Network Working Group Rosanna Lee
INTERNET-DRAFT Sun Microsystems
Intended Category: Standards Track Rob Weltman
November, 2000
The Java SASL Application Program Interface
draft-weltman-java-sasl-04.txt
Status of this Memo
This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.
Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Task Force
(IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups
may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts.
Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
time. It is inappropriate to use Internet Drafts as reference
material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt
The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.
Abstract
This document defines a client-side and a server-side Java language
interface for using the Simple Authentication and Security Layer
(SASL) mechanisms for adding authentication support to connection-
based protocols. The interface promotes sharing of SASL mechanism
drivers and security layers between applications using different
protocols. It complements but does not replace [SASL], which defines
and exemplifies use of the SASL protocol in a language-independent
way.
Expires May 2001 [Page 1]
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
1. Introduction....................................................4
2. Overview of the SASL classes....................................6
2.1 Interfaces.....................................................6
2.2 Classes........................................................7
3. Overview of SASL API Use........................................7
4. The Java SASL classes...........................................8
4.1 public class Sasl..............................................9
4.1.1 createSaslClient...............................................9
4.1.2 setSaslClientFactory..........................................11
4.1.3 createSaslServer..............................................11
4.1.4 setSaslServerFactory..........................................13
4.1.5 getSaslClientFactories........................................13
4.1.6 getSaslServerFactories........................................13
4.1.7 Standard Properties...........................................13
4.2 public interface SaslClient...................................16
4.2.1 evaluateChallenge.............................................16
4.2.2 hasInitialResponse............................................16
4.2.3 isComplete....................................................16
4.2.4 getInputStream................................................17
4.2.5 getOutputStream...............................................17
4.2.6 getMechanismName..............................................18
4.2.7 getNegotiatedQop..............................................18
4.2.8 getNegotiatedStrength.........................................18
4.3 public interface SaslClientFactory............................18
4.3.1 createSaslClient..............................................19
4.3.2 getMechanismNames.............................................20
4.4 public interface SaslServer...................................20
4.4.1 evaluateResponse..............................................20
4.4.2 isComplete....................................................21
4.4.3 getInputStream................................................21
4.4.4 getOutputStream...............................................22
4.4.5 getMechanismName..............................................22
4.4.6 getAuthorizationID............................................22
4.4.7 getNegotiatedQop..............................................22
4.4.8 getNegotiatedStrength.........................................23
4.5 public interface SaslServerFactory............................23
4.5.1 createSaslServer..............................................23
4.5.2 getMechanismNames.............................................24
4.6 public class javax.security.sasl.AuthorizeCallback............24
4.6.1 Constructors..................................................25
4.6.2 getAuthenticationId...........................................25
4.6.3 getAuthorizationId............................................25
4.6.4 isAuthorized..................................................25
4.6.5 setAuthorized.................................................25
4.6.6 getAuthorizedId...............................................26
4.6.7 setAuthorizedId...............................................26
4.7 public class javax.security.sasl.RealmCallback................26
4.7.1 Constructors..................................................26
4.8 public class javax.security.sasl.RealmChoiceCallback..........27
4.8.1 Constructors..................................................27
4.9 public class SaslException extends IOException................27
4.9.1 Constructors..................................................27
Expires May 2001 [Page 2
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4.9.2 getCause......................................................28
4.9.3 printStackTrace...............................................28
5. Security Considerations........................................29
6. Copyright......................................................29
7. Bibliography...................................................30
8. Authors' Addresses.............................................30
9. Acknowledgements...............................................30
10. Changes from draft-weltman-java-sasl-03.txt....................30
11. Changes from draft-weltman-java-sasl-02.txt....................31
12. Appendix A - Sample Java LDAP program using SASL...............33
Expires May 2001 [Page 3
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
1. Introduction
See [SASL], section 3, for an introduction to and overview of the
SASL framework for authentication and negotiation of a security
layer. The following presents an outline of the concepts.
--------------- ------------------- -----------------
| Application |-----| Protocol Driver |------| MD5 |
--------------- ------------------- | -----------------
|
| -----------------
|--| Kerberos v5 |
| -----------------
|
| -----------------
|--| PKCS-11 |
| -----------------
|
|
|
| - - - - - - - - -
|--| xxxYYYxxx |
- - - - - - - - -
An application chooses a Protocol Driver specific to the protocol it
wants to use, and specifies one or more acceptable mechanisms. The
Protocol Driver controls the socket, and knows the format/packaging
of bytes sent down and received from the socket, but does not know
how to authenticate or to encrypt/ decrypt the bytes. It uses one of
the Mechanism Drivers to help it perform authentication. The Protocol
Driver examines each byte string received from the server during the
authentication in a protocol-specific way to determine if the
authentication process has been completed. If not, the byte string is
passed to the Mechanism Driver to be interpreted as a server
challenge; the Mechanism Driver returns an appropriate response,
which the Protocol Driver can encode in a protocol-specific way and
return to the server.
If the Protocol Driver concludes from the byte string received from
the server that authentication is complete, it may query the
Mechanism Driver if it considers the authentication process complete,
in order to thwart early completion messages inserted by an intruder.
On completed authentication, the Protocol Driver may receive from the
Mechanism Driver input and output streams that encapsulate the
negotiated security layer. From this point on, any data exchanged
through the socket is passed to these input and output streams.
A complication here is that some authentication methods may require
additional user/application input. That means that a Mechanism
Driver may need to call up to an application during the
authentication process. To satisfy this requirement, the application
can supply a javax.security.auth.callback.CallbackHandler instance
Expires May 2001 [Page 4
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
[JAAS] that can be used by the Mechanism Driver to prompt the user
for additional input.
