Why Doesn\'t My Java Client Send Its Certificate During SSL Handshake?

Why is My Java Client Unable to Transmit Its Certificate During SSL Handshake?

In an attempt to connect to a secure web service using Java, users frequently encounter handshake failures. Despite correctly configuring keystore and truststore, the underlying issue often stems from Java's reluctance to transmit the client certificate during handshake.

Understanding the Problem:

1. The server expects a client certificate signed by the trusted RootCA.
2. Java searches within the keystore and finds only the client certificate signed by SubCA, which is itself trusted by RootCA.
3. Java doesn't look beyond the keystore, excluding the truststore from its search.
4. As a result, Java claims it doesn't have a suitable certificate and fails the handshake.

Proposed Solutions:

1. Address Broken Certificate Chain:

Verify that the SubCA certificate was imported into the keystore correctly, without breaking the certificate chain. This can be done using keytool -v -list -keystore store.jks. If only one certificate is visible per alias entry, the chain is likely broken.

Import Certificate Chain into Keystore:

To resolve the issue, import the client certificate and its entire certificate chain together into the keystore alias containing the private key.

2. Configuration Issue on Server Side:

While the server's request for a SubCA-signed certificate is reasonable, Java's strict adherence to the request may be unnecessarily restrictive. Browsers like Chrome and OpenSSL have been observed to be more flexible in this regard.

Workaround:

To bypass the issue, an alternative approach can be used:

1. Export the client certificate from the keystore using keytool -exportcert -rfc -file clientcert.pem -keystore store.jks -alias myalias. This creates a PEM file.
2. Combine the client certificate and intermediate CA certificate (and optionally the root CA certificate) into a single bundle.pem file.
3. Import the certificate bundle back into the keystore alias containing the private key using keytool -importcert -keystore store.jks -alias myalias -file bundle.pem.

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