Permissions in the JavaTM 2 SDK

Last Modified: 30 October, 1998


A permission represents access to a system resource. In order for a resource access to be allowed for an applet (or an application running with a security manager), the corresponding permission must be explicitly granted to the code attempting the access.

A permission typically has a name (often referred to as a "target name") and, in some cases, a comma-separated list of one or more actions. For example, the following code creates a FilePermission object representing read access to the file named abc in the /tmp directory:

    perm = new java.io.FilePermission("/tmp/abc", "read");
In this, the target name is "/tmp/abc" and the action string is "read".

Important: The above statement creates a permission object. A permission object represents, but does not grant access to, a system resource. Permission objects are constructed and assigned ("granted") to code based on the policy in effect. When a permission object is assigned to some code, that code is granted the permission to access the system resource specified in the permission object, in the specified manner. A permission object may also be constructed by the current security manager when making access decisions. In this case, the (target) permission object is created based on the requested access, and checked against the permission objects granted to and held by the code making the request.

The policy for a Java application environment is represented by a Policy object. In the default Policy implementation, the policy can be specified within one or more policy configuration files. The policy file(s) specify what permissions are allowed for code from specified code sources. A sample policy file entry granting code from the /home/sysadmin directory read access to the file /tmp/abc is

  grant codeBase "file:/home/sysadmin/" {
    permission java.io.FilePermission "/tmp/abc", "read";
  };

For information about policy file locations and granting permissions in policy files, see Default Policy Implementation and Policy File Syntax. For information about using the Policy Tool to specify the permissions, see the Policy Tool documentation (for Solaris) (for Windows). Using the Policy Tool saves typing and eliminates the need for you to know the required syntax of policy files.

Technically, whenever a resource access is attempted, all code traversed by the execution thread up to that point must have permission for that resource access, unless some code on the thread has been marked as "privileged." See API for Privileged Blocks for more information about "privileged" code.

This document contains tables that describe the built-in JDK 1.2 permission types and discuss the risks of granting each permission. It also contains tables showing the methods that require permissions to be in effect in order to be successful, and for each lists the required permission.

The tables are the following:

Permission Descriptions and Risks
AllPermission
AWTPermission
FilePermission
NetPermission
PropertyPermission
ReflectPermission
RuntimePermission
SecurityPermission
SerializablePermission
SocketPermission

Methods and the Permissions They Require

java.lang.SecurityManager Method Permission Checks

For more information about permissions, including the superclasses java.security.Permission and java.security.BasicPermission, and examples of creating permission objects and granting permissions, see the Security Architecture Specification.


Permission Descriptions and Risks

The following tables describe the built-in JDK 1.2 permission types and discuss the risks of granting each permission.

AllPermission

The java.security.AllPermission is a permission that implies all other permissions.

Note: Granting AllPermission should be done with extreme care, as it implies all other permissions. Thus, it grants code the ability to run with security disabled. Extreme caution should be taken before granting such a permission to code. This permission should be used only during testing, or in extremely rare cases where an application or applet is completely trusted and adding the necessary permissions to the policy is prohibitively cumbersome.

AWTPermission

A java.awt.AWTPermission is for AWT permissions.

The following table lists all the possible AWTPermission target names, and for each provides a description of what the permission allows and a discussion of the risks of granting code the permission.

java.awt.AWTPermission
Target Name
What the Permission Allows Risks of Allowing this Permission
accessClipboard Posting and retrieval of information to and from the AWT clipboard This would allow malfeasant code to share potentially sensitive or confidential information.
accessEventQueue Access to the AWT event queue After retrieving the AWT event queue, malicious code may peek at and even remove existing events from the system, as well as post bogus events which may purposefully cause the application or applet to misbehave in an insecure manner.
listenToAllAWTEvents Listen to all AWT events, system-wide After adding an AWT event listener, malicious code may scan all AWT events dispatched in the system, allowing it to read all user input (such as passwords). Each AWT event listener is called from within the context of that event queue's EventDispatchThread, so if the accessEventQueue permission is also enabled, malicious code could modify the contents of AWT event queues system-wide, causing the application or applet to misbehave in an insecure manner.
readDisplayPixels Readback of pixels from the display screen Interfaces such as the java.awt.Composite interface which allow arbitrary code to examine pixels on the display enable malicious code to snoop on the activities of the user.
showWindowWithoutWarningBanner Display of a window without also displaying a banner warning that the window was created by an applet Without this warning, an applet may pop up windows without the user knowing that they belong to an applet. Since users may make security-sensitive decisions based on whether or not the window belongs to an applet (entering a username and password into a dialog box, for example), disabling this warning banner may allow applets to trick the user into entering such information.

FilePermission

A java.io.FilePermission represents access to a file or directory. A FilePermission consists of a pathname and a set of actions valid for that pathname.

Pathname is the pathname of the file or directory granted the specified actions. A pathname that ends in "/*" (where "/" is the file separator character, File.separatorChar) indicates a directory and all the files contained in that directory. A pathname that ends with "/-" indicates a directory and (recursively) all files and subdirectories contained in that directory. A pathname consisting of the special token "<<ALL FILES>>" matches any file.

A pathname consisting of a single "*" indicates all the files in the current directory, while a pathname consisting of a single "-" indicates all the files in the current directory and (recursively) all files and subdirectories contained in the current directory.

The actions to be granted are passed to the constructor in a string containing a list of zero or more comma-separated keywords. The possible keywords are "read", "write", "execute", and "delete". Their meaning is defined as follows:

read
Permission to read.
write
Permission to write (which includes permission to create).
execute
Permission to execute. Allows Runtime.exec to be called. Corresponds to SecurityManager.checkExec.
delete
Permission to delete. Allows File.delete to be called. Corresponds to SecurityManager.checkDelete.

The actions string is converted to lowercase before processing.

Be careful when granting FilePermissions. Think about the implications of granting read and especially write access to various files and directories. The "<<ALL FILES>>" permission with write action is especially dangerous. This grants permission to write to the entire file system. One thing this effectively allows is replacement of the system binary, including the JVM runtime environment.

