Release notes for Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21
Abstract
Preface
Open Java Development Kit (OpenJDK) is a free and open source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE). The Red Hat build of OpenJDK is available in three versions: 8u, 11u, and 17u.
Packages for the Red Hat build of OpenJDK are made available on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Microsoft Windows and shipped as a JDK and JRE in the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog.
Providing feedback on Red Hat build of OpenJDK documentation
To report an error or to improve our documentation, log in to your Red Hat Jira account and submit an issue. If you do not have a Red Hat Jira account, then you will be prompted to create an account.
Procedure
- Click the following link to create a ticket.
- Enter a brief description of the issue in the Summary.
- Provide a detailed description of the issue or enhancement in the Description. Include a URL to where the issue occurs in the documentation.
- Clicking Submit creates and routes the issue to the appropriate documentation team.
Making open source more inclusive
Red Hat is committed to replacing problematic language in our code, documentation, and web properties. We are beginning with these four terms: master, slave, blacklist, and whitelist. Because of the enormity of this endeavor, these changes will be implemented gradually over several upcoming releases. For more details, see our CTO Chris Wright’s message.
Chapter 1. Support policy for Red Hat build of OpenJDK
Red Hat will support select major versions of Red Hat build of OpenJDK in its products. For consistency, these are the same versions that Oracle designates as long-term support (LTS) for the Oracle JDK.
A major version of Red Hat build of OpenJDK will be supported for a minimum of six years from the time that version is first introduced. For more information, see the OpenJDK Life Cycle and Support Policy.
RHEL 6 reached the end of life in November 2020. Because of this, Red Hat build of OpenJDK is not supporting RHEL 6 as a supported configuration.
Chapter 2. Differences from upstream OpenJDK 11
Red Hat build of OpenJDK in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) contains a number of structural changes from the upstream distribution of OpenJDK. The Microsoft Windows version of Red Hat build of OpenJDK attempts to follow RHEL updates as closely as possible.
The following list details the most notable Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11 changes:
- FIPS support. Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11 automatically detects whether RHEL is in FIPS mode and automatically configures Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11 to operate in that mode. This change does not apply to Red Hat build of OpenJDK builds for Microsoft Windows.
- Cryptographic policy support. Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11 obtains the list of enabled cryptographic algorithms and key size constraints from RHEL. These configuration components are used by the Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption protocol, the certificate path validation, and any signed JARs. You can set different security profiles to balance safety and compatibility. This change does not apply to Red Hat build of OpenJDK builds for Microsoft Windows.
-
Red Hat build of OpenJDK on RHEL dynamically links against native libraries such as
zlibfor archive format support andlibjpeg-turbo,libpng, andgiflibfor image support. RHEL also dynamically links againstHarfbuzzandFreetypefor font rendering and management. -
The
src.zipfile includes the source for all the JAR libraries shipped with Red Hat build of OpenJDK. - Red Hat build of OpenJDK on RHEL uses system-wide timezone data files as a source for timezone information.
- Red Hat build of OpenJDK on RHEL uses system-wide CA certificates.
- Red Hat build of OpenJDK on Microsoft Windows includes the latest available timezone data from RHEL.
- Red Hat build of OpenJDK on Microsoft Windows uses the latest available CA certificate from RHEL.
Additional resources
- For more information about detecting if a system is in FIPS mode, see the Improve system FIPS detection example on the Red Hat RHEL Planning Jira.
- For more information about cryptographic policies, see Using system-wide cryptographic policies.
Chapter 3. Red Hat build of OpenJDK features
The latest Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11 release might include new features. Additionally, the latest release might enhance, deprecate, or remove features that originated from previous Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11 releases.
For all the other changes and security fixes, see OpenJDK 11.0.21 Released.
3.1. Red Hat build of OpenJDK new features and enhancements
Review the following release notes to understand new features and feature enhancements that Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21 provides:
Increased default group size of TLS Diffie-Hellman
In Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21, the JDK implementation of Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 uses a default Diffie-Hellman key size of 2048 bits. This supersedes the behavior in previous releases where the default Diffie-Hellman key size was 1024 bits.
This enhancement is relevant when a TLS_DHE cipher suite is negotiated and either the client or the server does not support Finite Field Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral (FFDHE) parameters. The JDK TLS implementation supports FFDHE, which is enabled by default and can negotiate a stronger key size.
As a workaround, you can revert to the previous key size by setting the jdk.tls.ephemeralDHKeySize system property to 1024. However, to mitigate risk, consider using the default key size of 2048 bits.
This change does not affect TLS 1.3, which already uses a minimum Diffie-Hellman key size of 2048 bits.
See JDK-8301700 (JDK Bug System).
Server-side cipher suite preferences used by default
In Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21, the SunJSSE provider uses the local server-side cipher suite preferences by default. This supersedes the behavior in previous releases where the server used the preferences that the connecting client specified.
You can revert to the previous behavior by using SSLParameters.setUseCipherSuitesOrder(false) on the server side.
See JDK-8168261 (JDK Bug System).
Support for RSA keys in PKCS#1 format
JDK providers can now accept Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) private and public keys in PKCS#1 format, such as the RSA KeyFactory.impl from the SunRsaSign provider. This feature requires that the RSA private or public key object has a PKCS#1 format and an encoding that matches the ASN.1 syntax for a PKCS#1 RSA private key and public key.
See JDK-8023980 (JDK Bug System).
-XshowSettings:locale output includes tzdata version
In Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21, the -XshowSettings launcher option also prints the tzdata version that the JDK uses. The tzdata version is displayed as part of the output for the -XshowSettings:locale option.
For example:
Locale settings:
default locale = English
default display locale = English
default format locale = English
tzdata version = 2023cSee JDK-8305950 (JDK Bug System).
Certigna root CA certificate added
In Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21, the cacerts truststore includes the Certigna root certificate:
- Name: Certigna (Dhimyotis)
- Alias name: certignarootca
- Distinguished name: CN=Certigna Root CA, OU=0002 48146308100036, O=Dhimyotis, C=FR
See JDK-8314960 (JDK Bug System).
Error thrown if default java.security file fails to load
In previous releases, if the java.security file failed to load successfully, Red Hat build of OpenJDK used a hardcoded set of security properties. However, this set of properties was poorly maintained and it was not obvious to users that the JDK was using these utilities.
To address this issue, if the java.security file fails to load successfully, Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21 throws an InternalError instead.
See JDK-8155246 (JDK Bug System).
Arrays cloned in several JAAS callback classes
In previous releases, in the ChoiceCallback and ConfirmationCallback JAAS classes, when arrays were passed into a constructor or returned, these arrays were not cloned. This behavior allowed an external program to gain access to the internal fields of these classes.
In Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21, the JAAS classes return cloned arrays.
3.2. Red Hat build of OpenJDK deprecated features
Review the following release notes to understand pre-existing features that have been either deprecated or removed in Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21:
SECOM Trust Systems root CA1 certificate removed
From Red Hat build of OpenJDK 11.0.21 onward, the cacerts truststore no longer includes the SECOM Trust Systems root certificate:
- Alias name: secomscrootca1 [jdk]
- Distinguished name: OU=Security Communication RootCA1, O=SECOM Trust.net, C=JP
Chapter 4. Advisories related to this release
The following advisories are issued to document bug fixes and CVE fixes included in this release:
Revised on 2024-05-09 17:32:42 UTC