Protocol Drivers are protocol-dependent, and may be built in to a
protocol package or an application. There is a generalized framework
for registering and finding Mechanism Drivers. The framework uses a
factory to produce an appropriate Mechanism Driver. The factory may
be preconfigured, explicitly specified by the caller, specified as a
list of packages by the caller, or be identified based on a list of
packages in the System properties.
The Mechanism Drivers are protocol-independent, and don't deal
directly with network connections, just byte arrays, so they can be
implemented in a generalizable way for all protocols.
The negotiated security layer is encapsulated in input and output
streams, which typically inherit a state object from the
Mechanism Driver, where parameters and resolutions reached during
authentication have been stored.
Different Mechanism Drivers may require different parameters to carry
out the authentication process. This is handled by passing a
java.util.Hashtable object as an argument to instantiation methods.
In the following discussion, 'client' refers to the client-side
protocol driver that is using the SASL mechanism while 'server'
refers to the server-side protocol driver that is using the SASL
mechanism.
Expires May 2001 [Page 5
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
In the Java SASL environment, the SaslClient interface represents the
client's view of the Mechanism Driver, while the SaslServer interface
represents the server's view.
--------------- ---------------
| Application |--+ +--| Server |
--------------- | | ---------------
| |
------------------- -------------------
| Protocol Driver |--+ <- - - - -> +--| Protocol Driver |
------------------- | | -------------------
| |
------------------- -------------------
| SaslClient | | SaslServer |
------------------- -------------------
| |
----------------- | | -----------------
| MD5 |----| |---| MD5 |
----------------- | | -----------------
| |
----------------- | | -----------------
| Kerberos v5 |----| |---| Kerberos v5 |
----------------- | | -----------------
| |
----------------- | | -----------------
| PKCS-11 |----| |---| PKCS-11 |
----------------- | | -----------------
| |
- - - - - - - - - | | - - - - - - - - -
| xxxYYYxxx |----+ +---| xxxYYYxxx |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A client using the Java SASL API may communicate with any server
implementing the SASL protocol, and a server may use the API to
process authentication requests from any client using the SASL
protocol. It is not required that both sides use the same language
bindings.
2. Overview of the SASL classes
2.1 Interfaces
SaslClient Performs SASL authentication as a
client.
SaslClientFactory An interface for creating instances of
SaslClient. It is not normally accessed
directly by a client, which will use the
Sasl static methods instead. However, a
particular environment may provide and
Expires May 2001 [Page 6
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
install a new or different
SaslClientFactory.
SaslServer Performs SASL authentication as a
server.
SaslServerFactory An interface for creating instances of
SaslServer. It is not normally accessed
directly by a server, which will use the
Sasl static methods instead. However, a
particular environment may provide and
install a new or different
SaslServerFactory.
2.2 Classes
Sasl A static class for creating SASL clients
and servers. It transparently locates
and uses any available
SaslClientFactory/SaslServerFactory
instances.
AuthorizeCallback This callback is used by SaslServer to
determine whether one entity (identified
by an authenticated authentication id)
can act on behalf of another entity
(identified by an authorization id).
RealmCallback This callback is used by SaslClient and
SaslServer to retrieve realm information.
RealmChoiceCallback This callback is used by SaslClient and
SaslServer to obtain one or more realms
given a list of realm choices.
SaslException Exception thrown on errors and failures
in the authentication process.
3. Overview of SASL API Use
An application generally uses the SASL API as follows:
- Pass a list of acceptable or known Mechanisms to
Sasl.createSaslClient. The method returns an object
implementing SaslClient on success.
- Create an object implementing the client authentication
callback interfaces, which can provide credentials when
required by the SaslClient.
Expires May 2001 [Page 7
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
- Have the SaslClient object begin the authentication process by
providing an initial server response, if the protocol supports
an initial response.
- Responses/challenges are exchanged with the server. If a
response indicates authentication has completed, SaslClient is
queried for validation, and input and output streams that
encapsulate the negotiated security layer may be obtained from
it. If not, the SaslClient is queried for an appropriate next
response to the server. This continues until authentication has
completed.
- For the rest of the session, messages to the server are written
to the output stream which encodes the data (if a security
layer has been negotiated), and messages from the server are
read from the input stream which decodes the data before
processing in the application.
A server generally uses the SASL API as follows:
- It receives a request from the client requesting authentication
for a particular SASL mechanism, accompanied by an optional
initial response.
- It processes the initial response and generates a challenge
specific for the SASL mechanism to be sent back to the client
if the response is processed successfully. If the response is
not processed successfully, it sends an error to the client and
terminates the authentication session.
- Responses/challenges are exchanged with the client. If the
server cannot successfully process a response, the server sends
an error to the client and terminates the authentication. If
the server has completed the authentication and has no more
challenges to send, it sends a success indication to the
client.
- If the authentication has completed successfully, the server
extracts the authorization ID of the client from the SaslServer
instance (if appropriate) to be used for subsequent access
control checks.
- For the rest of the session, messages to and from the client are
encoded and decoded using the input and output streams that
encapsulate the negotiated security layer (if any).
The following sections describe the SASL classes in more detail.
4. The Java SASL classes
Expires May 2001 [Page 8
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4.1 public class Sasl
A class capable of providing a SaslClient or SaslServer.