Please note: code can always read a file from the same directory it's in (or a subdirectory of that directory); it does not need explicit permission to do so.

NetPermission

A java.net.NetPermission is for various network permissions. A NetPermission contains a name but no actions list; you either have the named permission or you don't.

The following table lists all the possible NetPermission target names, and for each provides a description of what the permission allows and a discussion of the risks of granting code the permission.

java.net.NetPermission
Target Name
What the Permission Allows Risks of Allowing this Permission
setDefaultAuthenticator The ability to set the way authentication information is retrieved when a proxy or HTTP server asks for authentication Malicious code can set an authenticator that monitors and steals user authentication input as it retrieves the input from the user.
requestPasswordAuthentication The ability to ask the authenticator registered with the system for a password Malicious code may steal this password.
specifyStreamHandler The ability to specify a stream handler when constructing a URL Malicious code may create a URL with resources that it would normally not have access to (like file:/foo/fum/), specifying a stream handler that gets the actual bytes from someplace it does have access to. Thus it might be able to trick the system into creating a ProtectionDomain/CodeSource for a class even though that class really didn't come from that location.

PropertyPermission

A java.util.PropertyPermission is for property permissions.

The name is the name of the property ("java.home", "os.name", etc). The naming convention follows the hierarchical property naming convention. Also, an asterisk may appear at the end of the name, following a ".", or by itself, to signify a wildcard match. For example: "java.*" or "*" is valid, "*java" or "a*b" is not valid.

The actions to be granted are passed to the constructor in a string containing a list of zero or more comma-separated keywords. The possible keywords are "read" and "write". Their meaning is defined as follows:

read
Permission to read. Allows System.getProperty to be called.
write
Permission to write. Allows System.setProperty to be called.

The actions string is converted to lowercase before processing.

Care should be taken before granting code permission to access certain system properties. For example, granting permission to access the "java.home" system property gives potentially malevolent code sensitive information about the system environment (the Java installation directory). Also, granting permission to access the "user.name" and "user.home" system properties gives potentially malevolent code sensitive information about the user environment (the user's account name and home directory).

ReflectPermission

A java.lang.reflect.ReflectPermission is for reflective operations. A ReflectPermission is a named permission and has no actions. The only name currently defined is suppressAccessChecks, which allows suppressing the standard language access checks -- for public, default (package) access, protected, and private members -- performed by reflected objects at their point of use.

The following table provides a summary description of what the permission allows, and discusses the risks of granting code the permission.

java.lang.reflect.ReflectPermission
Target Name
What the Permission Allows Risks of Allowing this Permission
suppressAccessChecks The ability to access fields and invoke methods in a class. Note that this includes not only public, but protected and private fields and methods as well. This is dangerous in that information (possibly confidential) and methods normally unavailable would be accessible to malicious code.

RuntimePermission

A java.lang.RuntimePermission is for runtime permissions. A RuntimePermission contains a name (also referred to as a "target name") but no actions list; you either have the named permission or you don't.

The target name is the name of the runtime permission (see below). The naming convention follows the hierarchical property naming convention. Also, an asterisk may appear at the end of the name, following a ".", or by itself, to signify a wildcard match. For example: "loadLibrary.*" or "*" is valid, "*loadLibrary" or "a*b" is not valid.

The following table lists all the possible RuntimePermission target names, and for each provides a description of what the permission allows and a discussion of the risks of granting code the permission.

java.lang.RuntimePermission
Target Name
What the Permission Allows Risks of Allowing this Permission
createClassLoader Creation of a class loader This is an extremely dangerous permission to grant. Malicious applications that can instantiate their own class loaders could then load their own rogue classes into the system. These newly loaded classes could be placed into any protection domain by the class loader, thereby automatically granting the classes the permissions for that domain.
getClassLoader Retrieval of a class loader (e.g., the class loader for the calling class) This would grant an attacker permission to get the class loader for a particular class. This is dangerous because having access to a class's class loader allows the attacker to load other classes available to that class loader. The attacker would typically otherwise not have access to those classes.
setContextClassLoader Setting of the context class loader used by a thread The context class loader is used by system code and extensions when they need to lookup resources that might not exist in the system class loader. Granting setContextClassLoader permission would allow code to change which context class loader is used for a particular thread, including system threads.
setSecurityManager Setting of the security manager (possibly replacing an existing one) The security manager is a class that allows applications to implement a security policy. Granting the setSecurityManager permission would allow code to change which security manager is used by installing a different, possibly less restrictive security manager, thereby bypassing checks that would have been enforced by the original security manager.
createSecurityManager Creation of a new security manager This gives code access to protected, sensitive methods that may disclose information about other classes or the execution stack.
exitVM Halting of the Java Virtual Machine This allows an attacker to mount a denial-of-service attack by automatically forcing the virtual machine to halt.
setFactory Setting of the socket factory used by ServerSocket or Socket, or of the stream handler factory used by URL This allows code to set the actual implementation for the socket, server socket, stream handler, or RMI socket factory. An attacker may set a faulty implementation which mangles the data stream.
setIO Setting of System.out, System.in, and System.err This allows changing the value of the standard system streams. An attacker may change System.in to monitor and steal user input, or may set System.err to a "null" OutputSteam, which would hide any error messages sent to System.err.
modifyThread stop, suspend, resume, setPriority, and setName methods This allows an attacker to start or suspend any thread in the system.
stopThread Stopping of threads via calls to the Thread stop method This allows code to stop any thread in the system provided that it is already granted permission to access that thread. This poses as a threat, because that code may corrupt the system by killing existing threads.
modifyThreadGroup Modification of thread groups, e.g., via calls to ThreadGroup destroy, resume, setDaemon, setMaxPriority, stop, and suspend methods This allows an attacker to create thread groups and set their run priority.
getProtectionDomain Retrieval of the ProtectionDomain for a class This allows code to obtain policy information for a particular code source. While obtaining policy information does not compromise the security of the system, it does give attackers additional information, such as local file names for example, to better aim an attack.
readFileDescriptor Reading of file descriptors This would allow code to read the particular file associated with the file descriptor read. This is dangerous if the file contains confidential data.
writeFileDescriptor Writing to file descriptors This allows code to write to a particular file associated with the descriptor. This is dangerous because it may allow malicous code to plant viruses or at the very least, fill up your entire disk.
loadLibrary.{library name} Dynamic linking of the specified library It is dangerous to allow an applet permission to load native code libraries, because the Java security architecture is not designed to and does not prevent malicious behavior at the level of native code.
accessClassInPackage.{package name} Access to the specified package via a class loader's loadClass method when that class loader calls the SecurityManager checkPackageAcesss method This gives code access to classes in packages to which it normally does not have access. Malicious code may use these classes to help in its attempt to compromise security in the system.
defineClassInPackage.{package name} Definition of classes in the specified package, via a class loader's defineClass method when that class loader calls the SecurityManager checkPackageDefinition method. This grants code permission to define a class in a particular package. This is dangerous because malicious code with this permission may define rogue classes in trusted packages like java.security or java.lang, for example.
accessDeclaredMembers Access to the declared members of a class This grants code permission to query a class for its public, protected, default (package) access, and private fields and/or methods. Although the code would have access to the private and protected field and method names, it would not have access to the private/protected field data and would not be able to invoke any private methods. Nevertheless, malicious code may use this information to better aim an attack. Additionally, it may invoke any public methods and/or access public fields in the class. This could be dangerous if the code would normally not be able to invoke those methods and/or access the fields because it can't cast the object to the class/interface with those methods and fields.
queuePrintJob Initiation of a print job request This could print sensitive information to a printer, or simply waste paper.

