- Introduction
- Attributes
- Common Attributes
- DataSource Database Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.DataSourceRealm
- JNDI Directory Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.JNDIRealm
- UserDatabase Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.UserDatabaseRealm
- Memory Based Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.MemoryRealm
- JAAS Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.JAASRealm
- Combined Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.CombinedRealm
- LockOut Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.LockOutRealm
- Null Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.NullRealm
- Authenticated User Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.AuthenticatedUserRealm
- Nested Components
- Special Features
The Realm Component
Table of Contents
Introduction
A Realm element represents a "database" of usernames, passwords, and roles (similar to Unix groups) assigned to those users. Different implementations of Realm allow Catalina to be integrated into environments where such authentication information is already being created and maintained, and then utilize that information to implement Container Managed Security as described in the Servlet Specification.
A Catalina container (Engine, Host, or Context) may contain no more than one Realm element (although if supported by the Realm this one Realm may itself contain multiple nested Realms). In addition, the Realm associated with an Engine or a Host is automatically inherited by lower-level containers unless the lower level container explicitly defines its own Realm. If no Realm is configured for the Engine, an instance of the Null Realm will be configured for the Engine automatically.
For more in-depth information about container managed security in web applications, as well as more information on configuring and using the standard realm component implementations, please see the Container-Managed Security Guide.
The description below uses the variable name $CATALINA_BASE to refer the base directory against which most relative paths are resolved. If you have not configured Tomcat for multiple instances by setting a CATALINA_BASE directory, then $CATALINA_BASE will be set to the value of $CATALINA_HOME, the directory into which you have installed Tomcat.
Attributes
Common Attributes
All implementations of Realm support the following attributes:
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
className |
Java class name of the implementation to use. This class must
implement the |
Unlike most Catalina components, there are several standard
Realm implementations available. As a result,
the className
attribute MUST be used to select the
implementation you wish to use.
DataSource Database Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.DataSourceRealm
The DataSource Database Realm connects Tomcat to a relational database, accessed through a JNDI named JDBC DataSource to perform lookups of usernames, passwords, and their associated roles. Because the lookup is done each time that it is required, changes to the database will be immediately reflected in the information used to authenticate new logins.
The JDBC Realm uses a single db connection. This requires that realm based authentication be synchronized, i.e. only one authentication can be done at a time. This could be a bottleneck for applications with high volumes of realm based authentications.
The DataSource Database Realm supports simultaneous realm based authentications and allows the underlying JDBC DataSource to handle optimizations like database connection pooling.
A rich set of additional attributes lets you configure the name of the JNDI JDBC DataSource, as well as the table and column names used to retrieve the required information:
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
allRolesMode |
This attribute controls how the special role name When this attribute has the value of |
dataSourceName |
The name of the JNDI JDBC DataSource for this Realm. |
localDataSource |
When the realm is nested inside a Context element, this allows the
realm to use a DataSource defined for the Context rather than a global
DataSource. If not specified, the default is |
roleNameCol |
Name of the column, in the "user roles" table, which contains a role name assigned to the corresponding user. This attribute is required in majority of configurations. See allRolesMode attribute for a rare case when it can be omitted. |
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
stripRealmForGss |
When processing users authenticated via the GSS-API, this attribute
controls if any "@..." is removed from the end of the user
name. If not specified, the default is |
userCredCol |
Name of the column, in the "users" table, which contains
the user's credentials (i.e. password). If a
|
userNameCol |
Name of the column, in the "users" and "user roles" table, that contains the user's username. |
userRoleTable |
Name of the "user roles" table, which must contain columns
named by the This attribute is required in majority of configurations. See allRolesMode attribute for a rare case when it can be omitted. |
userTable |
Name of the "users" table, which must contain columns named
by the |
X509UsernameRetrieverClassName |
When using X509 client certificates, this specifies the class name
that will be used to retrieve the user name from the certificate.
The class must implement the
|
See the DataSource Realm How-To for more information on setting up container managed security using the DataSource Database Realm component.
JNDI Directory Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.JNDIRealm
The JNDI Directory Realm connects Tomcat to an LDAP Directory, accessed through an appropriate JNDI driver, that stores usernames, passwords, and their associated roles. Changes to the directory are immediately reflected in the information used to authenticate new logins.
The directory realm supports a variety of approaches to using LDAP for authentication:
- The realm can either use a pattern to determine the distinguished name (DN) of the user's directory entry, or search the directory to locate that entry.
- The realm can authenticate the user either by binding to the directory with the DN of the user's entry and the password presented by the user, or by retrieving the password from the user's entry and performing a comparison locally.
- Roles may be represented in the directory as explicit entries found by a directory search (e.g. group entries of which the user is a member), as the values of an attribute in the user's entry, or both.