4.1.1 createSaslClient
public static SaslClient
createSaslClient(String[] mechanisms,
String authorizationID,
String protocol,
String serverName,
Hashtable props,
javax.security.auth.callback.CallbackHandler cbh)
throws SaslException
Creates a SaslClient using the parameters supplied. It returns null
if no SaslClient can be created using the parameters supplied. Throws
SaslException if it cannot create a SaslClient because of an error.
The algorithm for selection is as follows:
1. If a factory has been installed via setSaslClientFactory(),
invoke createSaslClient() on it. If the method invocation returns
a non-null SaslClient instance, return the SaslClient instance;
otherwise continue.
2. Create a list of fully qualified class names using the package
names listed in the CLIENT_PKGS
("javax.security.sasl.client.pkgs") property in props and the
class name ClientFactory. Each class name in this list identifies
a SaslClientFactory implementation. Starting with the first class
on the list, create an instance of SaslClientFactory using the
class' public no-argument constructor and invoke
createSaslClient() on it. If the method invocation returns a non-
null SaslClient instance, return it; otherwise repeat using the
next class on the list until a non-null SaslClient is produced or
the list is exhausted.
3. Repeat the previous step using the CLIENT_PKGS
("javax.security.sasl.client.pkgs") System property instead of
the property in props.
4. As per the Java 2 Standard Edition version 1.3 service provider
guidelines, check for the existence of one of more files named
META-INF/services/javax.security.sasl.SaslClientFactory in the
classpath and installed JAR files. Each file lists the fully
qualified class names of the factories (i.e. implementations of
SaslClientFactory) found in the JAR files or classpath. Construct
a merged list of class names using these files and repeat Step 2
using this list. If there is more than one of these files, the
order in which they are processed is undefined. If no non-null
SaslClient instance is produced, return null.
Parameters are:
Expires May 2001 [Page 9
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
mechanisms The non-null list of mechanism names to try. Each
is the IANA-registered name of a SASL mechanism.
(e.g. "GSSAPI", "CRAM-MD5").
authorizationID The possibly null protocol-dependent
identification to be used for authorization, e.g.
user name or distinguished name. When the SASL
authentication completes successfully, the entity
named by authorizationId is granted access. If
null, access is granted to a protocol-dependent
default (for example, in LDAP this is the DN in
the bind request).
protocol The non-null string name of the protocol for
which the authentication is being performed, e.g
"pop", "ldap".
serverName The non-null fully qualified host name of the
server to authenticate to.
props The possibly null additional configuration
properties for the session, e.g.
Sasl.POLICY_NOPLAINTEXT If the property has the value
"true", then the selected SASL
mechanism must not be
susceptible to simple plain
passive attacks.
In addition to the standard properties of this
class, other, possibly mechanism-specific,
properties can be included.
Properties not relevant to the selected mechanism
are ignored.
See Standard Properties for a list of standard
properties.
cbh The possibly null callback handler to used by the
SASL mechanisms to get further information from
the application/library to complete the
authentication. For example, a SASL mechanism
might require the authentication ID, password and
realm from the caller. The authentication ID is
requested by using a NameCallback. The password
is requested by using a PasswordCallback. The
realm is requested by using a RealmChoiceCallback
if there is a list of realms to choose from, and
by using a RealmCallback if the realm must be
entered.
Expires May 2001 [Page 10
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4.1.2 setSaslClientFactory
public static void
setSaslClientFactory(SaslClientFactory fac)
Sets the default SaslClientFactory to use. This method sets fac to be
the default factory. It can only be called with a non-null value once
per VM. If a factory has been set already, this method throws
IllegalStateException. The method throws java.lang.SecurityException
if the caller does not have the necessary permission to set the
factory.
Parameters are:
fac The possibly null factory to set. If null, it
doesn't do anything.
4.1.3 createSaslServer
public static SaslServer
createSaslServer(String mechanism,
String protocol,
String serverName,
Hashtable props,
javax.security.auth.callback.CallbackHandler cbh)
throws SaslException
This method creates a SaslServer for the specified mechanism. It
returns null if no SaslServer can be created for the specified
mechanism.
The algorithm for selection is as follows:
1. If a factory has been installed via setSaslServerFactory(),
invoke createSaslServer() on it. If the method invocation returns
a non-null SaslServer instance, return the SaslServer instance;
otherwise continue.
2. Create a list of fully qualified class names using the package
names listed in the SERVER_PKGS
("javax.security.sasl.server.pkgs") property in props and the
class name ServerFactory. Each class name in this list identifies
a SaslServerFactory implementation. Starting with the first class
on the list, create an instance of SaslServerFactory using the
class' public no-argument constructor and invoke
createSaslServer() on it. If the method invocation returns a non-
null SaslServer instance, return it; otherwise repeat using the
next class on the list until a non-null SaslServer is produced or
the list is exhausted.
3. Repeat the previous step using the SERVER_PKGS
("javax.security.sasl.server.pkgs") System property instead of
the property in props.
Expires May 2001 [Page 11
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4. As per the Java 2 Standard Edition version 1.3 service provider
guidelines, check for the existence of one of more files named
META-INF/services/javax.security.sasl.SaslServerFactory in the
classpath and installed JAR files. Each file lists the fully
qualified class names of the factories (i.e. implementations of
SaslServerFactory) found in the JAR files or classpath. Construct
a merged list of class names using these files and repeat Step 2
using this list. If there is more than one of these files, the
order in which they are processed is undefined. If no non-null
SaslServer instance is produced, return null.