SecurityPermission

A java.security.SecurityPermission is for security permissions. A SecurityPermission contains a name (also referred to as a "target name") but no actions list; you either have the named permission or you don't.

The target name is the name of a security configuration parameter (see below). Currently the SecurityPermission object is used to guard access to the Policy, Security, Provider, Signer, and Identity objects.

The following table lists all the possible SecurityPermission target names, and for each provides a description of what the permission allows and a discussion of the risks of granting code the permission.

java.security.SecurityPermission
Target Name
What the Permission Allows Risks of Allowing this Permission
getPolicy Retrieval of the system-wide security policy (specifically, of the currently-installed Policy object) This allows someone to query the policy via the getPermissions call, which discloses which permissions would be granted to a given CodeSource. While revealing the policy does not compromise the security of the system, it does provide malicious code with additional information which it may use to better aim an attack. It is wise not to divulge more information than necessary.
setPolicy Setting of the system-wide security policy (specifically, the Policy object) Granting this permission is extremely dangerous, as malicious code may grant itself all the necessary permissions it needs to successfully mount an attack on the system.
getProperty.{key} Retrieval of the security property with the specified key Depending on the particular key for which access has been granted, the code may have access to the list of security providers, as well as the location of the system-wide and user security policies. while revealing this information does not compromise the security of the system, it does provide malicious code with additional information which it may use to better aim an attack.
setProperty.{key} Setting of the security property with the specified key This could include setting a security provider or defining the location of the the system-wide security policy. Malicious code that has permission to set a new security provider may set a rogue provider that steals confidential information such as cryptographic private keys. In addition, malicious code with permission to set the location of the system-wide security policy may point it to a security policy that grants the attacker all the necessary permissions it requires to successfully mount an attack on the system.
insertProvider.{provider name} Addition of a new provider, with the specified name This would allow somebody to introduce a possibly malicious provider (e.g., one that discloses the private keys passed to it) as the highest-priority provider. This would be possible because the Security object (which manages the installed providers) currently does not check the integrity or authenticity of a provider before attaching it.
removeProvider.{provider name} Removal of the specified provider This may change the behavior or disable execution of other parts of the program. If a provider subsequently requested by the program has been removed, execution may fail. Also, if the removed provider is not explicitly requested by the rest of the program, but it would normally be the provider chosen when a cryptography service is requested (due to its previous order in the list of providers), a different provider will be chosen instead, or no suitable provider will be found, thereby resulting in program failure.
setSystemScope Setting of the system identity scope This would allow an attacker to configure the system identity scope with certificates that should not be trusted, thereby granting applet or application code signed with those certificates privileges that would have been denied by the system's original identity scope
setIdentityPublicKey Setting of the public key for an Identity If the identity is marked as "trusted", this allows an attacker to introduce a different public key (e.g., its own) that is not trusted by the system's identity scope, thereby granting applet or application code signed with that public key privileges that would have been denied otherwise.
SetIdentityInfo Setting of a general information string for an Identity This allows attackers to set the general description for an identity. This may trick applications into using a different identity than intended or may prevent applications from finding a particular identity.
addIdentityCertificate Addition of a certificate for an Identity This allows attackers to set a certificate for an identity's public key. This is dangerous because it affects the trust relationship across the system. This public key suddenly becomes trusted to a wider audience than it otherwise would be.
removeIdentityCertificate Removal of a certificate for an Identity This allows attackers to remove a certificate for an identity's public key. This is dangerous because it affects the trust relationship across the system. This public key suddenly becomes considered less trustworthy than it otherwise would be.
printIdentity Viewing the name of a principal and optionally the scope in which it is used, and whether or not it is considered "trusted" in that scope. The scope that is printed out may be a filename, in which case it may convey local system information. For example, here's a sample printout of an identity named "carol", who is marked not trusted in the user's identity database:
carol[/home/luehe/identitydb.obj][not trusted]
clearProviderProperties.{provider name} "Clearing" of a Provider so that it no longer contains the properties used to look up services implemented by the provider This disables the lookup of services implemented by the provider. This may thus change the behavior or disable execution of other parts of the program that would normally utilize the Provider, as described under the "removeProvider.{provider name}" permission.
putProviderProperty.{provider name} Setting of properties for the specified Provider The provider properties each specify the name and location of a particular service implemented by the provider. By granting this permission, you let code replace the service specification with another one, thereby specifying a different implementation.
removeProviderProperty.{provider name} Removal of properties from the specified Provider This disables the lookup of services implemented by the provider. They are no longer accessible due to removal of the properties specifying their names and locations. This may change the behavior or disable execution of other parts of the program that would normally utilize the Provider, as described under the "removeProvider.{provider name}" permission.
getSignerPrivateKey Retrieval of a Signer's private key It is very dangerous to allow access to a private key; private keys are supposed to be kept secret. Otherwise, code can use the private key to sign various files and claim the signature came from the Signer.
setSignerKeyPair Setting of the key pair (public key and private key) for a Signer This would allow an attacker to replace somebody else's (the "target's") keypair with a possibly weaker keypair (e.g., a keypair of a smaller keysize). This also would allow the attacker to listen in on encrypted communication between the target and its peers. The target's peers might wrap an encryption session key under the target's "new" public key, which would allow the attacker (who possesses the corresponding private key) to unwrap the session key and decipher the communication data encrypted under that session key.

