Couldn't find trusted certificate
(More complete stack trace below)
I am using a test certificate, not one from a bona fide CA.
I have tried putting the key store file in one of the jars used by the application, and adding:
<argument>-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=jssecacerts</argument>
and
<argument>-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=jar:http://ip/app/xxx/lib/JarWithCacs.jar!/jssecacerts</argument>
to no avail.
If I copy the jssecacerts to Web Start's jre/lib/security directory, it works fine.
I have seen other postings that say to use keytool to update the JRE used by Web Start, but that kind of defeats the purpose of Web Start: zero admin client. I can't touch each user's machine.
I have seen other posts saying to implement a more relaxed trust manager, but that doesn't seem right either.
I am using JDK 1.4.1_02b6 on Win2k. This should be irrelevant: JRun 4 sp1a.
Is there a way to specify the jssecacerts file in the jnlp file so Web Start will recognize it?
Thanks for any help,
John

Answer 1

I think I have an answer:
1) Package the truststore file in the client JAR file
2) Add code to the client to copy the truststore from the JAR file to the client hard drive
3) Add code to the client to set the truststore properties to refer to the file on the client hard drive
<<code>>
private void setupTrustStore() {
try {
// save truststore file to local disk
File homeDir = new File(System.getProperty("user.home"));
File trustStoreFile = new File(homeDir, "mytruststore");
URL url =
this.getClass().getClassLoader().getResource("mytruststore");
BufferedInputStream in =
new BufferedInputStream(url.openStream());
BufferedOutputStream out =
new BufferedOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(trustStoreFile));
while(true) {
int data = in.read();
if(data < 0) break;
out.write(data);
in.close();
out.flush();
out.close();
// set truststore properties
System.setProperty("javax.net.ssl.trustStore",
trustStoreFile.getPath());
System.setProperty("javax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword", "mypasswd");
} catch(Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}