Note: This Java plug-in guide describes features released prior to the Java SE 6 update 10 release. See Java Rich Internet Applications Development and Deployment for the latest information.
This chapter covers the following topics:
RSA-signed applets are supported to make deployment of signed applets easier. However, signing applets through RSA is still difficult for most novice applet developers and prevents them from taking full advantage of this Java Plug-in feature. This document provides step-by-step instructions for signing applets using RSA certificates, allowing novice applet developers to sign their applets without having to wade through the many complex security issues involved.
Signing applets requires the following :
Java Plug-in supports the format of the following tools for signing applets using RSA:
jarsigner—Signing tool shipped as part of the Java
SDKsigntool—Signing tool provided by Netscape for
signing applets in Navigator/Communicator. For more details on the
sign tool and downloading it read the page at http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/nss/tools.RSA certificates may be purchased from a Certificate Authority (CA) that supports RSA, such as VeriSign and Thawte. Some CAs, such as VeriSign, implement different protocols for issuing certificates, depending on the particular signing tool you are using.
Jarsigner is known to work with VeriSign and Thawte certificates and may work with Certificate Authorties. To use Jarsigner to sign applets using RSA certificates, obtain the Sun Java Signing certificate from VeriSign or the Java Code Signing certificate from Thawte—or similar certificates from other CAs. During the process of certificate enrollment, you will be asked to provide the certificate signing request (CSR). To generate the CSR, follow these steps:
keytool to generate an RSA keypair (using the
"-genkey -keyalg rsa" options). Make sure your
distinguished name contains all the components mandated by
VeriSign/Thawte. E.g.,
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin\keytool -genkey -keyalg rsa -alias MyCert
Enter keystore password: *********
What is your first and last name?
[Unknown]: XXXXXXX YYY
What is the name of your organizational unit?
[Unknown]: Example Software
What is the name of your organization?
[Unknown]: New Technology Company
What is the name of your City or Locality?
[Unknown]: Cupertino
What is the name of your State or Province?
[Unknown]: CA
What is the two-letter country code for this unit?
[Unknown]: US
Is <CN=XXXXXXX YYY, OU=Example Software, O=New Technology Company,
L=Cupertino, ST=CA, C=US> correct?
[no]: yes
Enter key password for <MyCert>
(RETURN if same as keystore password): *********
keytool -certreq" to generate a certification
signing request. Copy the result and paste it into the
VeriSign/Thawte webform. For example,
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin\keytool -certreq -alias MyCert Enter keystore password: ********* -----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- MIIBtjCCAR8CAQAwdjELMAkGA1UEBhMCVVMxCzAJBgNVBAgTAkNBMRIwE AYDVQQHEwlDdXBlcnRpbm8xGTAXBgNVBAoTEFN1biBNaWNyb3N5c3RlbX MxFjAUBgNVBAsTDUphdmEgU29mdHdhcmUxEzARBgNVBAMTClN0YW5sZXk gSG8wgZ8wDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADgY0AMIGJAoGBALTgU8PovA4y59eb oPjY65BwCSc/zPqtOZKJlaW4WP+UhmebE+T2Mho7P5zXjGf7elo3tV5uI 3vzgGfnhgpf73EoMow8EJhly4w/YsXKqeJEqqvNogzAD+qUv7Ld6dLOv0 CO5qvpmBAO6mfaI1XAgx/4xU/6009jVQe0TgIoocB5AgMBAAGgADANBgk qhkiG9w0BAQQFAAOBgQAWmLrkifKiUYtd4ykhBtPWSwW/IKkgyfIuNMML dF1DH8neSnXf3ZLI32f2yXvs7u3/xn6chnTXh4HYCJoGYOAbB3WNbAoQR i6u6TLLOvgv9pMNUo6v1qB0xly1faizjimVYBwLhOenkA3Bw7S8UIVfdv 84cO9dFUGcr/Pfrl3GtQ== -----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
keytool -import" to import the chain into your
keystore. E.g.,
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin\keytool -import -alias MyCert -file VSSStanleyNew.cer
jarsigner to sign your JAR file.