SerializablePermission

A java.io.SerializablePermission is for serializable permissions. A SerializablePermission contains a name (also referred to as a "target name") but no actions list; you either have the named permission or you don't.

The target name is the name of the Serializable permission (see below).

The following table lists all the possible SerializablePermission target names, and for each provides a description of what the permission allows and a discussion of the risks of granting code the permission.

java.io.SerializablePermission
Target Name
What the Permission Allows Risks of Allowing this Permission
enableSubclassImplementation Implementing a subclass of ObjectOutputStream or ObjectInputStream to override the default serialization or deserialization, respectively, of objects Code can use this to serialize or deserialize classes in a purposefully malfeasant manner. For example, during serialization, malicious code can use this to purposefully store confidential private field data in a way easily accessible to attackers. Or, during deserializaiton it could, for example, deserialize a class with all its private fields zeroed out.
enableSubstitution Substitution of one object for another during serialization or deserialization This is dangerous because malicious code can replace the actual object with one which has incorrect or malignant data.

SocketPermission

A java.net.SocketPermission represents access to a network via sockets. A SocketPermission consists of a host specification and a set of "actions" specifying ways to connect to that host. The host is specified as
   host = (hostname | IPaddress)[:portrange]
   portrange = portnumber | -portnumber | portnumber-[portnumber]
The host is expressed as a DNS name, as a numerical IP address, or as "localhost" (for the local machine). The wildcard "*" may be included once in a DNS name host specification. If it is included, it must be in the leftmost position, as in "*.sun.com".

The port or portrange is optional. A port specification of the form "N-", where N is a port number, signifies all ports numbered N and above, while a specification of the form "-N" indicates all ports numbered N and below.

The possible ways to connect to the host are

accept
connect
listen
resolve
The "listen" action is only meaningful when used with "localhost". The "resolve" (resolve host/ip name service lookups) action is implied when any of the other actions are present.

As an example of the creation and meaning of SocketPermissions, note that if you have the following entry in your policy file:

    grant signedBy "mrm" {
      permission java.net.SocketPermission "puffin.eng.sun.com:7777", "connect, 
accept";
    };
this causes the following permission object to be generated and granted to code signed by "mrm."
    p1 = new SocketPermission("puffin.eng.sun.com:7777", "connect,accept");
p1 represents a permission allowing connections to port 7777 on puffin.eng.sun.com, and also accepting connections on that port.

Similarly, if you have the following entry in your policy:

    grant signedBy "paul" {
      permission java.net.SocketPermission "localhost:1024-", "accept, connect, 
listen";
    };
this causes the following permission object to be generated and granted to code signed by "paul."
      p2 = new SocketPermission("localhost:1024-", "accept,connect,listen");
p2 represents a permission allowing accepting connections on, connecting to, or listening on any port between 1024 and 65535 on the local host.

Note: Granting code permission to accept or make connections to remote hosts may be dangerous because malevolent code can then more easily transfer and share confidential data among parties who may not otherwise have access to the data.


Methods and the Permissions They Require

The following table contains a list of all the JDK 1.2 methods that require permissions, and for each tells which SecurityManager method it calls and which permission is checked for by the default implementation of that SecurityManager method.

Thus, with the default SecurityManager method implementations, a call to a method in the left-hand column can only be successful if the permission specified in the corresponding entry in the right-hand column is allowed by the policy currently in effect. For example, the following row:

Method SecurityManager Method Called Permission
java.awt.Toolkit
    getSystemEventQueue(); 
checkAwtEventQueueAccess java.awt.AWTPermission "accessEventQueue";

specifies that a call to the getSystemEventQueue method in the java.awt.Toolkit class results in a call to the checkAwtEventQueueAccess SecurityManager method, which can only be successful if the following permission is granted to code on the call stack:

  java.awt.AWTPermission "accessEventQueue";

The convention of:

Method SecurityManager Method Called Permission
 some.package.class
   public static void someMethod(String foo); 
checkXXX SomePermission "{foo}";

means the runtime value of foo replaces the string {foo} in the permission name.

As an example, here is one table entry:

Method SecurityManager Method Called Permission
java.io.FileInputStream
    FileInputStream(String name) 
checkRead(String) java.io.FilePermission "{name}", "read";

If the FileInputStream method (in this case, a constructor) is called with "/test/MyTestFile" as the name argument, as in

  FileInputStream("/test/MyTestFile");
then in order for the call to succeed, the following permission must be set in the current policy, allowing read access to the file "/test/MyTestFile":
  java.io.FilePermission "/test/MyTestFile", "read";
More specifically, the permission must either be explicitly set, as above, or implied by another permission, such as the following:
  java.io.FilePermission "/test/*", "read";
which allows read access to any files in the "/test" directory.

In some cases, a term in braces is not exactly the same as the name of a specific method argument but is meant to represent the relevant value. Here is an example:

Method SecurityManager Method Called Permission
java.net.DatagramSocket
  public synchronized void 
      receive(DatagramPacket p);
checkAccept({host}, {port}) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}", "accept";

Here, the appropriate host and port values are calculated by the receive method and passed to checkAccept.

