Java

SFTP Authenticate with a SecureString Password

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.AuthenticateSecPw method, which authenticates using SecureString login and password objects. The first argument is the login and the second is the password.

Background: A SecureString keeps the credential encrypted in memory, reducing the chance of a plaintext password lingering in the process. The behavior otherwise matches AuthenticatePw; only the credential handling is more protective. Populate the SecureString from a value obtained at runtime, not a hard-coded literal.

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Java

import com.chilkatsoft.*;

public class ChilkatExample {

  static {
    try {
        System.loadLibrary("chilkat");
    } catch (UnsatisfiedLinkError e) {
      System.err.println("Native code library failed to load.\n" + e);
      System.exit(1);
    }
  }

  public static void main(String argv[])
  {
    boolean success = false;

    //  Demonstrates the SFtp.AuthenticateSecPw method, which authenticates using SecureString login
    //  and password objects.  The 1st argument is the login and the 2nd is the password.

    CkSFtp sftp = new CkSFtp();

    //  Step 1: Connect the SSH transport.  Port 22 is the usual port.
    int port = 22;
    success = sftp.Connect("sftp.example.com",port);
    if (success == false) {
        System.out.println(sftp.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    //  Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
    //  from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
    String password = "mySshPassword";

    //  Place the login and password into SecureString objects.
    CkSecureString secureLogin = new CkSecureString();
    secureLogin.Append("mySshLogin");
    CkSecureString securePassword = new CkSecureString();
    securePassword.Append(password);

    success = sftp.AuthenticateSecPw(secureLogin,securePassword);
    if (success == false) {
        System.out.println(sftp.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    //  Step 3: Open the SFTP subsystem.  This must be done after authentication and before any
    //  file or directory operations.
    success = sftp.InitializeSftp();
    if (success == false) {
        System.out.println(sftp.lastErrorText());
        return;
        }

    System.out.println("Authenticated with secure strings.");

    sftp.Disconnect();
  }
}