Chapter 3. Basic Security

The Apache Karaf runtime is secured against network attack by default, because all of its exposed ports require user authentication and no users are defined initially. In other words, the Apache Karaf runtime is remotely inaccessible by default.

If you want to access the runtime remotely, you must first customize the security configuration, as described here.

If you want to enable remote access to the Karaf container, you must create a secure JAAS user before starting the container:

By default, no JAAS users are defined for the container, which effectively disables remote access (it is impossible to log on).

To create a secure JAAS user, edit the InstallDir/etc/users.properties file and add a new user field, as follows:

Username=Password,admin

Where Username and Password are the new user credentials. The admin role gives this user the privileges to access all administration and management functions of the container.

Do not define a numeric username with a leading zero. Such usernames will always cause a login attempt to fail. This is because the Karaf shell, which the console uses, drops leading zeros when the input appears to be a number. For example:

karaf@root> echo 0123
123
karaf@root> echo 00.123
0.123
karaf@root>

The Karaf container supports role-based access control, which regulates access through the JMX protocol, the Karaf command console, and the Fuse Management console. When assigning roles to users, you can choose from the set of standard roles, which provide the levels of access described in Table 3.1, “Standard Roles for Access Control”.

For more details about role-based access control, see Role-Based Access Control.

The following ports are exposed by the container:

You can access the remote console port whenever both of the following conditions are true:

For example, to log on to the remote console port from the same machine where the container is running, enter the following command:

./client -u Username -p Password

Where the Username and Password are the credentials of a JAAS user with the ssh role. When accessing the Karaf console through the remote port, your privileges depend on the roles assigned to the user in the etc/users.properties file. If you want access to the complete set of console commands, the user account must have the admin role.

You can employ the following measures to strengthen security on the remote console port:

The JMX port is enabled by default and secured by JAAS authentication. In order to access the JMX port, you must have configured JAAS with at least one set of login credentials. To connect to the JMX port, open a JMX client (for example, jconsole) and connect to the following JMX URI:

service:jmx:rmi:///jndi/rmi://localhost:1099/karaf-root

You must also provide valid JAAS credentials to the JMX client in order to connect.

The Fuse Console is already secured by JAAS authentication. To add SSL security, see Securing the Undertow HTTP Server.