A rich set of additional attributes lets you configure the required behaviour as well as the connection to the underlying directory and the element and attribute names used to retrieve information from the directory:
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
adCompat |
Microsoft Active Directory often returns referrals. When iterating over NamingEnumerations these lead to PartialResultExceptions. If you want us to ignore those exceptions, set this attribute to "true". Unfortunately there's no stable way to detect, if the Exceptions really come from an AD referral. The default value is "false". |
allRolesMode |
This attribute controls how the special role name |
alternateURL |
If a socket connection cannot be made to the provider at
the |
authentication |
A string specifying the type of authentication to use. "none", "simple", "strong" or a provider specific definition can be used. If no value is given the providers default is used. |
cipherSuites |
Specify which cipher suites are allowed when trying to open a secured connection using StartTLS. The allowed cipher suites are specified by a comma separated list. The default is to use the cipher suites of the JVM. |
commonRole |
A role name assigned to each successfully authenticated user in addition to the roles retrieved from LDAP. If not specified, only the roles retrieved via LDAP are used. |
connectionName |
The directory username to use when establishing a
connection to the directory for LDAP search operations. If not
specified an anonymous connection is made, which is often
sufficient unless you specify the |
connectionPassword |
The directory password to use when establishing a
connection to the directory for LDAP search operations. If not
specified an anonymous connection is made, which is often
sufficient unless you specify the |
connectionPoolSize |
The JNDI realm can use a pool of connections to the directory server
to avoid blocking on a single connection. This attribute value is the
maximum pool size. If not specified, it will use |
connectionTimeout |
The timeout in milliseconds to use when establishing the connection to the LDAP directory. If not specified, a value of 5000 (5 seconds) is used. |
connectionURL |
The connection URL to be passed to the JNDI driver when establishing a connection to the directory. |
contextFactory |
Fully qualified Java class name of the factory class used
to acquire our JNDI |
derefAliases |
A string specifying how aliases are to be dereferenced during search operations. The allowed values are "always", "never", "finding" and "searching". If not specified, "always" is used. |
forceDnHexEscape |
A setting of |
hostnameVerifierClassName |
The name of the class to use for hostname verification when using StartTLS for securing the connection to the ldap server. The default constructor will be used to construct an instance of the verifier class. The default is to accept only those hostnames, that are valid according to the peer certificate of the ldap server. |
protocol |
A string specifying the security protocol to use. If not given the providers default is used. |
readTimeout |
The timeout, in milliseconds, to use when trying to read from a connection to the directory. If not specified, the default of 5000 (5 seconds) is used. |
referrals |
How do we handle JNDI referrals? Allowed values are "ignore", "follow", or "throw" (see javax.naming.Context.REFERRAL for more information). Microsoft Active Directory often returns referrals. If you need to follow them set referrals to "follow". Caution: if your DNS is not part of AD, the LDAP client lib might try to resolve your domain name in DNS to find another LDAP server. |
roleBase |
The base directory entry for performing role searches. If not
specified the top-level element in the directory context will be used.
If specified it may optionally include pattern replacements
"{0}".."{n}" corresponding to the name parts of the
user's distinguished name (as returned by
|
roleName |
The name of the attribute that contains role names in the
directory entries found by a role search. In addition you can
use the If |
roleNested |
Set to |
roleSearch |
The LDAP filter expression used for performing role searches. Use When If this property is not specified, a role search does not take
place and roles are taken only from the attribute in the user's entry
specified by the |
roleSearchAsUser |
When searching for user roles, should the search be performed as the
user currently being authenticated? If false,
|
roleSubtree |
Set to |
sizeLimit |
Specifies the maximum number of records to return when using the
|
spnegoDelegationQop |
When the JNDI Realm is used with the SPNEGO authenticator and
The default value is |
sslProtocol |
Specifies which ssl protocol should be used, when connecting with
StartTLS. The default is to let the jre decide. If you need even more
control, you can specify the |
sslSocketFactory |
Specifies which |
stripRealmForGss |
When processing users authenticated via the GSS-API, this attribute
controls if any "@..." is removed from the end of the user
name. If not specified, the default is |
timeLimit |
Specifies the time (in milliseconds) to wait for records to be
returned when using the |
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
useContextClassLoader |
Instructs JNDIRealm to use the context class loader when opening the
connection for the JNDI provider. The default value is
|
useDelegatedCredential |
When the JNDIRealm is used with the SPNEGO authenticator, delegated
credentials for the user may be available. If such credentials are
present, this attribute controls whether or not they are used to
connect to the directory. If not specified, the default value of
|
userBase |
The base element for user searches performed using the
|
userPassword |
Name of the attribute in the user's entry containing the
user's password. If you specify this value, JNDIRealm will
bind to the directory using the values specified by
|
userPattern |
Pattern for the distinguished name (DN) of the user's
directory entry, with |
userRoleName |
The name of an attribute in the user's directory entry
containing zero or more values for the names of roles assigned
to this user. In addition you can use the
|
userRoleAttribute |
The name of an attribute in the user's directory entry
containing the value that you wish to use when you search for
roles. This is especially useful for RFC 2307 where
the role memberUid can be the |
userSearch |
The LDAP filter expression to use when searching for a
user's directory entry, with |
userSearchAsUser |
When searching for a user's entry, should the search be performed as
the user currently being authenticated? If false,
|
userSubtree |
Set to |
useStartTls |
Set to |
X509UsernameRetrieverClassName |
When using X509 client certificates, this specifies the class name
that will be used to retrieve the user name from the certificate.
