Module java.base
Package java.security

Class Policy

  • public abstract classPolicyextendsObject
    A Policy object is responsible for determining whether code executing in the Java runtime environment has permission to perform a security-sensitive operation.

    There is only one Policy object installed in the runtime at any given time. A Policy object can be installed by calling thesetPolicy method. The installed Policy object can be obtained by calling thegetPolicy method.

    If no Policy object has been installed in the runtime, a call togetPolicy installs an instance of the default Policy implementation (a default subclass implementation of this abstract class). The default Policy implementation can be changed by setting the value of thepolicy.provider security property to the fully qualified name of the desired Policy subclass implementation. The system class loader is used to load this class.

    Application code can directly subclass Policy to provide a custom implementation. In addition, an instance of a Policy object can be constructed by invoking one of thegetInstance factory methods with a standard type. The default policy type is "JavaPolicy".

    Once a Policy instance has been installed (either by default, or by callingsetPolicy), the Java runtime invokes itsimplies method when it needs to determine whether executing code (encapsulated in a ProtectionDomain) can perform SecurityManager-protected operations. How a Policy object retrieves its policy data is up to the Policy implementation itself. The policy data may be stored, for example, in a flat ASCII file, in a serialized binary file of the Policy class, or in a database.

    Therefresh method causes the policy object to refresh/reload its data. This operation is implementation-dependent. For example, if the policy object stores its data in configuration files, callingrefresh will cause it to re-read the configuration policy files. If a refresh operation is not supported, this method does nothing. Note that refreshed policy may not have an effect on classes in a particular ProtectionDomain. This is dependent on the Policy provider's implementation of theimplies method and its PermissionCollection caching strategy.

    Since:
    1.2
    See Also:
    Provider,ProtectionDomain,Permission,security properties

    • Field Detail

      • UNSUPPORTED_EMPTY_COLLECTION

        public static final PermissionCollection UNSUPPORTED_EMPTY_COLLECTION
        A read-only empty PermissionCollection instance.
        Since:
        1.6

    • Constructor Detail

      • Policy

        public Policy()

    • Method Detail

      • getPolicy

        public static Policy getPolicy()
        Returns the installed Policy object. This value should not be cached, as it may be changed by a call tosetPolicy. This method first callsSecurityManager.checkPermission with aSecurityPermission("getPolicy") permission to ensure it's ok to get the Policy object.
        Returns:
        the installed Policy.
        Throws:
        SecurityException - if a security manager exists and itscheckPermission method doesn't allow getting the Policy object.
        See Also:
        SecurityManager.checkPermission(Permission),setPolicy(java.security.Policy)

      • setPolicy

        public static void setPolicy​(Policy p)
        Sets the system-wide Policy object. This method first callsSecurityManager.checkPermission with aSecurityPermission("setPolicy") permission to ensure it's ok to set the Policy.
        Parameters:
        p - the new system Policy object.
        Throws:
        SecurityException - if a security manager exists and itscheckPermission method doesn't allow setting the Policy.
        See Also:
        SecurityManager.checkPermission(Permission),getPolicy()

      • getInstance

        public static Policy getInstance​(String type,Policy.Parameters params)                          throwsNoSuchAlgorithmException
        Returns a Policy object of the specified type.

        This method traverses the list of registered security providers, starting with the most preferred Provider. A new Policy object encapsulating the PolicySpi implementation from the first Provider that supports the specified type is returned.

        Note that the list of registered providers may be retrieved via theSecurity.getProviders() method.

        Implementation Note:
        The JDK Reference Implementation additionally uses thejdk.security.provider.preferredSecurity property to determine the preferred provider order for the specified algorithm. This may be different than the order of providers returned bySecurity.getProviders().
        Parameters:
        type - the specified Policy type. See the Policy section in the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification for a list of standard Policy types.
        params - parameters for the Policy, which may be null.
        Returns:
        the newPolicy object
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - if the specified parameters are not understood by thePolicySpi implementation from the selectedProvider
        NoSuchAlgorithmException - if noProvider supports aPolicySpi implementation for the specified type
        NullPointerException - iftype isnull
        SecurityException - if the caller does not have permission to get aPolicy instance for the specified type.
        Since:
        1.6
        See Also:
        Provider

      • getInstance

        public static Policy getInstance​(String type,Policy.Parameters params,Provider provider)                          throwsNoSuchAlgorithmException
        Returns a Policy object of the specified type.

