Preface

This document presents basic Web security concepts and describes the Oracle Application Server security framework and how to use it. First, it provides a survey of security issues and requirements that arise when operating private business systems in the public Internet environment. Then it introduces the security features of Oracle Application Server and provides configuration information for setting up a secure middle tier.

This preface contains these topics:

• Audience

• Documentation Accessibility

• Organization

• Related Documentation

• Conventions

Audience

The Oracle Application Server 10g Security Guide is intended for security administrators, application developers, database administrators, system operators, and other Oracle users who perform the following tasks:

• Configure middle-tier system security

• Analyze application security requirements

• Implement security technologies

• Administer middle-tier system security

To use this document, you need to have general knowledge of Web server administration, Internet concepts, and networking concepts.

Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle Corporation is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at

http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle Corporation does not own or control. Oracle Corporation neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Organization

This document contains:

Chapter 1, "Oracle Application Server Overview"

This chapter provides a basic overview of Oracle Application Server.

Chapter 2, "Oracle Application Server Security Architecture"

This chapter discusses the Oracle Application Server security framework, including its architecture. It describes each element and how they work together.

Chapter 3, "Oracle Identity Management"

This chapter presents Oracle Application Server deployment options.

Chapter 4, "Recommended Deployment Topologies"

This chapter provides details on the recommended security topologies for Oracle Application Server.

Chapter 5, "Privilege Delegation"

This chapter covers common security considerations for Oracle Application Server administrators.

Appendix A, "Managing PKI Credentials with Oracle Wallet Manager"

This appendix describes Oracle Wallet Manager and managing PKI credentials.

Glossary

This glossary contains terms that are pertinent to Web security and Oracle environments.

Related Documentation

For Oracle Application Server Application Administrators

This section lists common administration tasks and the manuals that describe them.

Task	Read...
General administration tasks	Oracle Application Server 10g Administrator's Guide
Managing static content	Oracle HTTP Server Administrator's Guide
Controlling user access to Web content using portals	Oracle Application Server Portal Configuration Guide
Managing Oracle Application Server Web Cache	Oracle Application Server Web Cache Administrator's Guide
Writing and deploying secure OC4J applications	Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE Security Guide
Managing Oracle Application Server Wireless for security mechanisms	Oracle Application Server Wireless Administrator's Guide
Managing users, passwords, and privileges	Oracle Internet Directory Administrator's Guide
Managing application, resource, and data source security using Oracle Application Server Reports Services	Oracle Application Server Reports Services Publishing Reports to the Web
Managing user access and internalization	Oracle Application Server Personalization Administrator's Guide
Configuring security for Oracle Application Server Workflow	Oracle Workflow Administrator's Guide
Administering SSO	Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Administrator's Guide
Managing certificate issues	Oracle Application Server Certificate Authority Administrator's Guide

For Oracle Identity Management Infrastructure Administrators

For all tasks pertaining to administering and deploying Oracle Identity Management, see the Oracle Identity Management Concepts and Deployment Planning Guide.

For Oracle Application Server Application Developers

This section lists common development tasks and the manuals that describe them.

Task	Go to...
Configuring SSO	Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Administrator's Guide
Using mod_osso or the Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On SDK to enable applications for SSO	Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Application Developer's Guide
Configuring Web Services	Oracle Application Server Web Services Developer's Guide
Configuring Syndication Services	Oracle Application Server Syndication Services Developer's and Administrator's Guide
Configuring BC4J	Oracle Business Component for Java Developing Business Components
Using keys and certificates for SSL communication in OC4J	Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE Servlet Developer's Guide

For Oracle Application Server Application Deployers

This section lists common deployment tasks and the manuals that describe them.

Task	Go to...
Configuring SSO	Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Administrator's Guide
Configuring Forms with HTTP listener, OC4J, SSO, and OID	Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide
Configuring security mechanisms in Oracle Application Server Discoverer	Oracle Application Server Discoverer Configuration Guide

See Also: Oracle Application Server 10g Release Notes in the Oracle Application Server Platform-specific documentation for any security issues that are not addressed here.

