Keystore configurations for SSL

Use keystore configurations to define how the runtime for WebSphere® Application Server loads and manages keystore types for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) configurations.

By default, the java.security.Security.getAlgorithms("KeyStore") attribute does not display a predefined list of keystore types in the administrative console. Instead, WebSphere Application Server retrieves all of the KeyStore types that can be referenced by the java.security.KeyStore object, including hardware cryptographic, z/OS® platform, IBM® i platform, IBM Java™ Cryptography Extension (IBMJCE), and Java-based Certificate Management Services (CMS) provider keystores. If you specify a keystore provider in the java.security file or add it to the provider list programmatically, WebSphere Application Sever also retrieves custom keystores. The retrieval list depends upon the java.security configuration for that platform and process.

IBMJCE file-based keystores (JCEKS, JKS, and PKCS12)

A typical IBMJCE file-based keystore configuration is shown in the following sample code:

<keyStores xmi:id="KeyStore_1" name="NodeDefaultKeyStore" 
password="{xor}349dkckdd=" provider="IBMJCE"
location="${USER_INSTALL_ROOT}/config/cells/myhostNode01Cell
/nodes/myhostNode01/key.p12" type="PKCS12" fileBased="true" 
hostList="" initializeAtStartup="true" readOnly="false" 
description="Default key store for myhostNode01" usage="SSLKeys" 
managementScope="ManagementScope_1"/>

For more information about default keystore configurations, see Default chained certificate configuration in SSL.

Table 1 describes the attributes that are used in the sample code.

Table 1. keystore configurations . This table describes the keystore configurations.
Attribute name	Default	Description
xmi:id	Varies	A value that issued to reference the keystore from another area in the configuration, for example, from an SSL configuration. Make this value unique within the security.xml file.
name	For Java Secure Socket Extension (JSSE) keystore: NodeDefaultKeyStore. For JSSE truststore: NodeDefaultTrustStore.	A name that is used to identify the keystore by sight. The name can determine if the keystore is a default keystore based upon whether the name ends with DefaultKeyStore or DefaultTrustStore.
password	The default keystore password is WebAS. It is recommended that this be changed as soon as possible. See Updating default key store passwords using scripting for more information.	The password that is used to access the keystore name is also the default that is used to store keys within the keystore.
description	No default	A description of the keystore.
usage	An attribute specifying what the keystore is used for.	Valid values are: SSLKeys, KeySetKeys, RootKeys, DeletedKeys, DefaultSigners, RSATokenKeys.
provider	The default provider is IBMJCE.	The Java provider that implements the type attribute (for example, PKCS12 type). The provider can be unspecified and the first provider that implements the keystore type specified is used.
location	The default varies, but typically references a key.p12 file or a trust.p12 file in the node or cell directories of the configuration repository. These files are PKCS12 type keystores.	The keystore location reference. If the keystore is file-based, the location can reference any path in the file system of the node where the keystore is located. However, if the location is outside of the configuration repository, and you want to manage the keystore remotely from the administrative console or from the wsadamin utility, then specify the hostList attribute that contains the host name of the node where it resides.
type	The default Java crypto device keystore type is PKCS12.	This type specifies the keystore. Valid types can be those returned by the java.security.Security.getAlgorithms("KeyStore") attribute. These types include the following keystore types, and availability depends on the process and platform java.security configuration: JKS JCEKS PKCS12 PKCS11 (Java crypto device) CMSKS IBMi5OSKeyStore JCERACFKS JCECCAKS keystores (replacing JCE4758KS) - (z/OS crypto device)
fileBased	The default is true.	This option is required for default keystores. It indicates a file-system keystore so you can use a FileInputStream or FileOutputStream for loading and storing the keystore.
hostList	The hostList attribute is used to specify a remote hostname so that the keystore can be remotely managed. There are no remotely managed keystores by default. All default keystores are managed locally in the configuration repository and synchronized out to each of the nodes.	The option manages a keystore remotely. You can set the host name of a valid node for a keystore. When you use either the administrative console or the wsadmin utility to manage certificates for this keystore, an MBean call is made to the node where the keystore exists for the approved operation. You can specify multiple hosts, although synchronization of the keystore operations are not guaranteed. For example, one of the hosts that is listed might be down when a specific operation is performed. Therefore, use multiple hosts in this list.
initializeAtStartup	The default is true.	This option informs the runtime to initialize the keystore during startup. This option can be important for hardware cryptographic device acceleration.
readOnly	The default is false.	This option informs the configuration that you cannot write to this keystore. That is, certain update operations on the keystore cannot be attempted and are not allowed. An example of a read-only keystore type is JCERACFKS on the z/OS platform. This type is read-only from the WebSphere certificate management standpoint, but you can also update it using the keystore management facility for RACF®.
managementScope	The default scope is the node scope for a base Application Server environment and the cell scope for a Network Deployment environment.	This option references a particular management scope in which you can see this keystore. For example, if a hardware cryptographic device is physically located on a specific node, then create the keystore from a link to that node in the topology view under Security > Security Communications > SSL configurations. You can also use management scope to isolate a keystore reference. In some cases, you might need to allow only a specific application server to reference the keystore; the management scope is for that specific server.