The class must implement the
|
See the Container-Managed Security Guide for more information on setting up container managed security using the JNDI Directory Realm component.
UserDatabase Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.UserDatabaseRealm
The UserDatabase Realm is a Realm implementation that is based on a UserDatabase resource made available through the global JNDI resources configured for this Tomcat instance.
The UserDatabase Realm implementation supports the following additional attributes:
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
allRolesMode |
This attribute controls how the special role name |
localJndiResource |
When the realm is nested inside a Context element, this allows the
realm to use a UserDatabase defined for the Context rather than a global
UserDatabase. If not specified, the default is |
resourceName |
The name of the global |
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
X509UsernameRetrieverClassName |
When using X509 client certificates, this specifies the class name
that will be used to retrieve the user name from the certificate.
The class must implement the
|
See the Container-Managed Security Guide for more information on setting up container managed security using the UserDatabase Realm component and the JNDI resources how-to for more information on how to configure a UserDatabase resource.
Memory Based Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.MemoryRealm
The Memory Based Realm is a simple Realm implementation that reads user information from an XML format, and represents it as a collection of Java objects in memory. This implementation is intended solely to get up and running with container managed security - it is NOT intended for production use. As such, there are no mechanisms for updating the in-memory collection of users when the content of the underlying data file is changed.
The Memory Based Realm implementation supports the following additional attributes:
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
allRolesMode |
This attribute controls how the special role name |
pathname |
URL, absolute path or relative path (to $CATALINA_BASE) for the XML
file containing our user information. See below for details on the
XML element format required. If no pathname is specified, the
default value is |
stripRealmForGss |
When processing users authenticated via the GSS-API, this attribute
controls if any "@..." is removed from the end of the user
name. If not specified, the default is |
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
X509UsernameRetrieverClassName |
When using X509 client certificates, this specifies the class name
that will be used to retrieve the user name from the certificate.
The class must implement the
|
The XML document referenced by the pathname
attribute must
conform to the following requirements:
- The root (outer) element must be
<tomcat-users>
. - Each authorized user must be represented by a single XML element
<user>
, nested inside the root element. - Each
<user>
element must have the following attributes:- username - Username of this user (must be unique
within this file).
For compatibility, it is allowed to use name as an alternative name for this attribute. - password - Password of this user (in clear text).
- roles - Comma-delimited list of the role names assigned to this user.
- username - Username of this user (must be unique
within this file).
See the Container-Managed Security Guide for more information on setting up container managed security using the Memory Based Realm component.
JAAS Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.JAASRealm
JAASRealm is an implementation of the Tomcat
Realm
interface that authenticates users through the Java
Authentication & Authorization Service (JAAS) framework which is now
provided as part of the standard J2SE API.
Using JAASRealm gives the developer the ability to combine practically any conceivable security realm with Tomcat's CMA.
JAASRealm is prototype for Tomcat of the JAAS-based J2EE authentication framework for J2EE v1.4, based on the JCP Specification Request 196 to enhance container-managed security and promote 'pluggable' authentication mechanisms whose implementations would be container-independent.
Based on the JAAS login module and principal
(see javax.security.auth.spi.LoginModule
and
javax.security.Principal
), you can develop your own security
mechanism or wrap another third-party mechanism for integration with the CMA
as implemented by Tomcat.
The JAAS Realm implementation supports the following additional attributes:
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
allRolesMode |
This attribute controls how the special role name |
appName |
The name of the application as configured in your login configuration file (JAAS LoginConfig). If not specified |
userClassNames |
A comma-separated list of the names of the classes that you have made
for your user |
configFile |
The name of a JAAS configuration file to use with this Realm. It will
be searched for using |
roleClassNames |
A comma-separated list of the names of the classes that you have made
for your role |
stripRealmForGss |
When processing users authenticated via the GSS-API, this attribute
controls if any "@..." is removed from the end of the user
name. If not specified, the default is |
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
useContextClassLoader |
Instructs JAASRealm to use the context class loader for loading the
user-specified |
X509UsernameRetrieverClassName |
When using X509 client certificates, this specifies the class name
that will be used to retrieve the user name from the certificate.
