Configure server.policy files

 

Overview

Java 2 security uses several policy files to determine the granted permission for each Java program. See Java 2 security policy files for the list of available policy files supported by WebSphere Application Server V5. The server.policy file is a default policy file shared by all of the WebSphere servers on a node. The server.policy file is not a configuration file managed by the repository and the file replication service. Changes to this file are local and do not replicate to the other machine.

1. If the default permissions for a server (the union of the permissions defined in the java.policy file and the server.policy file) are enough, no action is required. The default server policy is picked up automatically. If a specific change is required to some of the server programs on a node, update the server.policy file with the Policy Tool. Refer to the Using PolicyTool to edit policy files article to edit policy files. Changes to the server.policy file are local for the node. Syntax errors in the policy files cause the application server to fail. Edit these policy files carefully.

 

Results

An updated server.policy file is applied to all the server programs on the local node. Restart the servers for the updates to take effect.

 

Example

If you want to add permissions to an application, use the app.policy file and the was.policy file.

server.policyinstall_root/properties/server.policy

// Allow to use sun tools
grant codeBase "file:${java.home}/../lib/tools.jar" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// WebSphere system classes
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/lib/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/classes/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

// Allow the WebSphere deploy tool all permissions
grant codeBase "file:${was.install.root}/deploytool/-" {
  permission java.security.AllPermission;
};

If some server programs on a node require permissions that are not defined as defaults in the server.policy file and the server.policy file, update the server.policy file. The missing permission causes the exception, java.security.AccessControlException. The missing permission is listed in the exception data, for example:

java.security.AccessControlException: access denied (java.io.FilePermission 
C:\WebSphere\AppServer\java\jre\lib\ext\mail.jar read)

The previous two lines are one continuous line.

When a Java program receives this exception and adding this permission is justified, add a permission to the server.policy file, for example:

grant codeBase "file:<user client installed location>" {   
permission java.io.FilePermission 
"C:\WebSphere\AppServer\java\jre\lib\ext\mail.jar", "read"; };

To decide whether to add a permission, refer to AccessControlException.

 

What to do next

Restart all of the Java processes for the updated server.policy file to take effect.

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Java 2 security policy files
AccessControlException

Migrating security configurations from previous releases
Configuring app.policy files
Configuring client.policy files
Configuring filter.policy files
Configuring java.policy files
Using PolicyTool to edit policy files
    

 

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