In most cases, just the name of the SecurityManager method called is listed. Where the method is one of multiple methods of the same name, the argument types are also listed, for example for checkRead(String) and checkRead(FileDescriptor). In other cases where arguments may be relevant, they are also listed.

The following table is ordered by package name. That is, the methods in classes in the java.awt package are listed first, followed by methods in classes in the java.io package, and so on.

Methods and the Permissions They Require

Method SecurityManager Method Called Permission
java.awt.Graphics2d
  public abstract void 
    setComposite(Composite comp)
checkPermission java.awt.AWTPermission "readDisplayPixels" if this Graphics2D context is drawing to a Component on the display screen and the Composite is a custom object rather than an instance of the AlphaComposite class. Note: The setComposite method is actually abstract and thus can't invoke security checks. Each actual implementation of the method should call the java.lang.SecurityManager checkPermission method with a java.awt.AWTPermission("readDisplayPixels") permission under the conditions noted.

java.awt.Toolkit
  public void addAWTEventListener(
          AWTEventListener listener, 
          long eventMask)
  public void removeAWTEventListener(
     AWTEventListener listener)
checkPermission java.awt.AWTPermission "listenToAllAWTEvents"

java.awt.Toolkit
  public abstract PrintJob getPrintJob(
           Frame frame, String jobtitle,
           Properties props)
checkPrintJobAccess java.lang.RuntimePermission "queuePrintJob"

Note: The getPrintJob method is actually abstract and thus can't invoke security checks. Each actual implementation of the method should call the java.lang.SecurityManager checkPrintJobAccess method, which is successful only if the java.lang.RuntimePermission "queuePrintJob" permission is currently allowed.

java.awt.Toolkit
  public abstract Clipboard 
                    getSystemClipboard()
checkSystemClipboardAccess java.awt.AWTPermission "accessClipboard"

Note: The getSystemClipboard method is actually abstract and thus can't invoke security checks. Each actual implementation of the method should call the java.lang.SecurityManager checkSystemClipboardAccess method, which is successful only if the java.awt.AWTPermission "accessClipboard" permission is currently allowed.

java.awt.Toolkit
  public final EventQueue 
               getSystemEventQueue()
checkAwtEventQueueAccess java.awt.AWTPermission "accessEventQueue"
java.awt.Window
  Window()
checkTopLevelWindow If java.awt.AWTPermission "showWindowWithoutWarningBanner" is set, the window will be displayed without a banner warning that the window was created by an applet. It it's not set, such a banner will be displayed.
java.beans.Beans
  public static void setDesignTime(
                 boolean isDesignTime)
  public static void setGuiAvailable(
                 boolean isGuiAvailable)

java.beans.Introspector
  public static synchronized void 
    setBeanInfoSearchPath(String path[])

java.beans.PropertyEditorManager
  public static void registerEditor(
                 Class targetType, 
                 Class editorClass)
  public static synchronized void 
    setEditorSearchPath(String path[])
checkPropertiesAccess java.util.PropertyPermission "*", "read,write"
java.io.File
  public boolean delete()
  public void deleteOnExit()
checkDelete(String) java.io.FilePermission "{name}", "delete"
java.io.FileInputStream
  FileInputStream(FileDescriptor fdObj)
checkRead(FileDescriptor) java.lang.RuntimePermission "readFileDescriptor"
java.io.FileInputStream
  FileInputStream(String name)
  FileInputStream(File file)

java.io.File
  public boolean exists()
  public boolean canRead()
  public boolean isFile()
  public boolean isDirectory()
  public boolean isHidden()
  public long lastModified()
  public long length()
  public String[] list()
  public String[] list(
           FilenameFilter filter)
  public File[] listFiles()
  public File[] listFiles(
           FilenameFilter filter)
  public File[] listFiles(
           FileFilter filter)
      
java.io.RandomAccessFile
  RandomAccessFile(String name, String mode)
  RandomAccessFile(File file, String mode)
      (where mode is "r" in both of these)
checkRead(String) java.io.FilePermission "{name}", "read"
java.io.FileOutputStream
  FileOutputStream(FileDescriptor fdObj)
checkWrite(FileDescriptor) java.lang.RuntimePermission "writeFileDescriptor"
java.io.FileOutputStream 
  FileOutputStream(File file)
  FileOutputStream(String name)
  FileOutputStream(String name, 
                   boolean append)

java.io.File
  public boolean canWrite()
  public boolean createNewFile()
  public static File createTempFile(
          String prefix, String suffix)
  public static File createTempFile(
          String prefix,  String suffix, 
          File directory)
  public boolean mkdir()
  public boolean mkdirs()
  public boolean renameTo(File dest)
  public boolean setLastModified(long time)
  public boolean setReadOnly()
checkWrite(String) java.io.FilePermission "{name}", "write"
java.io.ObjectInputStream
  protected final boolean 
    enableResolveObject(boolean enable);

java.io.ObjectOutputStream
  protected final boolean 
    enableReplaceObject(boolean enable)
checkPermission java.io.SerializablePermission "enableSubstitution"
java.io.ObjectInputStream
  protected ObjectInputStream()