        A new Policy object encapsulating the PolicySpi implementation from the specified Provider object is returned. Note that the specified Provider object does not have to be registered in the provider list.

        Parameters:
        type - the specified Policy type. See the Policy section in the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification for a list of standard Policy types.
        params - parameters for the Policy, which may be null.
        provider - the Provider.
        Returns:
        the newPolicy object
        Throws:
        IllegalArgumentException - if the specifiedProvider isnull, or if the specified parameters are not understood by thePolicySpi implementation from the specifiedProvider
        NoSuchAlgorithmException - if the specifiedProvider does not support aPolicySpi implementation for the specified type
        NullPointerException - iftype isnull
        SecurityException - if the caller does not have permission to get aPolicy instance for the specified type
        Since:
        1.6
        See Also:
        Provider

      • getProvider

        public Provider getProvider()
        Return the Provider of this Policy.

        This Policy instance will only have a Provider if it was obtained via a call toPolicy.getInstance. Otherwise this method returns null.

        Returns:
        the Provider of this Policy, or null.
        Since:
        1.6

      • getType

        public String getType()
        Return the type of this Policy.

        This Policy instance will only have a type if it was obtained via a call toPolicy.getInstance. Otherwise this method returns null.

        Returns:
        the type of this Policy, or null.
        Since:
        1.6

      • getParameters

        public Policy.Parameters getParameters()
        Return Policy parameters.

        This Policy instance will only have parameters if it was obtained via a call toPolicy.getInstance. Otherwise this method returns null.

        Returns:
        Policy parameters, or null.
        Since:
        1.6

      • getPermissions

        public PermissionCollection getPermissions​(CodeSource codesource)
        Return a PermissionCollection object containing the set of permissions granted to the specified CodeSource.

        Applications are discouraged from calling this method since this operation may not be supported by all policy implementations. Applications should solely rely on theimplies method to perform policy checks. If an application absolutely must call a getPermissions method, it should callgetPermissions(ProtectionDomain).

        The default implementation of this method returns Policy.UNSUPPORTED_EMPTY_COLLECTION. This method can be overridden if the policy implementation can return a set of permissions granted to a CodeSource.

        Parameters:
        codesource - the CodeSource to which the returned PermissionCollection has been granted.
        Returns:
        a set of permissions granted to the specified CodeSource. If this operation is supported, the returned set of permissions must be a new mutable instance and it must support heterogeneous Permission types. If this operation is not supported, Policy.UNSUPPORTED_EMPTY_COLLECTION is returned.

      • getPermissions

        public PermissionCollection getPermissions​(ProtectionDomain domain)
        Return a PermissionCollection object containing the set of permissions granted to the specified ProtectionDomain.

        Applications are discouraged from calling this method since this operation may not be supported by all policy implementations. Applications should rely on theimplies method to perform policy checks.

        The default implementation of this method first retrieves the permissions returned viagetPermissions(CodeSource) (the CodeSource is taken from the specified ProtectionDomain), as well as the permissions located inside the specified ProtectionDomain. All of these permissions are then combined and returned in a new PermissionCollection object. IfgetPermissions(CodeSource) returns Policy.UNSUPPORTED_EMPTY_COLLECTION, then this method returns the permissions contained inside the specified ProtectionDomain in a new PermissionCollection object.

        This method can be overridden if the policy implementation supports returning a set of permissions granted to a ProtectionDomain.

        Parameters:
        domain - the ProtectionDomain to which the returned PermissionCollection has been granted.
        Returns:
        a set of permissions granted to the specified ProtectionDomain. If this operation is supported, the returned set of permissions must be a new mutable instance and it must support heterogeneous Permission types. If this operation is not supported, Policy.UNSUPPORTED_EMPTY_COLLECTION is returned.
        Since:
        1.4

      • implies

        public boolean implies​(ProtectionDomain domain,Permission permission)
        Evaluates the global policy for the permissions granted to the ProtectionDomain and tests whether the permission is granted.
        Parameters:
        domain - the ProtectionDomain to test
        permission - the Permission object to be tested for implication.
        Returns:
        true if "permission" is a proper subset of a permission granted to this ProtectionDomain.
        Since:
        1.4
        See Also:
        ProtectionDomain

      • refresh

        public void refresh()
        Refreshes/reloads the policy configuration. The behavior of this method depends on the implementation. For example, callingrefresh on a file-based policy will cause the file to be re-read.

        The default implementation of this method does nothing. This method should be overridden if a refresh operation is supported by the policy implementation.