For Oracle Application Server Application Users

Component	Go to...
Using Oracle Ultra Search	Oracle Ultra Search User's Guide
Using Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect	Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect User's Guide
Setting up the database and PL/SQL to avoid known security problems	Oracle Application Server 10g mod_plsql User's Guide

Guide to Oracle Documentation

For more information, see these Oracle resources. Descriptions of documents have been added to some listings to guide you to where specific security information can be found. Where document titles are self-explanatory, no description is provided.

The Oracle Application Server Documentation Library contains the following documents:

• Oracle Application Server 10g Quick Tour

  A brief graphical overview of the application server.

• Oracle Application Server 10g Concepts

  An overview of the application server features.

• Oracle Identity Management Concepts and Deployment Planning Guide

  An overview of the Identity Management features.

• Oracle Internet Directory Administrator's Guide

  Detailed description of Oracle Internet Directory, including Delegated Administration Service and Directory Integration Service, and how to use them.

• Oracle Internet Directory Application Developer's Guide

  Detailed description of how to enable applications to access Oracle Internet Directory by using the C API and the PL/SQL API.

• Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Administrator's Guide

  Detailed description of how to enable single sign-on for Oracle Application Server.

• Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On Application Developer's Guide

  Detailed description of how to enable applications to use Oracle Application Server Single Sign-On.

• Oracle HTTP Server Administrator's Guide

• Oracle Application Server Portal Configuration Guide

• Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE Services Guide

  Discusses how to make effective use of the Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE security features.

• JAAS Provider API Reference

• Oracle Application Server Containers for J2EE User's Guide

• Oracle Application Server Web Cache Administrator's Guide

• Oracle Application Server 10g mod_plsql User's Guide

  Detailed description of how to configure and use Oracle HTTP Server plug-in mod_plsql, which enables communication between the middle tier and an Oracle database.

Oracle Application Server Platform-Specific Documentation contains the following documents:

• Oracle Application Server 10g Installation Guide

  Detailed description of what you must install to get the security functionality you require.

• Oracle Application Server 10g Release Notes

• Oracle Application Server 10g Upgrading to 10g (9.0.4)

  Detailed description of what you must do if you are migrating from a previous version of Oracle Application Server, such as migrating digital certificates.

• Oracle Application Server 10g Performance Guide

• Oracle Application Server 10g Best Practices

  Detailed description of Oracle Application Server best practices, including security best practices.

Oracle Database Documentation Library contains the following documents:

• Oracle Advanced Security Administrator's Guide

  Detailed description of how to configure and use Oracle Advanced Security, the Oracle database option that provides encryption, integrity protection, and advanced authentication to Oracle database clients and servers.

• Oracle9i Database Administrator's Guide

  Description of the Oracle9i Database Server feature proxy authentication, which allows Oracle Application Server to establish an authenticated session with the database.

• Oracle9i Application Developer's Guide - Fundamentals

  Detailed description of how to enable Oracle Application Server to use database proxy authentication.

Printed documentation is available for sale in the Oracle Store at

http://oraclestore.oracle.com/

To download free release notes, installation documentation, white papers, or other collateral, please visit the Oracle Technology Network (OTN). You must register online before using OTN; registration is free of charge and can be done at:

http://otn.oracle.com/membership/

If you already have a username and password for OTN, then you can go directly to the documentation section of the OTN Web site at

http://otn.oracle.com/documentation/content.html

Conventions

This manual uses the following conventions:

Convention	Meaning
. . .	Vertical ellipsis points in an example mean that information not directly related to the example has been omitted.
. . .	Horizontal ellipsis points in statements or commands mean that parts of the statement or command not directly related to the example have been omitted
boldface text	Boldface type in text indicates a term defined in the text, the glossary, or in both locations.
italic text	Italicized text indicates placeholders or variables for which you must supply particular values.
[ ]	Brackets enclose optional clauses from which you can choose one or none.