NoteYou must use the same alias name for all the above steps—or no alias name, in which case the alias name defaults to "mykey". |
Most CAs (e.g., VeriSign/Thawte) support Netscape Signing Tool. To use the Netscape Signing Tool to sign applets using RSA certificates, obtain the Netscape Object Signing certificate from Verisign or the Netscape Object Signing certificate from Thawte—or similar certificates from other CAs. During the process of enrollment, you will be asked for personal/company information, since the CA will need to verify your identity before issuing a certificate. This process may take from several hours to several days.
Once the RSA certificate is issued, it usually consists of three files:
cert7.dbkey3.dbsecmod.dbDepending on the CA, the certificate may be issued and stored on a floppy diskette, or it may be stored directly in the security modules of Netscape Navigator/Communicator. Once you have the certificate, you are ready to use the Netscape Signing Tool to sign your JAR file.
To use Jarsigner to sign applets with RSA certificates, the
applets must be bundled as JAR files. The Jar tool (command
jar ...), which comes wiht the Java SE SDK, can be
used for that purpose. E.g.,
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin\jar cvf C:\TestApplet.jar . added manifest adding: TestApplet.class (in = 94208) (out= 20103)(deflated 78%) adding: TestHelper.class (in = 16384) (out= 779)(deflated 95%)This example creates a JAR file C:\TestApplet.jar, and it contains all the files under the current directory and its sub-directories.
After the JAR file is created, you should verify its content
using the jar tool again, e.g.,
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin\jar tvf TestApplet.jar
0 Mon Mar 06 18:02:54 PST 2000 META-INF/
68 Mon Mar 06 18:02:54 PST 2000 META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
94208 Wed Mar 10 11:48:52 PST 2000 TestApplet.class
16384 Wed Mar 10 11:48:52 PST 2000 TestHelper.class
This ensures that the class files are stored with the proper path
within the JAR file.
To sign an applet with an RSA certificate using the Netscape
Signing Tool, the applet must be placed in a directory, e.g.,
C:\signdir. The Netscape Signing Tool will bundle it
as JAR file after the signing process.
Once you have the RSA certificates, the signing tool and the applet's JAR files, you are ready to sign the applets.
jarsignerTo sign applets using jarsigner, follow these
steps:
jarsigner to sign the JAR file, using the RSA
credentials in your keystore that were generated in the previous
steps. Make sure the same alias name is specified. E.g.,
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin\jarsigner C:\TestApplet.jar MyCert Enter Passphrase for keystore: ********
jarsigner -verify -verbose -certs"
to verify the jar files
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\bin\jarsigner -verify -verbose
-certs d:\TestApplet.jar
245 Wed Mar 10 11:48:52 PST 2000 META-INF/manifest.mf
187 Wed Mar 10 11:48:52 PST 2000 META-INF/MYCERT.SF
968 Wed Mar 10 11:48:52 PST 2000 META-INF/MYCERT.RSA
smk 943 Wed Mar 10 11:48:52 PST 2000 TestApplet.class
smk 163 Wed Mar 10 11:48:52 PST 2000 TestHelper.class
X.509, CN=XXXXXXX YYY, OU=Example Software,
O=New Technology Company, L=Cupertino,
ST=CA, C=US (mycert)
X.509, CN=New Technology Company, OU=Java Plug-in QA,
O=New Technology Company, L=Cupertino, ST=CA, C=US
X.509, EmailAddress=server-certs@thawte.com,
CN=Thawte Server CA, OU=Certification
Services Division, O=Thawte Consulting cc,
L=Cape Town, ST=Western Cape, C=ZA
s = signature was verified
m = entry is listed in manifest
k = at least one certificate was found in keystore
i = at least one certificate was found in identity scope
jar verified.