java.io.ObjectOutputStream
  protected ObjectOutputStream()
checkPermission java.io.SerializablePermission "enableSubclassImplementation"
java.io.RandomAccessFile
  RandomAccessFile(String name, String mode)
      (where mode is "rw")
checkRead(String) and checkWrite(String) java.io.FilePermission "{name}", "read,write"
java.lang.Class
  public static Class forName(
     String name, boolean initialize, 
     ClassLoader loader)
checkPermission If loader is null, and the caller's class loader is not null, then java.lang.RuntimePermission("getClassLoader")
java.lang.Class
  public Class[] getClasses()
For this class and each of its superclasses, checkMemberAccess(this, Member.DECLARED) is called and, if the class is in a package, checkPackageAccess({pkgName}) is called. Default checkMemberAccess does not require any permissions if "this" class's classloader is the same as that of the caller. Otherwise, it requires java.lang.RuntimePermission "accessDeclaredMembers". If the class is in a package, java.lang.RuntimePermission "accessClassInPackage.{pkgName}" is also required.
java.lang.Class
  public ClassLoader getClassLoader()
checkPermission If the caller's class loader is null, or is the same as or an ancestor of the class loader for the class whose class loader is being requested, no permission is needed. Otherwise,
java.lang.RuntimePermission "getClassLoader"
is required.
java.lang.Class
  public Class[] getDeclaredClasses()
  public Field[] getDeclaredFields()
  public Method[] getDeclaredMethods()
  public Constructor[] 
    getDeclaredConstructors()
  public Field getDeclaredField(
                       String name)
  public Method getDeclaredMethod(...)
  public Constructor 
    getDeclaredConstructor(...)
checkMemberAccess(this, Member.DECLARED) and, if this class is in a package, checkPackageAccess({pkgName}) Default checkMemberAccess does not require any permissions if "this" class's classloader is the same as that of the caller. Otherwise, it requires java.lang.RuntimePermission "accessDeclaredMembers". If this class is in a package, java.lang.RuntimePermission "accessClassInPackage.{pkgName}" is also required.
java.lang.Class
  public Field[] getFields()
  public Method[] getMethods()
  public Constructor[] getConstructors()
  public Field getField(String name)
  public Method getMethod(...)
  public Constructor getConstructor(...)
checkMemberAccess(this, Member.PUBLIC) and, if class is in a package, checkPackageAccess({pkgName}) Default checkMemberAccess does not require any permissions when the access type is Member.PUBLIC. If this class is in a package, java.lang.RuntimePermission "accessClassInPackage.{pkgName}" is required.
java.lang.Class
   public ProtectionDomain 
            getProtectionDomain()
checkPermission java.lang.RuntimePermission "getProtectionDomain"
java.lang.ClassLoader
  ClassLoader()
  ClassLoader(ClassLoader parent)
checkCreateClassLoader java.lang.RuntimePermission "createClassLoader"
java.lang.ClassLoader
  public static ClassLoader 
           getSystemClassLoader()
  public ClassLoader getParent()
checkPermission If the caller's class loader is null, or is the same as or an ancestor of the class loader for the class whose class loader is being requested, no permission is needed. Otherwise,
java.lang.RuntimePermission "getClassLoader"
is required.
java.lang.Runtime
  public Process exec(String command)
  public Process exec(String command, 
                      String envp[])
  public Process exec(String cmdarray[])
  public Process exec(String cmdarray[], 
                      String envp[])
checkExec java.io.FilePermission "{command}", "execute"
java.lang.Runtime
  public void exit(int status)
  public static void 
      runFinalizersOnExit(boolean value)
java.lang.System
  public static void exit(int status)
  public static void 
      runFinalizersOnExit(boolean value)
checkExit(status) where status is 0 for runFinalizersOnExit java.lang.RuntimePermission "exitVM"
java.lang.Runtime
  public void load(String lib)
  public void loadLibrary(String lib)
java.lang.System
  public static void load(String filename)
  public static void loadLibrary(
                          String libname)
checkLink({libName}) where {libName} is the lib, filename or libname argument java.lang.RuntimePermission "loadLibrary.{libName}"
java.lang.SecurityManager methods
checkPermission See the next table.
java.lang.System
  public static Properties 
      getProperties()
  public static void 
      setProperties(Properties props)
checkPropertiesAccess java.util.PropertyPermission "*", "read,write"
java.lang.System
  public static String 
      getProperty(String key)
  public static String 
      getProperty(String key, String def)
checkPropertyAccess java.util.PropertyPermission "{key}", "read"
java.lang.System
  public static void setIn(InputStream in)
  public static void setOut(PrintStream out)
  public static void setErr(PrintStream err)
checkPermission java.lang.RuntimePermission "setIO"
java.lang.System
  public static String 
    setProperty(String key, String value)
checkPermission java.util.PropertyPermission "{key}", "write"
java.lang.System
  public static synchronized void 
    setSecurityManager(SecurityManager s)
checkPermission java.lang.RuntimePermission "setSecurityManager"
java.lang.Thread
  public ClassLoader getContextClassLoader()
checkPermission If the caller's class loader is null, or is the same as or an ancestor of the context class loader for the thread whose context class loader is being requested, no permission is needed. Otherwise,
java.lang.RuntimePermission "getClassLoader"
is required.
java.lang.Thread
  public void setContextClassLoader
                      (ClassLoader cl)
checkPermission java.lang.RuntimePermission "setContextClassLoader"
java.lang.Thread
  public final void checkAccess()
  public void interrupt()
  public final void suspend()
  public final void resume()
  public final void setPriority
                     (int newPriority)
  public final void setName(String name)
  public final void setDaemon(boolean on)
checkAccess(this) java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThread"
java.lang.Thread
  public static int 
      enumerate(Thread tarray[])
checkAccess({threadGroup}) java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThreadGroup"
java.lang.Thread
  public final void stop()
checkAccess(this). Also checkPermission if the current thread is trying to stop a thread other than itself. java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThread".
Also java.lang.RuntimePermission "stopThread" if the current thread is trying to stop a thread other than itself.
java.lang.Thread
  public final synchronized void 
                    stop(Throwable obj)
checkAccess(this). Also checkPermission if the current thread is trying to stop a thread other than itself or obj is not an instance of ThreadDeath. java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThread".
Also java.lang.RuntimePermission "stopThread" if the current thread is trying to stop a thread other than itself or obj is not an instance of ThreadDeath.
java.lang.Thread
  Thread()
  Thread(Runnable target)
  Thread(String name)
  Thread(Runnable target, String name)

java.lang.ThreadGroup
  ThreadGroup(String name)
  ThreadGroup(ThreadGroup parent, 
              String name)
checkAccess({parentThreadGroup}) java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThreadGroup"
java.lang.Thread
  Thread(ThreadGroup group, ...)

