iaik.x509.extensions
Class BasicConstraints

java.lang.Object
  |
  +--iaik.x509.V3Extension
        |
        +--iaik.x509.extensions.BasicConstraints

public class BasicConstraints

extends V3Extension

This class implements the BasicConstraints Extension.

The BasicConstraints extension is a standard X509v3 extension, which shall be used only in CA certificates where it has to be marked as being critical.

Each extension is associated with a specific certificateExtension object identifier, derived from:

 certificateExtension  OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::=
                            {joint-iso-ccitt(2) ds(5) 29}
 id-ce                 OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::=  certificateExtension
 

The object identifier for the BasicConstraints extension is defined as:

id-ce-basicConstraints OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { id-ce 19 }

which corresponds to the OID string "2.5.29.19".

The X.509 Certificate and CRL profile presented in RFC 2459 specifies the basic constraints extension for identifying whether the subject of the certificate is a CA and how deep a certification path may exist through that CA. This profile requires the use of this extension.

The ASN.1 definition of the BasicConstraints extension is specified as follows:

 BasicConstraints ::= SEQUENCE {
     cA                      BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
     pathLenConstraint       INTEGER (0..MAX) OPTIONAL }
 

The pathLenConstraint field is meaningful only if cA is set to TRUE. In this case, it gives the maximum number of CA certificates that may follow this certificate in a certification path. A value of zero indicates that only an end-entity certificate may follow in the path.

If the pathLenConstraint value is set, it has to be greater than or equal to zero. If it is not set, the certification path may be of any length.

This class provides several methods for setting respectively getting the component values of an BasicConstraints extension object.

For adding a BasicConstraints extension object to a X509Certificate, use the addExtension method of the iaik.x509.X509Certificate class:

 X509Certificate cert = new X509Certificate();
  ...
 BasicConstraints bc = new BasicConstraints(true, 0);
 bc.setCritical(true);
 cert.addExtension(bc);
 

where true sets the cA value for indicating that the subject of the certificate is a CA, and the 0 pathLenConstraint value implements the case stated above indicating that only an end-entity certificate may follow in the path. Note that per default cA is set to false and pathLenConstraint is set to -1 indicating that the subject of the certificate is not a CA and that the pathLenConstraint value is not specified.

Since the BasicConstraints extension is a critical extension, critical has to be set to true before adding the BasicConstraints extension to a certificate:

 bc.setCritical(true)
 

Version:

File Revision 22

See Also:

ObjectID, X509Certificate, X509Extensions, V3Extension

Field Summary

static ObjectID

oid The object identifier of this BasicConstraints extension.

Fields inherited from class iaik.x509.V3Extension

critical

Constructor Summary

BasicConstraints()
Default constructor.

BasicConstraints(boolean ca)
Creates a new BasicConstraints extension setting cA to the given parameter value.

BasicConstraints(boolean ca, int plc)
Creates a new BasicConstraints extension with the given cA and pathLenConstraint values.

Method Summary

boolean	ca() Returns true if the subject of the certificate holding this BasicConstraints extension is a CA.
ObjectID	getObjectID() Returns the object ID of this BasicConstraints extension
int	getPathLenConstraint() Returns the pathLenConstraint value of this BasicConstraints extension specifying the maximum number of CA certificates that may follow the certificate in a certification path.
int	hashCode() Returns a hashcode for this identity.
void	init(ASN1Object obj) Inits this BasicConstraints implementation with an ASN1Object representing the value of this extension.
void	setCa(boolean ca) Sets the cA value of this BasicConstraints extension to true if the subject is a CA.
void	setPathLenConstraint(int plc) Sets the pathLenConstraint value of this BasicConstraints extension specifying the maximum number of CA certificates that may follow the certificate in a certification path.
ASN1Object	toASN1Object() Returns an ASN1Object representing the value of this BasicConstraints extension object.
String	toString() Returns a string that represents the contents of this BasicConstraints extension.

Methods inherited from class iaik.x509.V3Extension

getName, isCritical, setCritical

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

oid

public static final ObjectID oid

The object identifier of this BasicConstraints extension. The corresponding OID string is "2.5.29.19".

Constructor Detail

BasicConstraints

public BasicConstraints()

Default constructor. Creates an empty BasicConstraints object.

Per default cA is set to false and pathLenConstraint is set to -1 indicating that the subject of the certificate is not a CA and that the pathLenConstraint value is not specified. Use setCa and setPathLenConstraint for explicitly setting the corresponding values.

Do not forget to specify this extension as critical before adding it to a certificate:

 BasicConstraints bc = new BasicConstraints();
 bc.setCa(true);
 bc.setPathLenConstraint(1);
 bc.setCritical(true);
 cert.addExtension(bc);
 

See Also:

V3Extension.setCritical(boolean)

BasicConstraints

public BasicConstraints(boolean ca,
                        int plc)

Creates a new BasicConstraints extension with the given cA and pathLenConstraint values.