5. If no non-null answer produced, return null.
Parameters are:
mechanism A non-null IANA-registered name of a SASL mechanism
(e.g. "GSSAPI", "CRAM-MD5").
protocol The non-null string name of the protocol for which
the authentication is being performed, e.g "pop",
"ldap".
serverName The non-null fully qualified host name of the
server.
props The possibly null properties to be used by the SASL
mechanism to configure the authentication exchange,
e.g.
Sasl.POLICY_NOPLAINTEXT If the property has the value
"true", then the selected SASL
mechanism must not be
susceptible to simple plain
passive attacks.
In addition to the standard properties defined in
this class, other, possibly mechanism-specific,
properties can be included.
Properties not relevant to the selected mechanism
are ignored.
See section 4.1.7 Standard Properties for a list
of standard properties.
cbh The possibly null callback handler to used by the
SASL mechanism to get further information from the
application/library to complete the authentication.
For example, a SASL mechanism might require the
authentication ID and password from the caller. The
authentication ID may be requested with a
NameCallback, and the password with a
PasswordCallback.
Expires May 2001 [Page 12
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4.1.4 setSaslServerFactory
public static void
setSaslServerFactory(SaslServerFactory fac)
Sets the default SaslServerFactory to use. This method sets fac to
be the default factory. It can only be called with a non-null value
once per VM. If a factory has been set already, this method throws
IllegalStateException. The method throws java.lang.SecurityException
if the caller does not have the necessary permission to set the
factory.
Parameters are:
fac The possibly null factory to set. If null, it
doesn't do anything.
4.1.5 getSaslClientFactories
public java.util.Enumeration
getSaslClientFactories(java.util.Hashtable props)
Gets an enumeration of known factories for producing SaslClient.
Parameters are:
props A possibly null properties that may contain the
property CLIENT_PKGS
("javax.security.sasl.client.pkgs") for
specifying a list of SaslClientFactory
implementation package names.
4.1.6 getSaslServerFactories
public java.util.Enumeration
getSaslServerFactories(java.util.Hashtable props)
Gets an enumeration of known factories for producing SaslServer.
Parameters are:
props A possibly null properties that may contain the
property SERVER_PKGS
("javax.security.sasl.server.pkgs") for
specifying a list of SaslServerFactory
implementation package names.
4.1.7 Standard Properties
Expires May 2001 [Page 13
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
There are a number of properties that may be specified in a Hashtable
parameter when creating a SASL client or server. The standard
properties are as follows (with the Sasl constant name followed by
the literal value in parentheses):
QOP ("javax.security.sasl.qop")
A comma-separated, ordered list of quality-of-protection
values that the client or server is willing to support. A
qop value is one of
"auth" authentication only
"auth-int" authentication plus integrity protection
"auth-conf" authentication plus integrity and
confidentiality protection
The order of the list specifies the preference order of
the client or server. If this property is absent, the
default qop is "auth".
STRENGTH ("javax.security.sasl.strength")
A comma-separated, ordered list of cipher strength values
that the client or server is willing to support. A
strength value is one of
"low"
"medium"
"high"
The order of the list specifies the preference order of
the client or server. An implementation SHOULD allow
configuration of the meaning of these values.
An application MAY use the Java Cryptography Extension
(JCE) with JCE-aware mechanisms to control the selection
of cipher suites that match the strength values.
If this property is absent, the default strength is
"high,medium,low".
SERVER_AUTH ("javax.security.sasl.server.authentication")
"true" if server must authenticate to client; default
"false"
MAX_BUFFER ("javax.security.sasl.maxbuffer")
Expires May 2001 [Page 14
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
Maximum size of receive buffer in bytes of
SaslClient/SaslServer; the default is defined by the
mechanism
CLIENT_PKGS ("javax.security.sasl.client.pkgs")
A |-separated list of package names to use when locating
a SaslClientFactory
SERVER_PKGS ("javax.security.sasl.server.pkgs")
A |-separated list of package names to use when locating
a SaslServerFactory
The following properties are for defining a security policy for a
server or client. Absence of the property is interpreted as "false".
POLICY_NOPLAINTEXT ("javax.security.sasl.policy.noplaintext")
"true" if mechanisms susceptible to simple
plain passive attacks (e.g. "PLAIN") are
not permitted
"false" if such mechanisms are permitted
POLICY_NOACTIVE ("javax.security.sasl.policy.noactive")
"true" if mechanisms susceptible to active
(non-dictionary) attacks are not
permitted
"false" if such mechanisms are permitted.
POLICY_NODICTIONARY ("javax.security.sasl.policy.nodictionary")
"true" if mechanisms susceptible to dictionary
attacks are not permitted
"false" if such mechanisms are permitted
POLICY_NOANONYMOUS ("javax.security.sasl.policy.noanonymous")
"true" if mechanisms that accept anonymous
login are not permitted
"false" if such mechanisms are permitted
POLICY_FORWARD_SECRECY ("javax.security.sasl.policy.forward")
"true" if mechanisms that forward secrecy
between sessions are required
"false" if such mechanisms are not required
Expires May 2001 [Page 15
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
POLICY_PASS_CREDENTIALS ("javax.security.sasl.policy.credentials")
"true" if mechanisms that pass client
credentials are required
"false" if such mechanisms are not required
4.2 public interface SaslClient
An object implementing this interface can negotiate authentication using
one of the IANA-registered mechanisms.
4.2.1 evaluateChallenge
public byte[]
evaluateChallenge(byte[] challenge)
throws SaslException
If a challenge is received from the server during the authentication
process, this method is called to prepare an appropriate next
response to submit to the server. The response is null if the
challenge accompanied a "SUCCESS" status and the challenge only
contains data for the client to update its state and no response
needs to be sent to the server. The response is a zero-length byte
array if the client is to send a response with no data. A
SaslException is thrown if an error occurred while processing the
challenge or generating a response. The challenge array may have zero
length.
