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GSK_BAD_FORMAT_OR_INVALID_FORMAT error in plug-in log when SSL is configured between the WebSphere HTTP Plug-in and WebSphere Application Server

Troubleshooting


Problem

When SSL has been configured between the IBM® WebSphere® plug-in and an IBM WebSphere Application Server, the Web server plug-in log shows the following error during plug-in initialization: ERROR: lib_security: logSSLError: str_security (gsk error 106): GSK_BAD_FORMAT_OR_INVALID_FORMAT

Symptom

The following excerpt is an example of what is seen when the plug-in Loglevel is set to "Error":

ERROR: lib_security: logSSLError: str_security (gsk error 106):GSK_BAD_FORMAT_OR_INVALID_FORMAT
ERROR: lib_security: initializeSecurity: Failed to initialize GSK environment
ERROR: ws_transport: transportInitializeSecurity: Failed to initialize security
ERROR: ws_server: serverAddTransport: Failed to initialize security
ERROR: ws_server: serverAddTransport: HTTPS Transport is skipped

Cause

This error can occur when either the "keyring" or "stashfile" properties are incorrectly defined in the plugin-cfg.xml. In the following example, the "keyring" property is incorrectly pointing to the stashfile (*.sth) instead of the main keystore (*.kdb).

<Property Name="keyring" Value="/usr/HTTPServer20/Plugins/etc/blue2/newkey.sth" />
<Property Name="stashfile" Value="/usr/HTTPServer20/Plugins/etc/blue2/newkey.sth" />

Resolving The Problem

Review the plugin-cfg.xml to ensure all "keyring" and "stashfile" properties are pointing to their appropriate files. A correct configuration for the above example would be:

<Property Name="keyring" Value="/usr/HTTPServer20/Plugins/etc/blue2/newkey.kdb" />


<Property Name="stashfile" Value="/usr/HTTPServer20/Plugins/etc/blue2/newkey.sth" />

Related Information

[{"Product":{"code":"SSEQTP","label":"WebSphere Application Server"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU053","label":"Cloud & Data Platform"},"Component":"Plug-in","Platform":[{"code":"PF002","label":"AIX"},{"code":"PF010","label":"HP-UX"},{"code":"PF016","label":"Linux"},{"code":"PF027","label":"Solaris"},{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Version":"8.5;8.0;7.0","Edition":"Base;Network Deployment","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB45","label":"Automation"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
15 June 2018

UID

swg21316538