PI33538: SERVER SET COOKIE WARNING UPON INVOKING AN HTTP ADAPTER WHICH USES DEFAULT COOKIE POLICY RATHER THAN BEST MATCH POLICY.

IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation Interim Fix README for 6.3

APAR status

• Closed as program error.

Error description

• Since Websphere server still uses the old HTTP cookie structure
  (RFC 2109) , a warning is issued which might prevent the cookie
  from being stored into the connection cookie store.
  The current adapter implementation uses the newer RFC 2965
  Cookie policy.
  The server log will show a warning like:
  Invalid cookie header: "Set-Cookie:   < cookie content here>
  

Local fix

• A workaround is to enter the Mobile First Adapter xml file and
  modify the adapter cookie policy to:
  <connectionPolicy
    xsi:type="http:HTTPConnectionPolicyType"
    cookiePolicy="BEST_MATCH"
  ...more XML code here....
  Also see the documentation about : The elements of the HTTP
  adapter
  

Problem summary

• ****************************************************************
  * USERS AFFECTED:                                              *
  * Mofile First servers administrators who deployed HTTP        *
  * adapters with no specific cookie policy in the adapter       *
  * descriptor.                                                  *
  * In order to see active the cookie policy , you must have     *
  * access to the adapter sources.                               *
  ****************************************************************
  * PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:                                         *
  * The infratructure for HTTP invocation changed the default    *
  * cookie policy from RFC 2109 to RFC 2965.                     *
  * However, Websphere is still using the former RFC2109 which   *
  * can cause several incompatibilities .                        *
  * For example: a comma in the date value when used inside a    *
  * cookie and alike.                                            *
  * A small warning is shown in the Websphere log about invalid  *
  * Set-Cookie header value if such cases occur.                 *
  ****************************************************************
  * RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
  * A workaround to avoid the warning is to modify the adapter   *
  * sources. Modify the adapter descriptor XML file              *
  * to use specific cookie policy like this : <connectionPolicy  *
  * xsi:type="http:HTTPConnectionPolicyType"                     *
  * cookiePolicy="BEST_MATCH">                                   *
  * Best match policy will relax the parsing of the cookie value *
  * to comply with most cookies formats.                         *
  ****************************************************************
  

Problem conclusion

• The Set-Cookie header should be treated by the client side,
  nevertheless, the the server still issue a warning about it.
  No program error was seen using the server, however, the
  multiply warnings polute the Websphere log and should be
  avoided.
  

Temporary fix

• A workaround is to modify the adapter sources. Modify the
  adapter descriptor XML file
  to use specific cookie policy like this : <connectionPolicy
  xsi:type="http:HTTPConnectionPolicyType"
  cookiePolicy="BEST_MATCH">
  

Comments

APAR Information

• APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

• APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

• Fixed component name

  WL/MFPF CONSUME

• Fixed component ID

  5725I4301

Applicable component levels

• R630 PSY

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