The class must implement the
|
See the Container-Managed Security Guide for more information on setting up container managed security using the JAAS Realm component.
Combined Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.CombinedRealm
CombinedRealm is an implementation of the Tomcat
Realm
interface that authenticates users through one or more
sub-Realms.
Using CombinedRealm gives the developer the ability to combine multiple Realms of the same or different types. This can be used to authenticate against different sources, provide fall back in case one Realm fails or for any other purpose that requires multiple Realms.
Sub-realms are defined by nesting Realm
elements inside the
Realm
element that defines the CombinedRealm. Authentication
will be attempted against each Realm
in the order they are
listed. Authentication against any Realm will be sufficient to authenticate
the user. The authenticated user, and their associated roles, will be taken
from the first Realm that successfully authenticates the user.
See the Container-Managed Security Guide for more information on setting up container managed security using the CombinedRealm component.
The CombinedRealm implementation supports the following additional attributes.
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
allRolesMode |
This attribute controls how the special role name |
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
LockOut Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.LockOutRealm
LockOutRealm is an implementation of the Tomcat
Realm
interface that extends the CombinedRealm to provide lock
out functionality to provide a user lock out mechanism if there are too many
failed authentication attempts in a given period of time.
To ensure correct operation, there is a reasonable degree of synchronization in this Realm.
This Realm does not require modification to the underlying Realms or the associated user storage mechanisms. It achieves this by recording all failed logins, including those for users that do not exist. To prevent a DOS by deliberating making requests with invalid users (and hence causing this cache to grow) the size of the list of users that have failed authentication is limited.
Sub-realms are defined by nesting Realm
elements inside the
Realm
element that defines the LockOutRealm. Authentication
will be attempted against each Realm
in the order they are
listed. Authentication against any Realm will be sufficient to authenticate
the user.
The LockOutRealm implementation supports the following additional attributes.
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
allRolesMode |
This attribute controls how the special role name |
cacheRemovalWarningTime |
If a failed user is removed from the cache because the cache is too big before it has been in the cache for at least this period of time (in seconds) a warning message will be logged. Defaults to 3600 (1 hour). |
cacheSize |
Number of users that have failed authentication to keep in cache. Over time the cache will grow to this size and may not shrink. Defaults to 1000. |
failureCount |
The number of times in a row a user has to fail authentication to be locked out. Defaults to 5. |
lockOutTime |
The time (in seconds) a user is locked out for after too many authentication failures. Defaults to 300 (5 minutes). Further authentication failures during the lock out time will cause the lock out timer to reset to zero, effectively extending the lock out time. Valid authentication attempts during the lock out period will not succeed but will also not reset the lock out time. |
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
See the Container-Managed Security Guide for more information on setting up container managed security using the LockOutRealm component.
Null Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.NullRealm
NullRealm is a minimal implementation of the Tomcat
Realm
interface that always returns null when an attempt is
made to validate a user name and associated credentials. It is intended to
be used as a default Realm implementation when no other Realm is
specified.
The NullRealm implementation supports the following additional attributes.
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
Authenticated User Realm - org.apache.catalina.realm.AuthenticatedUserRealm
AuthenticatedUserRealm is intended for use with Authenticator implementations (SSLAuthenticator, SpnegoAuthenticator) that authenticate the user as well as obtain the user credentials. An authenticated Principal is always created from the user name presented to without further validation.
Note: It is unsafe to use this Realm with Authenticator implementations that do not validate the provided credentials.
The AuthenticatedUserRealm implementation supports the following additional attributes.
Attribute | Description |
---|---|
transportGuaranteeRedirectStatus |
The HTTP status code to use when the container needs to issue an HTTP
redirect to meet the requirements of a configured transport
guarantee. The provided status code is not validated. If not
specified, the default value of |
Nested Components
You can nest the following components by nesting the corresponding element inside your Realm element:
- CombinedRealm Implementation - If you are using the CombinedRealm Implementation or a Realm that extends the CombinedRealm, e.g. the LockOutRealm, one or more <Realm> elements may be nested inside it.
- CredentialHandler - You may nest at most one instance of this element inside a Realm. This configures the credential handler that will be used to validate provided credentials with those stored by the Realm. If not specified a default MessageDigestCredentialHandler will be configured.
Special Features
See Single Sign On for information about configuring Single Sign On support for a virtual host.