I have managed to get my jndi realm to work in tomcat. I'm not sure I really understand it well, but basically it goes like this: Tomcat connects to AD with its own password and userid because AD will not allow an anonymous connection. Once tomcat is connected, then you bind as the user with the user's id and password, and that authenticates the user.
so, you have a jndi realm in the server.xml with tomcat's user-id and password in plain text. (better secure the server.xml file) then, your login.jsp uses the user's credentials to bind to AD. Robyne Vaughn _____ -----Original Message----- From: Klotz Jr, Dennis [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, October 17, 2005 9:06 AM To: Tomcat Users List Subject: RE: can JNDIRealm connectionPassword be encrypted? David, Either the documentation is wrong or I am simply being daft, but in one part of the doc (very beginning of the section), it describes the very feature you are talking about where the user name and password at login time, is in fact, used to connect with the AD. I am assuming in that configuration, you must remove the keywords connectionName and connectionPassword from server.xml. However, when you read the documentation for these two keywords it mentions that if you don't use these keywords, an anonymous bind is used. So how does one configure tomcat to use the current user's login and password to connect to the AD? If I remove connectionName and connectionPassword I get the following error: SEVERE: Exception performing authentication javax.naming.NamingException: [LDAP: error code 1 - 00000000: LdapErr: DSID-0C090627, comment: In or der to perform this operation a successful bind must be completed on the connection., data 0, vece ] ; remaining name 'OU=BedfordRecipients,DC=company,DC=com' at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapCtx.mapErrorCode(LdapCtx.java:3025) at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapCtx.processReturnCode(LdapCtx.java:2931) at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapCtx.processReturnCode(LdapCtx.java:2737) ... So I was left with the impression that I "had" to provide a login and password within server.xml since AD by default does not support anonymous logins. -Dennis -----Original Message----- From: David Delbecq [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, October 17, 2005 4:56 AM To: Tomcat Users List Subject: Re: can JNDIRealm connectionPassword be encrypted? Klotz Jr, Dennis a écrit : >David, > >Thanks for the reply. > >Maybe this will help. The user name and password are stored as plain >text within the server.xml file. That is how it is today. The documentation >recommends that AD be setup with a very limited Read Only user account that >has privileges for scanning just AD. > >To me and my co-workers that login still represents a large security >risk if someone can gain access to the file server.xml. There is a lot of >personal information stored within the LDAP directory itself. > > If the tomcat were to be able to send the md5 string and have AD accept the md5 to compare it with it's own md5 copy, you would have a major security issue in AD (not in tomcat!). Why? Because Hash storing in any password authentification system is made to prevent people who have access to database (either by accident or non lawfull administrator) to impersonate any of the user. Imagine somone put a hand on your AD backup, they get the md5 of sysadmin and then just ask AD system to accept authentification using the md5? That's why am pretty sure AD would never accept auth by accepting the password md5. >My thoughts / request for having the plain text password being replaced >by an MD5 hash has nothing to do with the interaction / what is passed back to >AD itself. In our case, our AD is setup with Kerberos v5 which I assume is >some complex key passing encryption protocol that I doubt even uses MD5. > >Now, if someone could gain access to the MD5 version of the password >what could they do with it, really? > >After talking with a few people here at work and brainstorming on this >issue, the current theory is that since I am binding with AD, instead of using >'Comparison Mode' there is no way for the local MD5 hash (from server.xml) to >be compared to a MD5 hash from AD (the users real password). It isn't ever >passed back to the client (for obvious security reasons). > > It is quite clear in a security point of view. To access the AD, tomcat need to be recognized by AD, to do so it needs a password and an id. Now, one configuration you might try is to not give Tomcat a user account. The JNDI Realm has another configuration possibility. In this configuration, it takes the username / password send by web client and try to use them to log in AD. If login is successful, it concludes the users is allowed on system. In this scheme, no need for a tomcat user account as it is the client account which is used. >http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-5.5-doc/realm-howto.html#JNDIRealm > >So now I think I better understand why it hasn't been done in the first >place. > >My reasoning for having the MD5 hash was simply to make it harder for >someone to use the same username and password on other systems within the same >company. > > Again, if tomcat is able to log in using the md5, any user could on any other system. This would provide zero security enhancement. Regards. > >-Dennis Klotz > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: David Delbecq [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 1:13 PM >To: Tomcat Users List >Subject: Re: can JNDIRealm connectionPassword be encrypted? > >First i don't know active directory. > >However, in a global security point of view, your request >is surprising, specially if the intend was to prevent publicity of >password to people accessing the context.xml. If the AD protocol would >accept that client send an md5 hash of password instead of plain >password, i can't see the interest of it, as then the md5 hash becomes >the password. Anyone who can get access to the md5 could connect to >active directory and request md5 authentification, no need to to >reverse md5, so md5 does in that case provide 0 security improvement. > >So am curious to know the interest of storing md5 pass in >connectionPassword. > >Regards, >David Delbecq >Le Vendredi 14 Octobre 2005 17:12, Klotz Jr, Dennis a écrit : > > >>Greetings, >> >> >> >>I have a working JNDIRealm setup that connects with our local Active >>Directory using the following Realm statement: >> >> >> >> <Realm className="org.apache.catalina.realm.JNDIRealm" >> >> debug="99" >> >> connectionName="CN=Last\, >>First,OU=BedfordRecipients,DC=company,DC=com" >> >> connectionPassword="myPlainTextPassword" >> >> connectionURL="ldap://23.82.0.101:389"; >> >> alternateURL="ldap://23.82.0.100:389"; >> >> referrals="follow" >> >> userBase="OU=BedfordRecipients,DC=company,DC=com" >> >> userSearch="(sAMAccountName={0})" >> >> userSubtree="true" >> >> userRoleName="anAtribute" >> >> /> >> >> >> >>After the usual searching and investigation it appears there isn't a >>way to use an MD5 (or something similar) version of >>connectionPassword. In other words, I wish to replace the clear text >>password stored in the server.xml with the MD5 equivalent. >> >> >> >>Is it indeed the case that you cannot use and encrypted version of the >>password and if so are there any plans of enhancing it? Is there some >>aspect of the problem I'm overlooking? >> >> >> >>Dennis Klotz, Senior Software Engineer >>EMPIRIX | Communications Infrastructure Group | 20 Crosby Drive | >>Bedford, MA. USA | 01730 >> >> > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