Parameters are:
challenge The non-null challenge received from the server.
4.2.2 hasInitialResponse
public boolean hasInitialResponse()
Determines whether this mechanism has an optional initial response.
If true, caller should call evaluateChallenge() with an empty array
to get the initial response.
4.2.3 isComplete
public boolean
isComplete()
Expires May 2001 [Page 16
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
This method may be called at any time to determine if the
authentication process is finished. Typically, the protocol driver
will not do this until it has received something from the server
which indicates (in a protocol-specific manner) that the process has
completed.
4.2.4 getInputStream
public InputStream
getInputStream(InputStream source)
throws IOException
Retrieves an input stream for the session. It may return the same
stream that is passed in, if no processing is to be done by the
client. This method can be called only after the authentication
exchange has completed (i.e., when isComplete() returns true);
otherwise, a SaslException is thrown.
The octets from the resulting input stream must have already gone
through any integrity checking or other processing applied to the
data from "source," as negotiated through the authentication session.
From the mechanism provider's perspective, if a security layer has
been negotiated, 'source' is expected to contain SASL buffers, as
defined in RFC 2222. Four octets in network byte order in the front
of each buffer identify the length of the buffer. The provider is
responsible for performing any integrity checking or other processing
on the buffer before returning the data as a stream of octets. For
example, the protocol driver's request for a single octet from the
stream might result in an entire SASL buffer being read and processed
before that single octet can be returned.
Parameters are:
source The original input stream for reading from the server.
4.2.5 getOutputStream
public OutputStream
getOutputStream(OutputStream dest)
throws IOException
Retrieves an output stream for the session. It may return the same
stream that is passed in, if no processing is to be done by the
client. This method can be called only after the authentication
exchange has completed (i.e., when isComplete() returns true);
otherwise, a SaslException is thrown.
When writing octets to the resulting stream, if a security layer has
been negotiated, each piece of data written (by a single invocation
Expires May 2001 [Page 17
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
of write()) will be encapsulated as a SASL buffer, as defined in RFC
2222, and then written to the underlying 'dest' output stream.
From the mechanism provider's perspective, the data from each
invocation of write() should be processed separately, resulting in
the transmission of a single SASL buffer whose first four octets in
network byte order denote the length of the buffer to the underlying
'dest' output stream.
Parameters are:
dest The original output stream for writing to the server.
4.2.6 getMechanismName
public String
getMechanismName()
Reports the IANA-registered name of the mechanism used by this
client, e.g. "GSSAPI" or "CRAM-MD5".
4.2.7 getNegotiatedQop
public String getNegotiatedQop()
throws SaslException
Retrieves the negotiated quality of protection. This method can be
called only after the authentication exchange has completed (i.e.,
when isComplete()returns true); otherwise, a SaslException is thrown.
The method returns one of: "auth", "auth-int", "auth-conf", or null.
null means quality of protection is not applicable to this mechanism.
4.2.8 getNegotiatedStrength
public String getNegotiatedStrength()
throws SaslException
Retrieves the negotiated security strength. This method can be called
only after the authentication exchange has completed (i.e., when
isComplete()returns true); otherwise, a SaslException is thrown. The
method returns one of: "low", "medium", "high", or null. null means
security strength is not applicable to this mechanism.
4.3 public interface SaslClientFactory
An object implementing this interface can provide a SaslClient. The
implementation must be thread-safe and handle multiple simultaneous
requests. It must also have a public constructor that accepts no
argument.
Expires May 2001 [Page 18
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4.3.1 createSaslClient
public SaslClient
createSaslClient(String[] mechanisms,
String authorizationID,
String protocol,
String serverName,
Hashtable props,
javax.security.auth.callback.CallbackHandler cbh)
throws SaslException
Creates a SaslClient using the parameters supplied. It returns null
if no SaslClient can be created using the parameters supplied. Throws
SaslException if it cannot create a SaslClient because of an error.
Parameters are:
mechanisms The non-null list of mechanism names to try. Each
is the IANA-registered name of a SASL mechanism
(e.g. "GSSAPI", "CRAM-MD5").
authorizationID The possibly null protocol-dependent
identification to be used for authorization, e.g.
user name or distinguished name. When the SASL
authentication completes successfully, the entity
named by authorizationId is granted access. If
null, access is granted to a protocol-dependent
default (for example, in LDAP this is the DN in
the bind request).
protocol The non-null string name of the protocol for
which the authentication is being performed, e.g
"pop", "ldap".
serverName The non-null fully qualified host name of the
server to authenticate to.
props The possibly null properties to be used by the
SASL mechanisms to configure the authentication
exchange. See the Sasl class for a list of
standard properties. Other, possibly mechanism-
specific, properties can be included. Properties
not relevant to the selected mechanism are
ignored.
cbh The possibly null callback handler to used by the
SASL mechanisms to get further information from
the application/library to complete the
authentication. For example, a SASL mechanism
might require the authentication ID, password and
Expires May 2001 [Page 19
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
realm from the caller. The authentication ID is
requested by using a NameCallback. The password
is requested by using a PasswordCallback. The
realm is requested by using a RealmChoiceCallback
if there is a list of realms to choose from, and
by using a RealmCallback if the realm must be
entered.
