Chapter 7 Security

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logic of the application separate from the security logic, thus making it easier 

for the deployer to understand and change the access policy without tampering 

with the application code. Generally, programmatic security is hard to main 

tain and enhance, plus it is not as portable as declarative security. Security pro 

gramming is complex and difficult to write correctly, leading to a false sense 

of security. Use programmatic mechanisms for access control only when extra 

flexibility is required.

E

If you have multiple Web tier endpoints with varying authentication require 

ments, consider bundling them in different 

.war

 files. An application (de 

ployed within an 

.ear

 file) may use multiple Web service endpoints. It is 

possible that you may require different authentication for these endpoints 

some endpoints may require basic authentication, others may require a client 

certificate. Since a 

web.xml

 file can have only one type of authentication asso 

ciated with its login configuration, you cannot put endpoints that require dif 

ferent authentication in a single 

.war

 file. Instead, group endpoints into 

.war

files based on the type of client authentication they require. Because the J2EE 

platform permits multiple 

.war

 files in a single 

.ear

 file, you can put these 

.war

files into the application 

.ear

 file. 

E

Provide security policy descriptions in addition to those that the standard 

WSDL file provides. The WSDL file is required to publish only a Web ser 

vice's HTTPS URL. It has no standard annotation describing whether the ser 

vice endpoint requires basic or mutual authentication. Use the description 

elements of the deployment descriptor to make known the security require 

ments of your endpoints.

E

Be careful with the username and password information, because these prop 

erties can create a vulnerability when configuring a client component to use 

HTTP basic authentication. Username and password are sensitive security da 

ta, and the security of your system is compromised if they become known to 

the wrong party. For example, do not store username and password values in 

the application code or the deployment descriptor, and if deployment descrip 

tors do include a username and password, be sure to store the deployment de 

scriptors in a secure manner.

E

Consider using a  guarding  component between the interaction and process 

ing layers. Set up an application accessor component with security attributes 

and place it in front of a set of components that require protection. Then, allow 

access to that set of components only through the guarding or front component.