Troubleshooting Security

To monitor security access, you can set the java.security.debug system property, which determines what trace messages are printed during execution. To view security properties, security providers, and TLS-related settings, specify the -XshowSettings:security option in the java command. You can enable debugging in JGSS and other related technologies with various system properties or environment variables.

Topics

The java.security.debug System Property

To see a list of all debugging options, use the help option as follows. MyApp is any Java application. The java command prints the debugging options and then exits before running MyApp.

java -Djava.security.debug=help MyApp

Note:

To use more than one option, separate options with a comma.
JSSE also provides dynamic debug tracing support for SSL/TLS/DTLS troubleshooting. See Debugging Utilities.

The following table lists java.security.debug options and links to further information about each option:

Table 1-5 java.security.debug Options

Option	Description	Further Information
`all`	Turn on all the debugging options	None
`certpath`	Turns on debugging for the PKIX `CertPathValidator` and `CertPathBuilder` implementations. Use the `ocsp` option with the `certpath` option for OCSP protocol tracing. A hexadecimal dump of the OCSP request and response bytes is displayed. You can use the following options with the `certpath` option: `ocsp`: Dump OCSP protocol exchanges `verbose`: Print additional debugging information	PKI Programmer's Guide Overview
`combiner`	`SubjectDomainCombiner` debugging	None
`configfile`	JAAS (Java Authentication and Authorization Service) configuration file loading	Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) Reference Guide Use of JAAS Login Utility and Java GSS-API for Secure Message Exchanges
`configparser`	JAAS configuration file parsing	Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) Reference Guide Use of JAAS Login Utility and Java GSS-API for Secure Message Exchanges
`gssloginconfig`	Java GSS (Generic Security Services) login configuration file debugging	Java Generic Security Services: (Java GSS) and Kerberos JAAS and Java GSS-API Tutorial `javax.security.auth.login.Configuration`: A Configuration object is responsible for specifying which `javax.net.ssl.SSLEngine` should be used for a particular application, and in what order the `LoginModules` should be invoked. Appendix B: JAAS Login Configuration File Advanced Security Programming in Java SE Authentication, Secure Communication and Single Sign-On
`jar`	JAR file verification	Verifying Signed JAR Files from The Java Tutorials Note: Use the System property `jdk.jar.maxSignatureFileSize` to specify the maximum size, in bytes, of signature files in a signed JAR. Its default value is `16000000` (16 MB).
`jca`	JCA engine class debugging	Engine Classes and Algorithms
`keystore`	Keystore debugging	Keystores `KeyStore`
`logincontext`	`LoginContext` results	Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) Reference Guide Use of JAAS Login Utility and Java GSS-API for Secure Message Exchanges
`pcsc`	Java Smart Card I/O and SunPCSC provider debugging	The SunPCSC Provider and the `javax.smartcardio` package
`pkcs11`	PKCS11 session manager debugging	PKCS#11 Reference Guide
`pkcs11keystore`	PKCS11 KeyStore debugging	PKCS#11 Reference Guide
`pkcs12`	PKCS12 KeyStore debugging	None
`properties`	`java.security` configuration file debugging	None
`provider`	Security provider debugging The following options can be used with the provider option: `engine=<engines>` : The output is displayed only for a specified list of JCA engines. The supported values for <engines> are: Cipher KDF KeyAgreement KeyGenerator KeyPairGenerator KeyStore Mac MessageDigest SecureRandom Signature	Java Cryptography Architecture (JCA) Reference Guide
`securerandom`	SecureRandom debugging	The SecureRandom Class
`sunpkcs11`	SunPKCS11 provider debugging	PKCS#11 Reference Guide
`ts`	Timestamping debugging	None
`x509`	X.509 certificate debugging	X.509 Certificates and Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs)

Printing Thread and Timestamp Information

You can append the following strings to the value specified in the java.security.debug system property to print additional information:

+thread: Print thread and caller information
+timestamp: Print timestamp information

For example, to add thread, caller, and timestamp information to all debuging output, set the java.security.debug system property on the command line as follows:

java -Djava.security.debug=all+thread+timestamp MyApp

The java -XshowSettings:security Option

You can specify the option -XshowSettings:security option in the java command to view security properties, security providers, and TLS-related settings. The option shows third-party security provider details if they are included in the application class path or module path and such providers are configured in the java.security file.

In addition, you can specify -XshowSettings:security:<subcategory> where <subcategory> is one of the following:

all: show all security settings
properties: show security properties
providers: show static security provider settings
tls: show TLS-related security settings

Enabling Debugging in Java Generic Security Services

Set the following system properties or environment variables to true to enable debugging in the Java Generic Security Services (JGSS) framework, Kerberos, SPNEGO, the native JGSS bridge, and the SSPI bridge on Windows:

Caution:

Debugging information may contain sensitive information.

Table 1-6 JGSS Debugging System Properties

System Property or Environment Variable	JGSS Feature to Debug
`sun.security.jgss.debug` system property	JGSS framework
`sun.security.krb5.debug` system property	Java Kerberos 5 mechanism
`sun.security.spnego.debug` system property	Java SPNEGO mechanism
`sun.security.nativegss.debug` system property	Native JGSS bridge
`SSPI_BRIDGE_TRACE` environment variable	SSPI bridge on Windows

You can append +thread and +timestamp to the value true to print additional information.

Note:

You cannot add these strings to the value of the SSPI_BRIDGE_TRACE environment variable.

For example, to add thread, caller, and timestamp information to JGSS framework debugging output, you can set the sun.security.jgss.debug system property on the command line as follows:

java -Dsun.security.jgss.debug=true+thread+timestamp MyApp

In your JAAS login configuration file, you can specify debug=true in the Krb5LoginModule to enable debugging in the associated entry. For example, the following enables debugging for JassSample and adds thread, caller, and timestamp information to the debugging output:

JaasSample {
    com.sun.security.auth.module.Krb5LoginModule required;
    debug=true+thread+timestamp;
};