java.lang.ThreadGroup
  public final void checkAccess()
  public int enumerate(Thread list[])
  public int enumerate(Thread list[],
      boolean recurse)
  public int enumerate(ThreadGroup list[])
  public int enumerate(ThreadGroup list[],
      boolean recurse)
  public final ThreadGroup getParent()
  public final void 
      setDaemon(boolean daemon)
  public final void setMaxPriority(int pri)
  public final void suspend()
  public final void resume()
  public final void destroy()
checkAccess(this) for ThreadGroup methods, or checkAccess(group) for Thread methods java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThreadGroup"
java.lang.ThreadGroup
  public final void interrupt()
checkAccess(this) Requires java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThreadGroup".
Also requires java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThread", since the java.lang.Thread interrupt() method is called for each thread in the thread group and in all of its subgroups. See the Thread interrupt() method.
java.lang.ThreadGroup
  public final void stop()
checkAccess(this) Requires java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThreadGroup".
Also requires java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThread" and possibly java.lang.RuntimePermission "stopThread", since the java.lang.Thread stop() method is called for each thread in the thread group and in all of its subgroups. See the Thread stop() method.
java.lang.reflect.AccessibleObject
  public static void setAccessible(...)
  public void setAccessible(...)
checkPermission java.lang.reflect.ReflectPermission "suppressAccessChecks"
java.net.Authenticator
  public static PasswordAuthentication
       requestPasswordAuthentication(
             InetAddress addr,
             int port,
             String protocol,
             String prompt,
             String scheme)
checkPermission java.net.NetPermission "requestPasswordAuthentication"
java.net.Authenticator
  public static void 
      setDefault(Authenticator a)
checkPermission java.net.NetPermission "setDefaultAuthenticator"
java.net.MulticastSocket
  public void 
      joinGroup(InetAddress mcastaddr)
  public void 
      leaveGroup(InetAddress mcastaddr)
checkMulticast(InetAddress) java.net.SocketPermission( mcastaddr.getHostAddress(), "accept,connect")
java.net.DatagramSocket
  public void send(DatagramPacket p)
checkMulticast(p.getAddress()) or checkConnect(
p.getAddress().getHostAddress(), p.getPort())
if (p.getAddress().isMulticastAddress()) {
java.net.SocketPermission(
(p.getAddress()).getHostAddress(), "accept,connect")
}
else {
port = p.getPort();
host = p.getAddress().getHostAddress();
if (port == -1) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}","resolve";
else java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}","connect"
}
java.net.MulticastSocket
  public synchronized void 
      send(DatagramPacket p, byte ttl)
checkMulticast(p.getAddress(), ttl) or checkConnect(
p.getAddress().getHostAddress(), p.getPort())
if (p.getAddress().isMulticastAddress()) {
java.net.SocketPermission(
(p.getAddress()).getHostAddress(), "accept,connect")
}
else {
port = p.getPort();
host = p.getAddress().getHostAddress();
if (port == -1) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}","resolve";
else java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}","connect"
}
java.net.InetAddress
  public String getHostName()
  public static InetAddress[]
                  getAllByName(String host)
  public static InetAddress getLocalHost()

java.net.DatagramSocket
  public InetAddress getLocalAddress()
checkConnect({host}, -1) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}", "resolve"
java.net.ServerSocket
  ServerSocket(...)

java.net.DatagramSocket
  DatagramSocket(...)

java.net.MulticastSocket
  MulticastSocket(...)
checkListen({port}) if (port == 0) java.net.SocketPermission "localhost:1024-","listen";
else java.net.SocketPermission "localhost:{port}","listen"
java.net.ServerSocket
  public Socket accept()
  protected final void implAccept(Socket s)
checkAccept({host}, {port}) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}", "accept"
java.net.ServerSocket
  public static synchronized void 
      setSocketFactory(...)

java.net.Socket
  public static synchronized void
      setSocketImplFactory(...)

java.net.URL
  public static synchronized void
      setURLStreamHandlerFactory(...)

 java.net.URLConnection
   public static synchronized void
      setContentHandlerFactory(...)
   public static void 
      setFileNameMap(FileNameMap map)

java.net.HttpURLConnection
   public static void 
       setFollowRedirects(boolean set)

java.rmi.activation.ActivationGroup
  public static synchronized
    	ActivationGroup createGroup(...)
  public static synchronized void 
      setSystem(ActivationSystem system)

java.rmi.server.RMISocketFactory
   public synchronized static void
      setSocketFactory(...)
checkSetFactory java.lang.RuntimePermission "setFactory"
java.net.Socket
  Socket(...)
checkConnect({host}, {port}) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}", "connect"
java.net.DatagramSocket
  public synchronized void 
      receive(DatagramPacket p)
checkAccept({host}, {port}) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}", "accept"
java.net.URL
  URL(...)
checkPermission java.net.NetPermission "specifyStreamHandler"
java.net.URLClassLoader
  URLClassLoader(...)
checkCreateClassLoader java.lang.RuntimePermission "createClassLoader"
java.security.Identity
  public void addCertificate(...)