4.3.2 getMechanismNames
public String[]
getMechanismNames(Hashtable props)
Returns a non-null array of names of mechanisms supported by this
factory that match the specified mechanism selection policies.
Parameters are:
props The possibly null properties to specify the
security policy of the SASL mechanisms. For
example, if props contains the
Sasl.POLICY_NOPLAINTEXT property with the value
"true", then the factory must not return any SASL
mechanisms that are susceptible to simple plain
passive attacks. See the Sasl class for a
complete list of policy properties. Non-policy
related properties, if present in props, are
ignored.
4.4 public interface SaslServer
An object implementing this interface can negotiate authentication using
one of the IANA-registered mechanisms.
4.4.1 evaluateResponse
public byte[]
evaluateResponse(byte[] response)
throws SaslException
If a response is received from the client during the authentication
process, this method is called to prepare an appropriate next
challenge to submit to the client. The challenge is null if the
authentication has succeeded and no more challenge data is to be sent
to the client. It is non-null if the authentication must be continued
by sending a challenge to the client, or if the authentication has
succeeded but challenge data needs to be processed by the client. A
SaslException is thrown if an error occurred while processing the
response or generating a challenge. isComplete() should be called
Expires May 2001 [Page 20
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
after each call to evaluateResponse(),to determine if any further
response is needed from the client. The protocol driver will send an
indication (in a protocol-specific manner) as to whether the
authentication has succeeded, failed, or should be continued, and any
accompanying challenge data.
Parameters are:
response Non-null response received from client.
4.4.2 isComplete
public boolean
isComplete()
This method may be called at any time to determine if the
authentication process is finished. This method is typically called
after each invocation of evaluateResponse() to determine whether the
authentication has completed successfully or should be continued.
4.4.3 getInputStream
public InputStream
getInputStream(InputStream source)
throws IOException
Retrieves an input stream for the session. It may return the same
stream that is passed in, if no processing is to be done by the
server. This method can be called only after the authentication
exchange has completed (i.e., when isComplete() returns true);
otherwise, a SaslException is thrown.
The octets from the resulting input stream must have already gone
through any integrity checking or other processing applied to the
data from "source," as negotiated through the authentication session.
From the mechanism provider's perspective, if a security layer has
been negotiated, 'source' is expected to contain SASL buffers, as
defined in RFC 2222. Four octets in network byte order in the front
of each buffer identify the length of the buffer. The provider is
responsible for performing any integrity checking or other processing
on the buffer before returning the data as a stream of octets. For
example, the protocol driver's request for a single octet from the
stream might result in an entire SASL buffer being read and processed
before that single octet can be returned.
Parameters are:
source The original input stream for reading from the client.
Expires May 2001 [Page 21
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4.4.4 getOutputStream
public OutputStream
getOutputStream(OutputStream dest)
throws IOException
Retrieves an output stream for the session. It may return the same
stream that is passed in, if no processing is to be done by the
server. This method can be called only after the authentication
exchange has completed (i.e., when isComplete() returns true);
otherwise, a SaslException is thrown.
When writing octets to the resulting stream, if a security layer has
been negotiated, each piece of data written (by a single invocation
of write()) will be encapsulated as a SASL buffer, as defined in RFC
2222, and then written to the underlying 'dest' output stream.
From the mechanism provider's perspective, the data from each
invocation of write() should be processed separately, resulting in
the transmission of a single SASL buffer whose first four octets in
network byte order denote the length of the buffer to the underlying
'dest' output stream.
Parameters are:
dest The original output stream for writing to the client.
4.4.5 getMechanismName
public String
getMechanismName()
Returns the non-null IANA-registered name of the mechanism used by
this server, e.g. "GSSAPI" or "CRAM-MD5".
4.4.6 getAuthorizationID
public String
getAuthorizationID() throws SaslException
Reports the authorization ID in effect for the client of this
session. If null, a protocol-dependent default is assumed. Can only
be called if isComplete() returns true; throws SaslException if
called before authentication completes.
4.4.7 getNegotiatedQop
public String getNegotiatedQop()
throws SaslException
Expires May 2001 [Page 22
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
Retrieves the negotiated quality of protection. This method can be
called only after the authentication exchange has completed (i.e.,
when isComplete()returns true); otherwise, a SaslException is thrown.
The method returns one of: "auth", "auth-int", "auth-conf", or null.
null means quality of protection is not applicable to this mechanism.
4.4.8 getNegotiatedStrength
public String getNegotiatedStrength()
throws SaslException
Retrieves the negotiated security strength. This method can be called
only after the authentication exchange has completed (i.e., when
isComplete()returns true); otherwise, a SaslException is thrown. The
method returns one of: "low", "medium", "high", or null. null means
security strength is not applicable to this mechanism.
4.5 public interface SaslServerFactory
An object implementing this interface can provide a SaslServer. The
mplementation must be thread-safe and handle multiple simultaneous
requests. It must also have a public constructor that accepts no
argument.
4.5.1 createSaslServer
public SaslServer
createSaslServer(String mechanism,
String protocol,
String serverName,
Hashtable props,
javax.security.auth.callback.CallbackHandler cbh)
throws SaslException
Creates a SaslServer using the mechanism supplied. It returns null if
no SaslServer can be created using the parameters supplied. Throws
SaslException if it cannot create a SaslServer because of an error.
Returns a possibly null SaslServer which supports the specified
mechanism. If null, this factory cannot produce a SaslServer for the
specified mechanism.
Parameters are:
mechanism The non-null IANA-registered name of a SASL
mechanism (e.g. "GSSAPI", "CRAM-MD5").