The ca parameter specifies if the subject of the certificate holding this BasicConstraints extension is a CA, and the plc value specifies how deep a certification path may exist.

Do not forget to specify this extension as critical before adding it to a certificate, e.g.:

 BasicConstraints bc = new BasicConstraints(true, 1);
   ...
 bc.setCritical(true);
 cert.addExtension(bc);
 

Parameters:

ca - true if the certificate subject is a CA, false otherwise

plc - the maximum number of CA certificates that may follow this certificate in a certification path

See Also:

V3Extension.setCritical(boolean)

BasicConstraints

public BasicConstraints(boolean ca)

Creates a new BasicConstraints extension setting cA to the given parameter value.

The ca parameter specifies whether the subject of the certificate holding this BasicConstraints extension is a CA or not. Use this constructor for indicating a CA certificate and leaving the pathLenConstraint value at -1 indicating that there is no limit to the allowed length of the certification path.

Do not forget to specify this extension as critical before adding it to a certificate, e.g.:

 BasicConstraints bc = new BasicConstraints(true);
   ...
 bc.setCritical(true);
 cert.addExtension(bc);
 

Parameters:

ca - true if the certificate subject is a CA, false otherwise

See Also:

V3Extension.setCritical(boolean)

Method Detail

getObjectID

public ObjectID getObjectID()

Returns the object ID of this BasicConstraints extension

Overrides:

getObjectID in class V3Extension

Returns:

the object ID

init

public void init(ASN1Object obj)
          throws X509ExtensionException

Inits this BasicConstraints implementation with an ASN1Object representing the value of this extension.

The given ASN1Object represents the cA and (optioanl) pathLenConstraint values of this extension.

The given ASN1Object is the one created by toASN1Object().

This method is used by the X509Extensions class when parsing the ASN.1 representation of a certificate for properly initializing an included BasicConstraints extension. This method initializes the extension only with its value, but not with its critical specification. For that reason, this method shall not be explicitly called by an application.

Overrides:

init in class V3Extension

Parameters:

obj - the BasicConstraints as ASN1Object

Throws:

X509ExtensionException - if the extension could not be parsed

toASN1Object

public ASN1Object toASN1Object()

Returns an ASN1Object representing the value of this BasicConstraints extension object.

The returned ASN1Object is an ASN.1 Sequence representing the cA and (optioanl) pathLenConstraint values of this extension:

 BasicConstraints ::= SEQUENCE {
     cA                      BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
     pathLenConstraint       INTEGER (0..MAX) OPTIONAL }
 

Overrides:

toASN1Object in class V3Extension

Returns:

the value of this BasicConstraints as ASN1Object

setPathLenConstraint

public void setPathLenConstraint(int plc)

Sets the pathLenConstraint value of this BasicConstraints extension specifying the maximum number of CA certificates that may follow the certificate in a certification path.

For instance:

 BasicConstraints bc = new BasicConstraints();
 bc.setCa(true);
 bc.setPathLenConstraint(1);
 bc.setCritical(true);
 cert.addExtension(bc);
 

Parameters:

plc - the pathLenConstraint value

See Also:

getPathLenConstraint()

setCa

public void setCa(boolean ca)

Sets the cA value of this BasicConstraints extension to true if the subject is a CA.

For instance:

 BasicConstraints bc = new BasicConstraints();
 bc.setCa(true);
 bc.setPathLenConstraint(1);
 bc.setCritical(true);
 cert.addExtension(bc);
 

Parameters:

ca - the cA value, true if the subject is a CA

See Also:

ca()

getPathLenConstraint

public int getPathLenConstraint()

Returns the pathLenConstraint value of this BasicConstraints extension specifying the maximum number of CA certificates that may follow the certificate in a certification path.

The pathLenConstraint field is meaningful only if cA is set to true:

• If cA is set to true and pathLenConstraint is set, this method returns the maximum number of CA certificates that may follow the certificate in a certification path.

• If cA is set to true and pathLenConstraint is not specified, this method returns -1 indicating that there is no limit to the allowed length of the certification path.

Returns:

the pathLenConstraint value specifying the maximum number of CA certificates that may follow the certificate in a certification path, or allowing any length of the certification path, if set to -1; only meaningful, if the cA value is set to true

See Also:

setPathLenConstraint(int)

ca

public boolean ca()

Returns true if the subject of the certificate holding this BasicConstraints extension is a CA.

Returns:

true if the subject is a CA, false if not.

See Also:

setCa(boolean)

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Returns a hashcode for this identity.

Overrides:

hashCode in class V3Extension

Returns:

a hash code for this identity

toString

public String toString()

Returns a string that represents the contents of this BasicConstraints extension.

Overrides:

toString in class Object

Returns:

the string representation