Https Exception Java How To Fix suncertpathbuilderexception or SSLHandshakeException | Fix certificate problem in HTTPS

In this tutorial, How to fix problems in Java on "HTTPS connection with SSL certificate Error".

Introduction:

HTTPS protocol is supported since JDK1.4 (AFAIK), you have nothing special to do.

As a java developer, if you have not been stung by the below-mentioned exception while running a Java application developed by you on your machine that hits an SSL server (https), then be prepared to get a nasty experience at some point of your coding journey.

Use case or Problematic Program:

import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.Reader;
import java.net.URL;
import java.net.URLConnection;

public class ConnectHttps {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    URL url = new URL("https://amazon.com");
    URLConnection con = url.openConnection();
    Reader reader = new InputStreamReader(con.getInputStream());
    while (true) {
      int ch = reader.read();
      if (ch==-1) {
        break;
      }
      System.out.print((char)ch);
    }
  }
}

Output:

However, you can have a problem if the server certificate is self-signed by a testing certification authority (CA) which is not in trusted CAs of Java on the client side. An exception like

Exception in thread "main" javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException:
  sun.security.validator.ValidatorException:
    PKIX path building failed: sun.security.provider.certpath.SunCertPathBuilderException:
      unable to find valid certification path to requested target

The above exception(SunCertPathBuilderException) is thrown. This is a common situation with a development server.

Solution 1:

The fix is to add the self signed certificate to trusted CAs on the client side. You do that by updating the CACERT file in the your JRE_HOME/lib directory.

Check this tutorial : http://www.java-samples.com/showtutorial.php?tutorialid=210

Solution 2:

you can override the check and accept an untrusted certificate (with the risk coming with it!).

import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.Reader;
import java.net.URL;
import java.net.URLConnection;

import javax.net.ssl.HostnameVerifier;
import javax.net.ssl.HttpsURLConnection;
import javax.net.ssl.SSLContext;
import javax.net.ssl.SSLSession;
import javax.net.ssl.TrustManager;
import javax.net.ssl.X509TrustManager;
import java.security.cert.X509Certificate;

public class ConnectHttps {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    /*
     *  fix for
     *    Exception in thread "main" javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException:
     *       sun.security.validator.ValidatorException:
     *           PKIX path building failed: sun.security.provider.certpath.SunCertPathBuilderException:
     *               unable to find valid certification path to requested target
     */
    TrustManager[] trustAllCerts = new TrustManager[] {
       new X509TrustManager() {
          public java.security.cert.X509Certificate[] getAcceptedIssuers() {
            return null;
          }

          public void checkClientTrusted(X509Certificate[] certs, String authType) {  }

          public void checkServerTrusted(X509Certificate[] certs, String authType) {  }

       }
    };

    SSLContext sc = SSLContext.getInstance("SSL");
    sc.init(null, trustAllCerts, new java.security.SecureRandom());
    HttpsURLConnection.setDefaultSSLSocketFactory(sc.getSocketFactory());

    // Create all-trusting host name verifier
    HostnameVerifier allHostsValid = new HostnameVerifier() {
        public boolean verify(String hostname, SSLSession session) {
          return true;
        }
    };
    // Install the all-trusting host verifier
    HttpsURLConnection.setDefaultHostnameVerifier(allHostsValid);
    /*
     * end of the fix
     */

    URL url = new URL("https://amazon.com");
    URLConnection con = url.openConnection();
    Reader reader = new InputStreamReader(con.getInputStream());
    while (true) {
      int ch = reader.read();
      if (ch==-1) {
        break;
      }
      System.out.print((char)ch);
    }
  }
}

Conclusion:

In this post, we saw why HTTPS exceptions will come while invoking secure URL's and possible solutions to fix suncertpathbuilderexception and SSLHandshakeException.

Original article