To sign applets using signtool, follow these steps:
signtool -L" to determine the
certificate nickname that should be used in signing. E.g.,
C:\signtool13WINNT40\signtool -L -d a:\cert
using certificate directory: a:\cert
S Certificates
- ------------
AT&T Certificate Services
Thawte Personal Premium CA
GTE CyberTrust Secure Server CA
Verisign/RSA Commercial CA
AT&T Directory Services
BelSign Secure Server CA
BelSign Class 1 CA
GTIS/PWGSC, Canada Gov. Web CA
Thawte Personal Freemail CA
Thawte Server CA
GTIS/PWGSC, Canada Gov. Secure CA
MCI Mall CA
VeriSign Class 3 Primary CA
VeriSign Class 4 Primary CA
KEYWITNESS, Canada CA
BelSign Class 2 CA
BelSign Object Publishing CA
* Sun Microsystems, Inc.
VeriSign Class 3 CA - Commercial Content/Software
Publisher - VeriSign, Inc.
Verisign/RSA Secure Server CA
VeriSign Class 1 Primary CA
BBN Certificate Services CA Root 1
Thawte Personal Basic CA
* Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s VeriSign, Inc. ID
CertiSign BR
VeriSign Class 2 Primary CA
Canada Post Corporation CA
Integrion CA
IBM World Registry CA
BelSign Class 3 CA
Uptime Group Plc. Class 1 CA
Uptime Group Plc. Class 2 CA
Thawte Premium Server CA
Uptime Group Plc. Class 3 CA
GTE CyberTrust Root CA
Uptime Group Plc. Class 4 CA
- ------------
Certificates that can be used to sign objects
have *'s to their left.
mkdir signdir
signtool -Z" to sign the applet.
E.g.,
C:\signtool13>signtool -k "Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s VeriSign, Inc. ID"
-d a:\cert -Z c:\TestApplet.jar c:\signdir
using certificate directory: a:\cert
Generating c:\signdir/META-INF/manifest.mf file..
--> TestApplet.class
adding c:\signdir/TestApplet.class to c:\TestApplet.jar...
(deflated 57%)
--> TestHelper.class
adding c:\signdir/TestHelper.class to c:\TestApplet.jar...
(deflated 43%)
Generating zigbert.sf file..
adding c:\signdir/META-INF/manifest.mf to c:\TestApplet.jar...
(deflated 44%)
adding c:\signdir/META-INF/zigbert.sf to c:\TestApplet.jar...
(deflated 46%)
adding c:\signdir/META-INF/zigbert.rsa to c:\TestApplet.jar...
(deflated 40%)
tree "c:\signdir" signed successfully
signtool -w" to verify the archive.
E.g.,
C:\signtool13>signtool -w c:\TestApplet.jar -d a:\cert
using certificate directory: a:\cert
Signer information:
nickname: Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s VeriSign, Inc. ID
subject name: C=US, ST=CA, L=Palo Alto, OU=Example Software,
CN=Sun Microsystems, OU=Digital ID Class 3 - Netscape
Object Signing, OU="www.verisign.com/repository/RPA Incorp.
by Ref.,LIAB.LTD(c)99", OU=VeriSign Trust Network,
O="VeriSign, Inc."
issuer name: CN=VeriSign Class 3 CA - Commercial Content/Software
Publisher, OU="www.verisign.com/repository/RPA Incorp.
by Ref.,LIAB.LTD(c)98", OU=VeriSign Trust Network,
O="VeriSign, Inc."
Your applet has been signed properly. You are now ready to deploy your RSA signed applet. See How to Deploy RSA Signed Applets for deployment information.
Existing RSA signed applets designed for Netscape may use Netscape-specific security APIs. These Netscape-specific APIs are not supported in Java Plug-in. Instead, the Plug-in supports the standard Java security APIs in both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer.
To migrate Netscape-signed applets using the Netscape security APIs to run in Java Plug-in:
netscape.security.*
related statements from the Java applet.This ensures that an RSA signed applet will run in both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer with Java Plug-in.