Expires May 2001 [Page 23
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
protocol The non-null string name of the protocol for which
the authentication is being performed, e.g "pop",
"ldap".
serverName The non-null fully qualified host name of the
server.
props The possibly null properties to be used by the SASL
mechanisms to configure the authentication
exchange. See the Sasl class for a list of standard
properties. Other, possibly mechanism-specific,
properties can be included. Properties not relevant
to the selected mechanism are ignored.
cbh The possibly null callback handler to used by the
SASL mechanisms to get further information from the
application/library to complete the authentication.
For example, a SASL mechanism might require the
authentication ID, password and realm from the
caller. The authentication ID is requested by using
a NameCallback. The password is requested by using
a PasswordCallback. The realm is requested by using
a RealmChoiceCallback if there is a list of realms
to choose from, and by using a RealmCallback if the
realm must be entered.
4.5.2 getMechanismNames
public String[]
getMechanismNames(Hashtable props)
Returns a non-null array of names of mechanisms supported by this
factory that match the specified mechanism selection policies.
Parameters are:
props The possibly null properties to specify the
security policy of the SASL mechanisms. For
example, if props contains the
Sasl.POLICY_NOPLAINTEXT property with the value
"true", then the factory must not return any SASL
mechanisms that are susceptible to simple plain
passive attacks. See the Sasl class for a
complete list of policy properties. Non-policy
related properties, if present in props, are
ignored.
4.6 public class javax.security.sasl.AuthorizeCallback
implements javax.security.auth.callback.Callback
Expires May 2001 [Page 24
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
This callback is used by SaslServer to determine whether one entity
(identified by an authenticated authentication id) can act on behalf of
another entity (identified by an authorization id).
4.6.1 Constructors
public AuthorizeCallback(String authnId,
String authzId)
Parameters are :
authnId The authentication id
authzId The authorization id
4.6.2 getAuthenticationId
public String getAuthenticationId()
Returns the authentication id to check.
4.6.3 getAuthorizationId
public String getAuthorizationId()
Returns the authorization id to check.
4.6.4 isAuthorized
public boolean isAuthorized()
Returns true if authorization is allowed, false otherwise.
4.6.5 setAuthorized
public void setAuthorized(boolean ok)
Sets whether authorization is allowed or not.
Parameters are:
ok true if authorization is to be allowed, false
otherwise
Expires May 2001 [Page 25
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4.6.6 getAuthorizedId
public String getAuthorizedId()
Returns the id of the authorized user. If null, this means the
authorization failed.
4.6.7 setAuthorizedId
public void setAuthorizedId(String id)
Sets the id of the authorized entity. The method is called by the
handler only if the id is different from that returned by
getAuthorizationId(). For example, the id might need to be
canonicalized for the environment in which it will be used.
Parameters are:
id The id of the authorized user
4.7 public class javax.security.sasl.RealmCallback
extends javax.security.auth.callback.TextInputCallback
This callback is used by SaslClient and SaslServer to retrieve realm
information.
4.7.1 Constructors
public RealmCallback (String prompt)
Constructs a RealmCallback with a prompt.
public RealmCallback (String prompt, String defaultRealm)
Constructs a RealmCallback with a prompt and a default realm.
IllegalArgumentException is thrown if prompt is null or the empty
string, or if defaultRealm is empty or null.
Parameters are :
prompt The non-null prompt to use to request the realm
information
defaultRealm The non-null default realm to use
Expires May 2001 [Page 26
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
4.8 public class javax.security.sasl.RealmChoiceCallback
extends javax.security.auth.callback.ChoiceCallback
This callback is used by SaslClient and SaslServer to obtain one or
more realms given a list of realm choices.
4.8.1 Constructors
public RealmChoiceCallback (String prompt,
String[]choices,
int defaultChoice,
boolean multipleSelectionsAllowed)
Constructs a RealmChoiceCallback with a prompt, a list of choices and
a default choice.
IllegalArgumentException is thrown if prompt is null or the empty
string, or if defaultRealm is empty or null.
Parameters are :
prompt The non-null prompt to use to request the realm
choices The non-null list of realms to choose from
defaultChoice The choice to use as the default choice when the
list of choices is displayed. It is as an index
into the choices array.
multipleSelectionsAllowed Specifies whether or not multiple
selections can be made from the list of choices.
4.9 public class SaslException extends IOException
Exception thrown on errors and failures in authentication.
4.9.1 Constructors
public SaslException()
Constructs a new instance of SaslException. The root exception and
the detailed message are null.
public SaslException(String message)
Expires May 2001 [Page 27
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
Constructs a default exception with a detailed message and no root
exception.
public SaslException(String messag,
Throwable ex)
Constructs a new instance of SaslException with a detailed message
and a root exception. For example, a SaslException might result from
a problem with the callback handler, which might throw a
NoSuchCallbackException if it does not support the requested
callback, or throw an IOException if it had problems obtaining data
for the callback. The SaslException's root exception would then be
the exception thrown by the callback handler.
Parameters are:
message Possibly null additional detail about the
exception.
ex A possibly null root exception that caused this
exception.
4.9.2 getCause
public Throwable
getCause()
Returns the possibly null root exception that caused this exception.
4.9.3 printStackTrace
public void
printStackTrace()
Prints this exception's stack trace to System.err. If this exception
has a root exception, the stack trace of the root exception is also
printed to System.err.
public void
printStackTrace(PrintStream ps)
Prints this exception's stack trace to a print stream. If this
exception has a root exception, the stack trace of the root exception
is also printed to the print stream.
public void
printStackTrace(PrintWriter pw)
Expires May 2001 [Page 28
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
Prints this exception's stack trace to a print writer. If this
exception has a root exception, the stack trace of the root exception
is also printed to the print writer.
