Java

Set a TLS Client Certificate for IMAP

Demonstrates the Chilkat Imap.SetSslClientCert method, which supplies a client certificate for TLS client-certificate authentication. The only argument is a Cert object that must provide access to its private key. Call it before connecting. This example loads the certificate from a PFX file.

Note: The certificate path is relative to the application's current working directory. Supply the path to your own certificate file.

Background: Most IMAP servers authenticate with a username and password only. A few high-security deployments additionally require mutual TLS, where the client presents its own certificate during the handshake. Because that happens as part of connecting, the certificate must be set before Connect — setting it afterward has no effect on the already-established connection.

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import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.Cert;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.ChilkatException;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.Imap;

public class ChilkatExample {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Demonstrates the Imap.SetSslClientCert method, which supplies a client certificate for TLS
        // client-certificate authentication.  The only argument is a Cert object.  It must be called
        // before connecting.

        Imap imap = new Imap();

        imap.setSsl(true);
        imap.setPort(993);

        // The PFX password is not hard-coded in source.  Insert code here to obtain it from an
        // interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
        String pfxPassword = "";

        // Load the client certificate (and its private key) from a PFX file.
        Cert cert = new Cert();
        try {
            cert.loadPfxFile("qa_data/client.pfx", pfxPassword);

            // Provide the client certificate BEFORE connecting.
            imap.setSslClientCert(cert);

            imap.connect("imap.example.com");

            imap.login("user@example.com", "myPassword");

            imap.disconnect();
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());
            return;
        }
    }
}