checkSecurityAccess(
"addIdentityCertificate")
java.security.SecurityPermission "addIdentityCertificate"
java.security.Identity
  public void removeCertificate(...)
checkSecurityAccess(
"removeIdentityCertificate")
java.security.SecurityPermission "removeIdentityCertificate"
java.security.Identity
  public void setInfo(String info)
checkSecurityAccess(
"setIdentityInfo")
java.security.SecurityPermission "setIdentityInfo"
java.security.Identity
  public void setPublicKey(PublicKey key)
checkSecurityAccess(
"setIdentityPublicKey")
java.security.SecurityPermission "setIdentityPublicKey"
java.security.Identity
  public String toString(...)
checkSecurityAccess(
"printIdentity")
java.security.SecurityPermission "printIdentity"
java.security.IdentityScope
  protected static void setSystemScope()
checkSecurityAccess(
"setSystemScope")
java.security.SecurityPermission "setSystemScope"
java.security.Permission
  public void checkGuard(Object object) 
checkPermission(this) this Permission object is the permission checked
java.security.Policy
  public static Policy getPolicy()
checkPermission java.security.SecurityPermission "getPolicy"
java.security.Policy
  public static void 
      setPolicy(Policy policy);
checkPermission java.security.SecurityPermission "setPolicy"
java.security.Provider
  public synchronized void clear()
checkSecurityAccess(
"clearProviderProperties."+{name})
java.security.SecurityPermission "clearProviderProperties.{name}" where name is the provider name.
java.security.Provider
  public synchronized Object 
      put(Object key, Object value)
checkSecurityAccess(
"putProviderProperty."+{name})
java.security.SecurityPermission "putProviderProperty.{name}" where name is the provider name.
java.security.Provider
  public synchronized Object 
      remove(Object key)
checkSecurityAccess(
"removeProviderProperty."+{name})
java.security.SecurityPermission "removeProviderProperty.{name}" where name is the provider name.
java.security.SecureClassLoader
  SecureClassLoader(...)
checkCreateClassLoader java.lang.RuntimePermission "createClassLoader"
java.security.Security
  public static void getProperty(String key)
checkPermission java.security.SecurityPermission "getProperty.{key}"
java.security.Security
  public static int 
      addProvider(Provider provider)
  public static int 
      insertProviderAt(Provider provider,
                       int position);
checkSecurityAccess(
"insertProvider."+provider.getName())
java.security.SecurityPermission "insertProvider.{name}"
java.security.Security
  public static void 
      removeProvider(String name)
checkSecurityAccess(
"removeProvider."+name)
java.security.SecurityPermission "removeProvider.{name}"
java.security.Security
  public static void 
    setProperty(String key, String datum)
checkSecurityAccess(
"setProperty."+key)
java.security.SecurityPermission "setProperty.{key}"
java.security.Signer
  public PrivateKey getPrivateKey()
checkSecurityAccess(
"getSignerPrivateKey")
java.security.SecurityPermission "getSignerPrivateKey"
java.security.Signer
  public final void 
      setKeyPair(KeyPair pair) 
checkSecurityAccess(
"setSignerKeypair")
java.security.SecurityPermission "setSignerKeypair"
java.util.Locale
  public static synchronized void 
            setDefault(Locale newLocale)
checkPermission java.util.PropertyPermission "user.language","write"
java.util.zip.ZipFile
  ZipFile(String name)
checkRead java.io.FilePermission "{name}","read"



java.lang.SecurityManager Method Permission Checks

This table shows which permissions are checked for by the default implementations of the java.lang.SecurityManager methods.

Each of the specified check methods calls the SecurityManager checkPermission method with the specified permission, except for the checkConnect and checkRead methods that take a context argument. Those methods expect the context to be an AccessControlContext and they call the context's checkPermission method with the specified permission.

Method Permission
public void checkAccept(String host, int port); java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}", "accept";
public void checkAccess(Thread g); java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThread");
public void checkAccess(ThreadGroup g); java.lang.RuntimePermission "modifyThreadGroup");
public void checkAwtEventQueueAccess(); java.awt.AWTPermission "accessEventQueue";
public void checkConnect(String host, int port); if (port == -1) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}","resolve";
else java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}","connect";
public void checkConnect(String host, int port, Object context); if (port == -1) java.net.SocketPermission "{host}","resolve";
else java.net.SocketPermission "{host}:{port}","connect";
public void checkCreateClassLoader(); java.lang.RuntimePermission "createClassLoader";
public void checkDelete(String file); java.io.FilePermission "{file}", "delete";
public void checkExec(String cmd); if cmd is an absolute path: java.io.FilePermission "{cmd}", "execute";
else java.io.FilePermission "-", "execute";
public void checkExit(int status); java.lang.RuntimePermission "exitVM");
public void checkLink(String lib); java.lang.RuntimePermission "loadLibrary.{lib}";
public void checkListen(int port); if (port == 0) java.net.SocketPermission "localhost:1024-","listen";
else java.net.SocketPermission "localhost:{port}","listen";
public void checkMemberAccess(Class clazz, int which);
if (which != Member.PUBLIC) {
  if (currentClassLoader() != clazz.getClassLoader()) {
    checkPermission(
      new java.lang.RuntimePermission("accessDeclaredMembers"));
  }
}
public void checkMulticast(InetAddress maddr); java.net.SocketPermission(maddr.getHostAddress(),"accept,connect");
public void checkMulticast(InetAddress maddr, byte ttl); java.net.SocketPermission(maddr.getHostAddress(),"accept,connect");
public void checkPackageAccess(String pkg); java.lang.RuntimePermission "accessClassInPackage.{pkg}";
public void checkPackageDefinition(String pkg); java.lang.RuntimePermission "defineClassInPackage.{pkg}";
public void checkPrintJobAccess(); java.lang.RuntimePermission "queuePrintJob";
public void checkPropertiesAccess(); java.util.PropertyPermission "*", "read,write";
public void checkPropertyAccess(String key); java.util.PropertyPermission "{key}", "read,write";
public void checkRead(FileDescriptor fd); java.lang.RuntimePermission "readFileDescriptor";
public void checkRead(String file); java.io.FilePermission "{file}", "read";
public void checkRead(String file, Object context); java.io.FilePermission "{file}", "read";
public void checkSecurityAccess(String action); java.security.SecurityPermission "{action}";
public void checkSetFactory(); java.lang.RuntimePermission "setFactory";
public void checkSystemClipboardAccess(); java.awt.AWTPermission "accessClipboard";
public boolean checkTopLevelWindow(Object window); java.awt.AWTPermission "showWindowWithoutWarningBanner";
public void checkWrite(FileDescriptor fd); java.lang.RuntimePermission "writeFileDescriptor";
public void checkWrite(String file); java.io.FilePermission "{file}", "write";
public SecurityManager(); java.lang.RuntimePermission "createSecurityManager";


Copyright © 1997-98 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Please send comments to: java-security@java.sun.com
Sun
Java Software