Tomcat FAQ

Security

This FAQ section provides help with some security-related issues.

• How do I use OpenSSL to set up my own Certificate Authority (CA)?
• OH NO! PORT 8005 is available for anyone on localhost to shutdown my tomcat!
• What about Tomcat running as root?
• How to I force all my pages to run under HTTPS?
• What is the default login for the manager and admin app?
• How do I restrict access by ip address or remote host?
• How do I use jsvc/procrun to run Tomcat on port 80 securely?

How do I use OpenSSL to set up my own Certificate Authority (CA)?

Using OpenSSL to set up your own CA.

OH NO! PORT 8005 is available for anyone on localhost to shutdown my tomcat!

See these 2 discussions.

• Possible to switch off tcp/ip server shutdown?
• Tomcat shutdown & security

What about Tomcat running as root?

See these threads:

• Tomcat as root and security issues

How to I force all my pages to run under HTTPS?

Use security-constraint in web.xml.

What is the default login for the manager and admin app?

The admin and manager application do not provide a default login. Doing so is a security flaw. You need to edit $CATALINA_HOME/conf/tomcat-users.xml if you are using the default install. Configuring Manager Application Access

How do I restrict access by ip address or remote host?

By using the RemoteHostValve or RemoteAddrValve. Warning, these valves rely on accurate incoming ip addresses or hostnames. So they can fall victim to spoofing! Valve Reference Link

How do I use jsvc/procrun to run Tomcat on port 80 securely?

Fairly easily ;) See the Setup page in the docs for your tomcat release, and read this mailing list post for a complete setup example with permissions etc.