Action 5 - change the j2c user ID password
About this task
Use the changeSecurityProperties utility to change the j2c database user ID password.
The procedure
requires you to create a text file of the current security properties,
edit the file, stop the application server, run the utility, and restart
the application server.
Note: You might have already created the
text file while determining your role (for more information, see Determining the role of the user whose password has changed).
For
detailed information, see the following sections:
- Application server - using the utilities that change the properties provides a generic description of the procedure for changing the WebSphere Application Server properties.
- Changing the security settings provides reference information about the changeSecurityProperties utility.
- When editing the text file of the current security properties, locate the j2cPassword file and change the password to the new value, in plain text.
Note:
- If the user is both the WebSphere Application Server user and the database user, you can change the properties for both in the same action. For details about the properties to change, see Action 1 - change the WebSphere Application Server user ID password.
- The changeSecurityProperties utility might display a message from the application server (WASX7357I). You can ignore this message.
- When you supply a password in a text file for changeSecurityProperties,
there is a small security exposure. When you enter a password in the
file, the password is entered in clear (unencrypted). After you have
run changeSecurityProperties, the password remains in clear
in the text file you have edited, but if you run showSecurityProperties the
password is output encrypted. Thus, your potential security exposure
is limited to the time from when you entered the password in the text
file until when you manually deleted the text file after using changeSecurityProperties.
Attention: If you subsequently want to change other parameters and do not want to change any passwords, you must perform one of the following actions before running changeSecurityProperties. This is to prevent that the row of asterisks is applied as the password:
- Resupply the passwords in clear.
- Comment the password properties.
- Delete the password properties.