Default binding

The default binding information is defined in the ws-security.xml file and can be administered by either the administrative console or by scripting.

Certain applications can share certain binding information. This information includes truststores, keystores, and authentication methods (token validation). WebSphere Application Server provides support for default binding information. Administrators can define binding information at the server level and at the cell level, and applications can refer to this binding information.

You can define the following binding information in the ws-security.xml file:

Trust anchors (truststore)

• Trust anchors contain key store configuration information that has the root-trusted certificates. Trust anchors are used for certificate path validation of the incoming X.509-formatted security tokens.

• The Trust Anchor Name is used in the binding file (ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi and ibm-webservicesclient-bnd.xmi when Web services is running as a client) to refer to the trust anchor defined in the default binding information. The trust anchor name must be unique in the trust anchor collection.

Collection certificate store

• The collection certificate store specifies a list of untrusted, intermediate certificates and is used for certificate path validation of incoming X.509-formatted security tokens. The default provider is IBMCertPath.

• The Certificate Store Name is used in the binding file (ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi and ibm-webservicesclient-bnd.xmi when Web services is running as a client) to refer to the certificate store defined in the default binding information. The Certificate Store Name must be unique to the collection certificate store collection.

Key locators

• Key locators specify implementation of the com.ibm.wsspi.wssecurity.config.KeyLocator interface. This interface is used to retrieve keys for signature or encryption. Customer implementations can extend the key locator interface to retrieve keys using other methods. WebSphere Application Server provides implementations to retrieve a key from the key store, map an authenticated identity to a key in the key store, or retrieve a key from the signer certificate (mapping and retrieving actions are used for encrypting the response).

• The Key Locator Name is used in the binding file (ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi and ibm-webservicesclient-bnd.xmi when Web services is running as a client) to refer to the key locator defined in the default binding information. The Key Locator Name must be unique to the key locators collection in the default binding information.

Trusted ID evaluators

• Trusted ID evaluators are an implementation of the com.ibm.wsspi.wssecurity.id.TrustedIDEvaluator interface. This interface is used to make sure the identity (ID)-asserting authority is trusted. Additionally, you can extend the trusted identity evaluator to validate the trust. WebSphere Application Server provides a default implementation for validating trust based on a predefined list of identities.

• The Trusted ID Evaluator Name is used in the binding file (ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi) to refer to the trusted identity evaluator defined in the default binding information. The Trusted ID Evaluator Name must be unique to the Trusted ID Evaluator collection.

Login mappings

• Login mappings define the mapping of the authentication method to the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) login configuration. The mappings are used to authenticate the incoming security token embedded in the Web services security Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message header. The JAAS login configuration is defined in the administrative console under Security > JAAS Configuration > Application Logins.

• WebSphere Application Server defines the following authentication methods:

  BasicAuth

  Authenticates user name and password.

  Signature

  Maps the subject distinguished name (DN) in the certificate to a WebSphere Application Server credential.

  IDAssertion

  Maps the identity to a WebSphere Application Server credential.

  LTPA

  Authenticates a Lightweight Third Party Authentication (LTPA) token.

  After identity authentication, the associated credential is used in the downstream call.

• This method can be extended to authenticate custom security tokens by providing a custom JAAS login configuration and by using the com.ibm.wsspi.wssecurity.auth.module.WSSecurityMappingModule to create the principal and credential required by WebSphere Application Server.

• If LoginConfig (AuthMethod) is defined in the IBM extension deployment descriptor (ibm-webservices-ext.xmi), but there are no login mapping bindings (ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi) defined for the AuthMethod, Web services security run time uses the login mapping defined in the default binding information.

WebSphere Application Server

In the WebSphere Application Server, each server has a copy of the ws-security.xml file (default binding information for Web services security). There is no cell-level copy of the ws-security.xml file, which is only available in the WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment installation. To navigate to the server-level default binding in the administrative console, complete the following steps:

1. Click Servers > Application Servers > server1.

2. Under Additional Properties, click Web Services: Default bindings for Web Services Security.

Web services security application-level bindings and server-level default binding information

Web services security run time uses the binding information in the application Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) or Web module binding file (ibm-webservices-bnd.xmi or ibm-webservicesclient-bnd.xmi if Web services is acting as a client on the server) if the binding information is defined in the application-level binding file. For example, if key locator K1 is defined in both the application-level binding file and the default binding file (ws-security.xml), the K1 in the application-level binding file is used.

WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment

When the WebSphere Application Server is federated to a Network Deployment cell, the default binding file (ws-security.xml) of the server is added to the new cell (with other server level configuration information). If you use the cell-level default binding, the entries of the server level default binding must be removed.

There is a cell-level default binding (ws-security.xml) for Network Deployment installation. Furthermore, for Network Deployment installation server-level binding is optional. To navigate to the cell-level default binding in the administrative console, click Security > Web Services. The server-level binding is described in WebSphere Application Server.
Web services security application-level, cell-level, and server-level default binding information

The order of the default binding information is application-level binding, server-level, and cell-level default binding.

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Trust anchors
Collection certificate store
Key locator
Trusted ID evaluator
Login mappings
BasicAuth authentication method
Identity assertion authentication method
Signature authentication method
Lightweight Third Party Authentication

Default configuration for WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment
Web services: default bindings for the Web services security collection
Web Services: Client security bindings collection
Web services: Server security bindings collection
    

 

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