Web Services changes

There are changes in support of web services in Genero 3.21.

Security note: OpenSSL 3.0 LTS support

Starting with FGLGWS 3.21.01, 4.01.05 and 5.00.00, OpenSSL 3.0 LTS is required for encryption and security.

Because OpenSSL 1.1.1 goes EOL in September 2023 (external link), it is now mandatory to use OpenSSL 3.0 LTS to get the latest security fixes.

When installing an FGLGWS package, OpenSSL 3.0 libs will be provided in FGLDIR, if no OpenSSL 3.0 exists on the system.

Starting with OpenSSL 3.0, the SHA-1 digest algorithm is no longer supported by default. The OpenSSL 3.0 libs provided in FGLDIR still have SHA-1 digest activated by default. If you want to enable SHA-1 with the system OpenSSL 3.0 libs, use a command such as update-crypto-policies --set DEFAULT:SHA1 in order to use SHA-1. However, the SHA-1 digest algorithm is no longer recommended, because it is increasingly vulnerable as computers become more and more powerful. If you are using SHA-1 with GWS crypto APIs, consider moving to SHA-256 or to a stronger secure hash algorithm.

See GWS Security for more details about security and encryption with GWS.

Get OpenSSL from third-party vendors for Windows

OpenSSL libraries are provided in the FGLGWS package; however, starting with FGLGWS 3.21.03, 4.01.08 and 5.00.03 if you want to install more recent OpenSSL libraries from third-party vendors, you must do the following on your Windows® system:
  • Go to an official OpenSSL library vendor. OpenSSL recommends Shining Light Productions (external link) for OpenSSL libraries for Windows.
  • Download the OpenSSL libraries from there.
  • By default, GWS will look for the OpenSSL libraries in the $FGLDIR\bin directory unless you have also specified OPENSSL_MODULES to look in another path. Copy the following libraries into your $FGLDIR\bin directory.
    • libcrypto-3-x64.dll
    • libssl-3-x64.dll
    • legacy.dll
  • Verify that the installation has worked by running the command fglpass -Vssl; it should return the version of the OpenSSL libraries.

See GWS Security for more details about security and encryption with GWS.

New security.global.options entry in FGLPROFILE to allow legacy OpenSSL 1 options

Starting from FGLGWS 3.21.02, 4.01.06, and 5.00.00, it is now mandatory to use OpenSSL 3.0 LTS to get the latest security fixes. This change is due to OpenSSL 1.1.1 going EOL in September 2023 (external link).

To ease your migration from OpenSSL 1 to OpenSSL 3, the FGLPROFILE option security.global.options can be used to set OpenSSL 1 options to connect to a legacy server.

For details, go to Security Configuration FGLPROFILE entries.

New fglwsdl option -SSLOptions to support legacy OpenSSL 1 options

Starting from FGLGWS 3.21.02, 4.01.06, and 5.00.00, it is now mandatory to use OpenSSL 3.0 LTS to get the latest security fixes. This change is due to OpenSSL 1.1.1 going EOL in September 2023 (external link).

The fglwsdl tool supports the option (-SSLOptions) to set OpenSSL 1 options when connecting to a legacy server.

For more details, go to fglwsdl.

New security.global.certificate.selfsigned.preload entry in FGLPROFILE

Starting from FGLGWS 3.21.02, 4.01.07, and 5.00.02, there is an option to preload the global self-signed certificate and private key used for HTTPS connections. Typically, the certificate and key is loaded at the first HTTPS request. If you find the GWS computation of the certificate and key takes too long, you can speed things up by setting the security.global.certificate.selfsigned.preload = TRUE to preload the certificate and key at the start of the application instead of at the first HTTPS connection.

For more information on web service security configuration, go to Security Configuration FGLPROFILE entries.

Change to OAuthAPI.GetIDSubject returns

Starting from FGLGWS 3.21.02 and 4.01.06, the OAuthAPI.GetIDSubject function returns the subject identifier of an ID token in a string instead of an integer.

If you have previously used the function, review your code and ensure that the variable that affects the return value is of type STRING.

For details, go to OAuthAPI.GetIDSubject.

Changes to the OpenIDConnect service configuration

Starting from FGLGWS 3.21.02, 4.01.07, and 5.00.02, two parameters of the Genero OpenIDConnect service configuration ($FGLDIR\web_utilities\services\openid-connect\res\configuration) have changes:

  • The oidc.logout.id_token_hint parameter, used in the logout request sent to the provider, has been replaced by oidc.logout.identifier. The new parameter supports the values "id_token_hint", "client_id", or an empty (" ") value. The default value is "id_token_hint".
  • The oidc.logout.post_redirect parameter, used to send the post redirect uri in the logout request, now needs a string value instead of the boolean value true/false on previous versions. The default value is now "post_logout_redirect_uri".

No action needs to be taken on your part, but if you have previously used a custom OpenIDConnect configuration file and you want to use it when upgrading FGLGWS version, ensure that you review your configuration for these parameters.

For more information on OpenID Connect Single sign-on, refer to the Genero Application Server User Guide.

Changes in earlier versions

Make sure to check the upgrade notes of earlier versions, to not miss changes introduced in maintenance releases. For more details, see Web services changes in BDL 3.20.

Notable changes introduced in maintenance releases: