Configuring static policy files in Java 2 security

By configuring the static policy files, the required permission will be granted for all of the Java™ programs.

Before you begin

Java 2 security uses several policy files to determine the granted permission for each Java program.

See the topic about Java 2 security policy files for the list of available policy files that are supported by WebSphere® Application Server.

Two types of policy files are supported by WebSphere Application Server: dynamic policy files and static policy files. Static policy files provide the default permissions. Dynamic policy files provide application permissions.

Table 1. Policy Files. This table lists the policy files.
Policy file name	Description
`java.policy`	Contains default permissions for all of the Java programs on the node. This file seldom changes.
`server.policy`	Contains default permissions for all of the WebSphere Application Server programs on the node. This file is rarely updated.
`client.policy`	Contains default permissions for all of the applets and client containers on the node.

The static policy file is not a configuration file that is managed by the repository and the file replication service. Changes to this file are local and do not get replicated to the other machine.

Procedure

Identify the policy file to update.
- If the permission is required only by an application, update the dynamic policy file.
- If the permission is required only by applets and client containers, update the client.policy file. Refer to rsec_clientpolicy.html.
- If the permission is required only by WebSphere Application Server (servers, agents, managers and application servers), update the server.policy file. Refer to server.policy file permissions.
- If the permission is required by all of the Java programs running on the Java virtual machine (JVM), update the java.policy file. Refer to java.policy file permissions.
Stop and restart WebSphere Application Server.

Results

The required permission is granted for all of the Java programs that run with the restarted JVM.

Example

If Java programs on a node require permissions, the policy file needs updating. If the Java program that required the permission is not part of an enterprise application, update the static policy file. The missing permission results in the creation of the java.security.AccessControlException exception. The missing permission is listed in the exception data.

For example:

java.security.AccessControlException: access denied (java.io.FilePermission 
C:/WAS_HOME/lib/mail-impl.jar read)

For example:

java.security.AccessControlException: access denied (java.io.FilePermission 
app_server_root/lib/mail-impl.jar read)

When a Java program receives this exception and adding this permission is justified, add a permission to an adequate policy file.

For example:

grant codeBase "file:user_client_installed_location" {
  permission java.io.FilePermission 
  "C:/WAS_HOME/lib/mail-impl.jar", 
  "read";
};

For example:

grant codeBase "file:user_client_installed_location" {
  permission java.io.FilePermission 
  "app_server_root/Base/lib/mail-impl.jar", 
  "read";
};

To decide whether to add a permission, refer to Access control exception for Java 2 security.