CMS keystores

You can set some provider-specific attributes in CMS keystores.

If the CMSKS provider supports the createStashFileForCMS attribute, and you set the attribute to true for CMSKS keystores, WebSphere Application Server creates an .sth file in the keystore location that is referenced by the attribute. The .sth extension is appended to the keystore name. For example, if the CMSKS keystore is available for a plug-in configuration and you set createStashFileForCMS to true, the stash file that is represented in the following sample code is created in the ${USER_INSTALL_ROOT}\profiles\AppSrv01/config/cells/myhostCell01/nodes/myhostNode01/servers/webserver1/plugin-key.sth path.

<keyStores xmi:id="KeyStore_1132071489571" name="CMSKeyStore" 
password="{xor}HRYNFAtrbxEwOzpvbhw6MzM=" provider="IBMCMSProvider" 
location="${USER_INSTALL_ROOT}\profiles\AppSrv01/config/cells/myhostCell01
/nodes/myhostNode01/servers/webserver1/plugin-key.kdb" type="CMSKS"
fileBased="true" createStashFileForCMS="true"
managementScope="ManagementScope_1132071489569"/>

When you create a CMS keystore, the CMS provider is IBMi5OSJSSEProvider, and the CMS type is IBMi5OSKeyStore, as shown in the following sample code:

<keyStores xmi:id="KeyStore_1132071489571" name="CMSKeyStore" 
password="{xor}HRYNFAtrbxEwOzpvbhw6MzM=" provider="IBMi5OSJSSEProvider" 
location="${USER_INSTALL_ROOT}\profiles\AppSrv01/config/cells/myhostCell01
/nodes/myhostNode01/servers/webserver1/plugin-key.kdb" type="IBMi5OSKeyStore"
fileBased="true" createStashFileForCMS="true" 
managementScope="ManagementScope_1132071489569"/>

Note: The IBM i keystore type IBMi5OSKeyStore does not recognize or generate .sth password stash files. Instead it keeps an internal record of the password for the .kdb keystore file where it is created. If the .kdb file is moved, the password is no longer associated with the keystore. In that case, the Digital Certificate Manager (DCM) must be used to recreate the internal record of the password for the .kdb key store file. For more information, see Recreating the .kdb keystore internal password record.

Attention: When you create chained personal certificates or use the requestCACertificate task with the IBMi5OSKeyStore, the IBMi5OSJSSEProvider requires that the signer for each part of the chain be present in the keystore prior to creation of the new certificate. Therefore, you must import the signer into the IBMi5OSKeyStore keystore before creating the new certificate.

Hardware cryptographic keystores

For cryptographic device configuration, see Key management for cryptographic uses .

You can add a slot either as the custom property, com.ibm.ssl.keyStoreSlot, or as the configuration attribute, slot="0". The custom property is read before the attribute for backwards compatibility.