CFLDAP issue with multiple SSL certificates

[gigemags]

I'm running in this error with CFLDAP after we updated one of our SSL certificates in our keystore.  We have a few domains using this ColdFusion server (running CF 11). We believe that it is trying to use the SSL certificate recently updated, instead of the correct one (for the site that needs to communicate to the LDAP server).

Error Message:  An error has occurred while trying to execute query :SASL bind failed: some.server.com:1636.   One or more of the required attributes may be missing or incorrect or you do not have permissions to execute this operation on the server.

code:
<cfldap server = "myserver" port = "1636" secure = "CFSSL_CLIENT_AUTH" clientcert = "/my/keystore" clientcertpassword = "mypassword" action = "query" name = "results" start = "mystart" filter = "myfilter" attributes = "myattributes" timeout = "600000">

Is there any way to specify the certificate alias with CFLAP?

Does anyone know how it chooses which certificate to use?  like alphabetical, last updated, etc.

[Nitu Bisht]

In ColdFusion, when using CFLDAP with SSL certificates, you can specify the certificate alias using the ‘clientcertalias’ attribute. This attribute allows you to specify the alias of the certificate you want to use from the keystore.

Here's an example of how you can modify your code to include the clientcertalias attribute:

<cfldap server="myserver"

         port="1636"

         secure="CFSSL_CLIENT_AUTH"

         clientcert="/my/keystore"

         clientcertpassword="mypassword"

         clientcertalias="your_certificate_alias"

         action="query"

         name="results"

         start="mystart"

         filter="myfilter"

         attributes="myattributes"

         timeout="600000">

Replace "your_certificate_alias" with the actual alias of the certificate you want to use from your keystore.

Regarding how ColdFusion chooses which certificate to use when multiple certificates are present in the keystore, the exact behavior depends on the underlying Java implementation. In most cases, the selection is based on the certificate's alias. However, it's always a good practice to explicitly specify the certificate alias using the clientcertalias attribute to ensure that the correct certificate is used.

If you're uncertain about the current state of your keystore or the certificates it contains, you can use keytool (a Java tool) to list the certificates and their aliases within the keystore. The command to list the certificates is as follows:

keytool -list -keystore /my/keystore

This command will display the certificates and their respective aliases, allowing you to verify the alias of the certificate you want to use.

Remember to restart your ColdFusion server after making any changes to the code or the keystore for the changes to take effect.

If you are still having problems, you can try the following:

1. Make sure that the certificate in the keystore is valid and has not expired.
2. Make sure that the password for the keystore is correct.
3. Check the permissions on the keystore file.
4. Try using a different keystore.
5. Contact your LDAP server administrator for help.

[Charlie Arehart]

Hmm. I don't find that the docs for cfldap indicate existence of a clientcertalias keyword. Nitu, if this worked for you, can you confirm what CF version and update it was?

Otherwise, this answer reads very much like something from chatgpt or the like. If you only got it from there, and did not test it--and you or others confirm it doesn't work--then you'll want revisit the answer you got to let them know they made a mistake.

Finally, to whoever marked this as an answer, had YOU confirmed it worked? It may, and I'm open to correction. I'm merely going on the docs, but I'm seeing this on my phone as I head to bed, so I'm unable to test myself. I wanted to get this out in case others would see and consider it. If this does NOT work, then the answer indication should of course be revoked. 

As always, just trying to help. 

[Charlie Arehart]

Following up my previous comment raising a concern about Nitu's Dec 25 reply , I can report that I've now had a chance to confirm things via testing: there is in fact no clientcertalias attribute for CFLDAP.

FWIW, the detailed error (in CF2023, 2021, and 2018) is:

Attribute validation error for tag CFLDAP.
It does not allow the attribute(s) CLIENTCERTALIAS. The valid attribute(s) are ACTION,ATTRIBUTES,CLIENTCERT,CLIENTCERTPASSWORD,DELIMITER,FILTER,MAXROWS,NAME,PASSWORD,PORT,REBIND,REFERRAL,RETURNASBINARY,SCOPE,SECURE,SEPARATOR,SERVER,SORT,SORTCONTROL,START,STARTROW,TIMEOUT,USERNAME,USETLS.
 

Note as well that there's no attribute related to aliases at all. 

As such, I've removed the marking of Nitu's reply as being an "answer".  I rarely take such a step, but in this case whoever marked it as an answer had not confirmed if it worked. Most of that reply sure sounds like something pulled from ChatGPT. And while it's not WRONG to offer such info as an answer, it IS important that it be verfied first. And frankly I'd think the person offering the answer should indicate that it was pulled from some resource (AI chatbot or otherwise), otherwise it comes across as a reply based on their own experience--which clearly this could not have been. 

I appreciate this leaves you without an answer, gigemags. I will offer a different possible solution for you, as a separate reply.

[Charlie Arehart]

gigemags, while I've not seen that error before, "SASL bind failed", I can say that in looking into it (not limited to regarding CF), I find that it seems to be rather catch-all, high-level error that occurs when a secure ldap connection cannot be made. As such, I see other folks providing more details, including "root" exception info including such things as "Root exception is javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException" or "PKIX path building failed". Those are classic errors when there's some problem with CF (Java) communicating via TLS/SSL to some server.

So first and foremost, can you look at the exception.log in CF to see if you see more details when this error occurs? And does it container words like those above?

If so, I know you feel the problem started "after we updated one of our SSL certificates in our keystore". But did you also restart  CF to make that take effect? If so, note that the restart of CF could have caused other prior changes to take effect. For example, perhaps someone updated the JVM which CF uses. You mention being on CF11, and depending on what update of that you're running, it supports Java 11 or 8. Can you confirm what JVM CF is using? You can view that in the CF Admin on its "settings summary" page.

I'll add that it could be someone updated it from an older Java version (even perhaps a few to several years old) to a more recent one. I can say that with the JVM updates starting in Apr 2021, Oracle changed the default to no longer allow calling out to servers that didn't support at least TLS 1.2. Note how that has nothing to do with certs. I have a blog post on that here.

On teh other hand, sometimes what happens is that servers you call make changes that REQUIRE that the JVM calling it be updated. I have a blog post on that, here.

Please let us know if any of the above helps, and if not, again please report at least the Jvm version and CF update, both reported on the CF Admin "settings summary" page. (Someone will want to also point out how CF11 came out in 2014 and got its last udpate in 2019. It is indeed potentially a grave security risk to still be running it, or CF2016 or CF2018--both of which got their last updates 5 years after they came out.)