Class CertPathBuilder

java.lang.Object
java.security.cert.CertPathBuilder
public class CertPathBuilder extends Object
A class for building certification paths (also known as certificate chains).

This class uses a provider-based architecture. To create a CertPathBuilder, call one of the static getInstance methods, passing in the algorithm name of the CertPathBuilder desired and optionally the name of the provider desired.

Once a CertPathBuilder object has been created, certification paths can be constructed by calling the build method and passing it an algorithm-specific set of parameters. If successful, the result (including the CertPath that was built) is returned in an object that implements the CertPathBuilderResult interface.

The getRevocationChecker() method allows an application to specify additional algorithm-specific parameters and options used by the CertPathBuilder when checking the revocation status of certificates. Here is an example demonstrating how it is used with the PKIX algorithm: 

 CertPathBuilder cpb = CertPathBuilder.getInstance("PKIX");
 PKIXRevocationChecker rc = (PKIXRevocationChecker)cpb.getRevocationChecker();
 rc.setOptions(EnumSet.of(Option.PREFER_CRLS));
 params.addCertPathChecker(rc);
 CertPathBuilderResult cpbr = cpb.build(params);

Every implementation of the Java platform is required to support the following standard CertPathBuilder algorithm:

  • PKIX
This algorithm is described in the CertPathBuilder section of the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification. Consult the release documentation for your implementation to see if any other algorithms are supported.

Concurrent Access

The static methods of this class are guaranteed to be thread-safe. Multiple threads may concurrently invoke the static methods defined in this class with no ill effects.

However, this is not true for the non-static methods defined by this class. Unless otherwise documented by a specific provider, threads that need to access a single CertPathBuilder instance concurrently should synchronize amongst themselves and provide the necessary locking. Multiple threads each manipulating a different CertPathBuilder instance need not synchronize.

Since:
1.4
See Also:

  • Constructor Details

    • CertPathBuilder

      protected CertPathBuilder(CertPathBuilderSpi builderSpi, Provider provider, String algorithm)
      Creates a CertPathBuilder object of the given algorithm, and encapsulates the given provider implementation (SPI object) in it.
      Parameters:
      builderSpi - the provider implementation
      provider - the provider
      algorithm - the algorithm name

  • Method Details

    • getInstance

      public static CertPathBuilder getInstance(String algorithm) throws NoSuchAlgorithmException
      Returns a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm.

      This method traverses the list of registered security Providers, starting with the most preferred Provider. A new CertPathBuilder object encapsulating the CertPathBuilderSpi implementation from the first Provider that supports the specified algorithm is returned.

      Note that the list of registered providers may be retrieved via the Security.getProviders() method.

      Implementation Note:
      The JDK Reference Implementation additionally uses the jdk.security.provider.preferred Security property to determine the preferred provider order for the specified algorithm. This may be different from the order of providers returned by Security.getProviders().
      Parameters:
      algorithm - the name of the requested CertPathBuilder algorithm. See the CertPathBuilder section in the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification for information about standard algorithm names.
      Returns:
      a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm
      Throws:
      NoSuchAlgorithmException - if no Provider supports a CertPathBuilderSpi implementation for the specified algorithm
      NullPointerException - if algorithm is null
      See Also:

    • getInstance

      public static CertPathBuilder getInstance(String algorithm, String provider) throws NoSuchAlgorithmException, NoSuchProviderException
      Returns a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm.

      A new CertPathBuilder object encapsulating the CertPathBuilderSpi implementation from the specified provider is returned. The specified provider must be registered in the security provider list.

      Note that the list of registered providers may be retrieved via the Security.getProviders() method.

      Parameters:
      algorithm - the name of the requested CertPathBuilder algorithm. See the CertPathBuilder section in the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification for information about standard algorithm names.
      provider - the name of the provider.
      Returns:
      a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the provider is null or empty
      NoSuchAlgorithmException - if a CertPathBuilderSpi implementation for the specified algorithm is not available from the specified provider
      NoSuchProviderException - if the specified provider is not registered in the security provider list
      NullPointerException - if algorithm is null
      See Also:

    • getInstance

      public static CertPathBuilder getInstance(String algorithm, Provider provider) throws NoSuchAlgorithmException
      Returns a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm.

      A new CertPathBuilder object encapsulating the CertPathBuilderSpi implementation from the specified Provider object is returned. Note that the specified Provider object does not have to be registered in the provider list.

      Parameters:
      algorithm - the name of the requested CertPathBuilder algorithm. See the CertPathBuilder section in the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification for information about standard algorithm names.
      provider - the provider.
      Returns:
      a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the provider is null
      NoSuchAlgorithmException - if a CertPathBuilderSpi implementation for the specified algorithm is not available from the specified Provider object
      NullPointerException - if algorithm is null
      See Also:

    • getProvider

      public final Provider getProvider()
      Returns the provider of this CertPathBuilder.
      Returns:
      the provider of this CertPathBuilder

    • getAlgorithm

      public final String getAlgorithm()
      Returns the name of the algorithm of this CertPathBuilder.
      Returns:
      the name of the algorithm of this CertPathBuilder

    • build

      public final CertPathBuilderResult build(CertPathParameters params) throws CertPathBuilderException, InvalidAlgorithmParameterException
      Attempts to build a certification path using the specified algorithm parameter set.
      Parameters:
      params - the algorithm parameters
      Returns:
      the result of the build algorithm
      Throws:
      CertPathBuilderException - if the builder is unable to construct a certification path that satisfies the specified parameters
      InvalidAlgorithmParameterException - if the specified parameters are inappropriate for this CertPathBuilder

    • getDefaultType

      public static final String getDefaultType()
      Returns the default CertPathBuilder type as specified by the certpathbuilder.type security property, or the string "PKIX" if no such property exists.

      The default CertPathBuilder type can be used by applications that do not want to use a hard-coded type when calling one of the getInstance methods, and want to provide a default type in case a user does not specify its own.

      The default CertPathBuilder type can be changed by setting the value of the certpathbuilder.type security property to the desired type.

      Returns:
      the default CertPathBuilder type as specified by the certpathbuilder.type security property, or the string "PKIX" if no such property exists.
      See Also:

    • getRevocationChecker

      public final CertPathChecker getRevocationChecker()
      Returns a CertPathChecker that the encapsulated CertPathBuilderSpi implementation uses to check the revocation status of certificates. A PKIX implementation returns objects of type PKIXRevocationChecker. Each invocation of this method returns a new instance of CertPathChecker.

      The primary purpose of this method is to allow callers to specify additional input parameters and options specific to revocation checking. See the class description for an example.

      Returns:
      a CertPathChecker
      Throws:
      UnsupportedOperationException - if the service provider does not support this method
      Since:
      1.8