Securing your environment after installation

WebSphere Application Server depends on several configuration files that are created during installation. These files contain password information and need protection. Although the files are protected to a limited degree during installation, this basic level of protection is probably not sufficient for your site. You should verify that these files are protected in compliance with the policies of your site.

Before you begin

Note: A Kerberos keytab configuration file contains a list of keys that are analogous to user passwords. The default keytab file is krb5.keytab. It is important for hosts to protect their Kerberos keytab files by storing them on the local disk, which makes them readable only by authorized users.

The files in the WAS_HOME/config and the WAS_HOME/properties directories need protection. For example, give permission to the user who logs onto the system for WebSphere Application Server primary administrative tasks. Other users or groups, such as WebSphere Application Server console users and console groups need permissions as well.

The files in the WAS_HOME/properties directory that must be readable by everybody are:
  • TraceSettings.properties
  • client.policy
  • client_types.xml
  • sas.client.props
  • sas.stdclient.properties
  • sas.tools.properties
  • soap.client.props
  • wsadmin.properties
  • wsjaas_client.conf

The value for WAS_HOME directory is specified in the customization dialogs when WebSphere Application Server for z/OS is installed, for both the base product and Network Deployment.

Procedure

Secure files on WebSphere Application Server for z/OS systems.
  1. Use the z/OS Customization Dialog and follow the generated instructions to customize your system.
    The customization jobs that are generated perform the following functions:
    • Create System Authorization Facility (SAF) WebSphere Application Server user IDs that are needed for administrator and server processes.
    • Create a SAF WebSphere Application Server configuration group and add the SAF WebSphere Application Server user IDs.
    • Provide a mapping from a Java 2, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) principal to SAF user ID. You can generate a sample mapping module or you can specify one that you created yourself.
    • Associate WebSphere Application Server-started tasks with the SAF user IDs and groups that are defined previously.
    • Populate the file system with the system and property files that are needed to run WebSphere Application Server.
    • Change the ownership of these files to the WebSphere Application Server administrator.
    • Create the appropriate file permissions.
    All files in the WAS_HOME/config directory must have write and read access by all the members of the WebSphere Application Server configuration group, but must not be accessible by everyone (mode 770). All files in the WAS_HOME/properties directory must have write and read access by all the members of the WebSphere Application Server configuration group. Set the access permissions for the following files as it pertains to your security guidelines:
    • TraceSettings.properties
    • client.policy
    • client_types.xml
    • sas.client.props
    • sas.stdclient.properties
    • sas.tools.properties
    • soap.client.props
    • wsadmin.properties
    • wsjaas_client.conf
    For example, you might issue the following command: chmod 775 file_name. file_name is the name of the file listed previously. These files contain sensitive information such as passwords.
  2. Add administrators who perform full or partial WebSphere Application Server administration tasks to the configuration group.
  3. Restrict access to the /var/mqm directories and the log files that are needed for WebSphere Application Server embedded messaging or WebSphere MQ as the JMS provider. Give write access only to the mqm user ID or members of the mqm user group.

Results

After securing your environment, only the users with permission can access the files. Failure to adequately secure these files can lead to a breach of security in your WebSphere Application Server applications.

What to do next

If failures occur that are caused by file accessing permissions, check the permission settings.



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Last updated: Sep 20, 2010 10:03:57 PM CDT
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