Authenticating on a server using HTTP Commons Client

Question

I am a complete beginner at this and I have been trying to make a connection with the server for quite some time

public class Test {

    public static void main(String[] args) throws ClientProtocolException, IOException {

    DefaultHttpClient httpClient = new DefaultHttpClient();

        httpClient.getCredentialsProvider().setCredentials(
                new AuthScope("9.5.127.34", 80),
                new UsernamePasswordCredentials("root", "passw0rd"));

        String url_copied_from_firebug = "https://9.5.127.34/powervc/openstack/volume/v1/115e4ad38aef463e8f99991baad1f809//volumes/3627400b-cd98-46c7-a7e2-ebce587a0b05/restricted_metadata"
        HttpGet httpget = new HttpGet(url_copied_from_firebug);
        HttpResponse response = httpClient.execute(httpget);

        BufferedReader rd = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(response.getEntity().getContent()));
        String line = "";
        while ((line = rd.readLine()) != null) {

            System.out.println(line);

            }   
        }
}

The error which I get when I try to run the code is

Exception in thread "main" javax.net.ssl.SSLPeerUnverifiedException: peer not authenticated

I have tried changing the port number from 80 to 443 but it is not working. I think I am starting with it and might be missing a lot of things. Please point me in the right direction.

Thanx in advance.

Answer 1

Your problem is not HTTP authentication. Your http client could not verify the ssl certificate for the server with a certificate authority - this is probably because you are using a self-signed certificate.

Look at the HttpClient documentation for instructions about how to customize your client to allow a self-signed certificate.

Here is an example of creating an HttpClient that accepts all certificates and host names - just remember to use it with servers you trust:

    private DefaultHttpClient getSSLHttpClient(final URL url) throws RestClientException {
    try {
        final X509TrustManager trustManager = createTrustManager();
        SSLContext ctx = SSLContext.getInstance("TLS");
        ctx.init(null, new TrustManager[]{trustManager}, null);
        SSLSocketFactory ssf = new SSLSocketFactory(ctx, createHostnameVerifier());
        AbstractHttpClient base = new DefaultHttpClient();
        ClientConnectionManager ccm = base.getConnectionManager();
        SchemeRegistry sr = ccm.getSchemeRegistry();
        sr.register(new Scheme(HTTPS, url.getPort(), ssf));
        return new DefaultHttpClient(ccm, base.getParams());
    } catch (final Exception e) {
        throw new RestClientException(FAILED_CREATING_CLIENT, "Failed creating http client",
                ExceptionUtils.getFullStackTrace(e));
    }
}


private X509TrustManager createTrustManager() {
    X509TrustManager tm = new X509TrustManager() {

        @Override
        public X509Certificate[] getAcceptedIssuers() {
            return null;
        }

        @Override
        public void checkServerTrusted(final X509Certificate[] chain, final String authType) 
                throws CertificateException {
        }

        @Override
        public void checkClientTrusted(final X509Certificate[] chain, final String authType) 
                throws CertificateException {
        }
    };
    return tm;
}


private X509HostnameVerifier createHostnameVerifier() {
    X509HostnameVerifier verifier = new X509HostnameVerifier() {

        @Override
        public boolean verify(final String arg0, final SSLSession arg1) {
            return true;
        }

        @Override
        public void verify(final String host, final String[] cns, final String[] subjectAlts) 
                throws SSLException {
        }

        @Override
        public void verify(final String host, final X509Certificate cert) 
                throws SSLException {
        }

        @Override
        public void verify(final String host, final SSLSocket ssl) 
                throws IOException {
        }
    };
    return verifier;
}