Parameters are:
ps The non-null print stream to which to print.
pw The non-null print writer to which to print.
5. Security Considerations
When SASL authentication is performed over unsecured connections, it
is possible for an active attacker to spoof the server's protocol-
specific indication that authentication is complete. Clients should
protect against this attack by verifying the completion of
authentication with the mechanism driver by calling the driver's
isComplete() method.
Additional security considerations are discussed in [SASL].
6. Copyright
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved.
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
English.
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Expires May 2001 [Page 29
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
7. Bibliography
[JAAS] Java Software, Sun Microsystems, Inc., "Java Authentication
and Authorization Service, "http://java.sun.com/products/jaas",
Jan 2000.
[SASL] J. Myers, "Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL)",
RFC 2222, October 1997
8. Authors' Addresses
Rob Weltman
+1 650 949-5279
robw@worldspot.com
Rosanna Lee
Sun Microsystems
Mail Stop UCUP02-206
901 San Antonio Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
USA
Email: rosanna.lee@eng.sun.com
9. Acknowledgements
Rob Earhart, then of Carnegie Mellon University, was a coauthor of an
earlier draft.
Scott Seligman of Sun Microsystems, Inc. contributed to the
architecture and API proposed in this document.
Joe Salowey of WRQ, Anthony J. Nadalin of IBM, Bob Naugle of
Bluestone, and Timothy Martin of Carnegie Mellon University
contributed to the contents of this revision of the draft through
participation in the expert group for Java Specification Request 28 -
http://java.sun.com/aboutJava/communityprocess/jsr/jsr_028_sasl.html.
10. Changes from draft-weltman-java-sasl-03.txt
Sasl
Added getClientFactories() and getServerFactories().
Updated the list of standard properties.
Added the use of the J2SE version 1.3 service provider guidelines for
locating SaslClientFactory and SaslServerFactory implementations.
SaslClient
Added getNegotiatedQop() and getNegotiatedStrength()
Expires May 2001 [Page 30
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
SaslClientFactory and SaslServerFactory
getMechanismNames() takes a properties Hashtable as argument.
SaslServer
Added getNegotiatedQop() and getNegotiatedStrength()
AuthorizeCallback
New class to allow SaslServer to determine if an identity may be
authorized as another identity.
RealmCallback and RealmChoiceCallback
New classes for obtaining realm information.
SaslException
getRootException changed to getCause, in anticipation of a new
standard Java API for nested exceptions. Also, printStackTrace prints
both the current and the nested exception.
11. Changes from draft-weltman-java-sasl-02.txt
SecurityLayer
The SecurityLayer interface was removed.
SaslClient
createInitialResponse() was removed. evaluateChallenge() accepts an
empty challenge and can return an initial response.
hasInitialResponse() was added to determine if the mechanism allows
for an initial client response.
SaslClient and SaslServer
getSecurityLayer() was replaced with getInputStream() and
getOutputStream().
Package names are |-delimited, not space-delimited, in the pkgs
properties.
Expires May 2001 [Page 31
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
Expires May 2001 [Page 32
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
12. Appendix A - Sample Java LDAP program using SASL
/****************************************************************
It might look like this in LDAP. The Protocol Driver is
implemented as part of the authenticate method of
LDAPConnection.
****************************************************************/
public void authenticate( String dn,
String[] mechs,
Hashtable props,
CallbackHandler cbh )
throws SaslException {
// Create SASL client to use for authentication
SaslClient saslClnt = Sasl.createSaslClient(
mechs, dn, "ldap", getHost(), props, cbh);
if (saslClnt == null) {
throw new SaslException("SASL client not available");
}
String mechName = saslClnt.getMechanismName();
// Get initial response, if any
byte[] response = (saslClnt.hasInitialResponse() ?
saslClnt.evaluateChallenge(new byte[0]) :
null);
// Create a bind request message, including the initial
// response (if any), and send it off
writeRequest( new LDAPSASLBindRequest( dn, mechName,
response ) );
// Get the server challenge
LDAPSASLBindResponse msg =
(LDAPSASLBindResponse)readResponse();
// Authentication done?
while (!saslClnt.isComplete() &&
(msg.getStatus() == LDAP_SASL_BIND_IN_PROGRESS ||
msg.getStatus() == LDAP_SUCCESS)) {
// No, process challenge to get an appropriate next
// response
byte[] challenge = msg.getChallenge();
response = saslClnt.evaluateChallenge( challenge );
// May be a success message with no further response
if ( msg.getStatus() == LDAP_SUCCESS) {
if ( response != null ) {
// Protocol error; supposed to be done already
Expires May 2001 [Page 33
JAVA SASL API November, 2000
throw new SaslException("Protocol error in " +
"SASL session");
}
break; // done
}
// Wrap the response in another bind request and send
// it off
writeRequest( new LDAPSASLBindRequest( dn, mechName,
response ) );
msg = (LDAPSASLBindResponse)readResponse();
}
// Make sure authentication REALLY is complete
if ( !saslClnt.isComplete() ) {
// Authentication session hijacked!
throw new SaslException( "SASL session hijacked!" );
}
// Get input and output stream processes, if any
InputStream is = saslClnt.getInputStream(getInputStream());
OutputStream os =
saslClnt.getOutputStream(getOutputStream());
}
Expires May 2001 [Page 34