Java SSL and keystore password in application - java

Sorry in advance if this question has been posted before. I have look around but couldn't find an answer.
I am creating a server in Java that has a SSL socket to accept clients. I have been looking around on how to create the socket and have started to add the code to my application. After looking around the find out how to allow a self-signed certificate for testing I found that I create a keystore and add the certificate to that. To use the certificate I would need to add "System.setProperty("javax.net.ssl.keyStore", "keystorename.jks")" The only problem is I have to specify the password in the code as well if I go off other developers examples.
I would like to know if I have to specify the password and if I do need to what is the security implications?
Thanks in advance,

Yes you do, and the security implication is that the password is (1) fixed by the code and (2) probably visible in the object code. The solution to (2) is ultimately physical security of the software and the host it runs on.

Related

Java Spring WS and SSLHandshakeException

I'm trying to call an Italian webservice, but I'm getting an SSLHandshakeException exception. I know this is a security trust problem and I should have a certificate to allow me to communicate using SSL. I would like to know if someone can help me to understand what should be the next steps and how can I generate a valid certificate to communicate with the webservice. Security is not my beach :)
The Italian webservice has a zip folder with a tool for developers and they have there two certificates, but I don't know what I should do with them. YOu can see here: https://sistemats1.sanita.finanze.it/portale/spese-sanitarie/documenti-e-specifiche-tecniche-strumenti-per-lo-sviluppo
Link to the Zip file: (https://sistemats1.sanita.finanze.it/portale/documents/20182/34450/kit730P_ver_20210301.zip/027086e7-385a-6071-ca86-f52077923a85)
You can see my experimental code here: https://github.com/nbentoneves/ws-spring-sts/blob/main/src/main/java/com/github/STSClient.java, feel free to clone and try it.
Note: In the development kit they have a soap project and I was able to call the webservice without needing anything.
STS Test Environment: https://invioSS730pTest.sanita.finanze.it/DocumentoSpesa730pWeb/DocumentoSpesa730pPort
Thanks,
Have a nice code time :)
You need to create a Trust Manager which does not validate certificate chains like the default ones.
Check this:
(How to solve javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException Error?)

Spy Java Secure Sockets

I would like to know if there is an easy (or hard) way to spy the secure sockets from a java applet ? (without having the source code)
The goal here is to know exactly what for informations send an (very good obfuscated) applet.
I thought i can simply compile myself a modified java version with a log function but the full source code from java is not available for security reasons...
Set up a proxy server with a security certificate that the applet accepts. Afterwards, you just have to configure your browser to use that proxy and the applet should use the same config.
See Does https prevent man in the middle attacks by proxy server? for how it works technically.
Some things you will need: A proxy than can act as a web server and which is probably reachable with the name of the real server from your browser. You will need to create a valid certificate for this combination which isn't trivial unless the applet is configured to accept certificates from untrusted sources (no CA authority will issue a certificate for, say, "google.com" so that you can feed that to your proxy).
Googling for "man in the middle attack ssl proxy" turns up many links that should be useful.
This article seems to describe an out-of-the-box solution: Understanding Man-In-The-Middle Attacks - Part 4: SSL Hijacking
It doesn't mention applets but Fiddler might fit the bill (from Capturing HTTPS traffic in the clear?)
Just set -Djavax.net.debug=all in the JVM properties. You will get all kinds of output from different layers of the network stack, including the pre-encrypted SSL traffic.
If you're talking about SSL, it wouldn't be secure if that was possible, and it is secure, so it isn't.

The danger of disabling certificate validation in Java

This question may seem like a novice, and perhaps 'stupid' question but please bear with me...
I'm still struggling to find a way to get my Java application to use a keystore located inside the JAR file, and I'm very tempted just to disable certificate validation all together using the method here. However, before I do so, I just wanted to confirm why you should not do this and whether those reasons actually apply to me.
I've heard that no certificate validation can make your application liable to "Man In The Middle" attacks (I think), but even if I am correct, I am unsure as to what these actually are so please could somebody explain. Though, if they are what I think they could be, I'm not sure whether my application ever be subject to them because, my application only uses an SSL connection to obtain data from my website, so users do not tell the application which URLs to visit - if that makes sense...
Here's, an attack scenario. Other's might want to contribute some more.
Your application accesses a URL. At some point along the way (any intermediate network hop), an attacker could position himself as a "man-in-the-middle", that is, he would pretend to be a "proxy" for your communication, being able to read everything that goes through, and even modifying it on the way: the attacker could act on behalf of the user, mislead him as to what information he gets, and basically access al data being transferred.
Enter SSL: your client receives a certificate from the server, with a valid key (Signed by a known certification authority, or present in your keystore). The server will then sign and encrypt all it sends using that key. If an attacker where to place himself in the middle, he would not be able to read the data (it's encrypted) or modify it (it's signed, and modification would break the signature). He could still block communications altogether, but that's another story.
So that's that... if you ignore your keystore, you can't verify any server side certificate, and you open the door to man-in-the-middle attacks.
Though, if they are what I think they could be, I'm not sure whether
my application ever be subject to them because, my application only
uses an SSL connection to obtain data from my website, so users do not
tell the application which URLs to visit - if that makes sense...
If you connect to a server via SSL and you don't do any authentication, effectively you are have no security.
You have no idea who is the endpoint you are talking to.
The fact that the user does not type in a URL, but the URL is a hardcoded URL to your site is irrelevant. A simple proxy that forwards the data from your client to the server can steal all your client's data since there is no kind of authentication (this is the Man in the Middle Attack).
I would suggest you put the code you are using to load the keystore so that you get help on that.
Otherwise, if you don't have any requirements on security and you don't have any sensitive data you should go for plain connection (i.e. non-SSL) so that your performance does not deteriorate due to the unecessary (in your case) SSL overhead

How can create the SSLSocket key in the code?

in java, client must use the key file to connect server.how can i init it in the code?
i want server create the key in code. What to do?
ths for u Answer
In java, client must use the key file to connect server.
No. It needs a truststore file that contains either the server's certificate or the certificates of one or more of that certificate's signers.
How can I init it in the code?
You can't. The question doesn't make sense. The idea is that you have certificate material obtained offline that gives you a reason to trust the server. Or possibly the other way around, if your server requires client authentication. In either case, creating it dynamically doesn't make any sense.
i want server create the key in code.
maybe this helps you: http://code.google.com/p/xebia-france/wiki/HowToGenerateaSelfSignedX509CertificateInJava

Java webservice (soap) client - use certificates

I am trying to connect to a webservice over ssl with a client certificate. Is there an elegant way of doing this apart from shoving things like "javax.net.ssl.keyStore" into System.properties.
Any pointers to code examples would be appreciated.
You could just install the cert into the system keystore. (Location varies across platforms, and you will need admin rights).
you might get some samples from the website for this book : http://www.manning.com/kanneganti/
See example code in my article. It shows how to dynamically provide the custom keystore to the HTTPS server as for the WS client. http://jakubneubauer.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/java-webservice-over-ssl/
Not sure if this is fully relevant, but still. This entry describes the way of generating the certificate and installing it on a local system without using the keytool. Probably you could reuse some parts of the (very simple) source code.

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