# Apache Tomcat 7

Version 7.0.109, Apr 22 2021

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# The LifeCycle Listener Component

Table of Contents

> - Introduction
> - Attributes
>   1. Common Attributes
> - Nested Components
> - Standard Implementations
>   1. APR Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.AprLifecycleListener
>   2. Jasper Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.JasperListener
>   3. Global Resources Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.mbeans.GlobalResourcesLifecycleListener
>   4. JNI Library Loading Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.JniLifecycleListener
>   5. JRE Memory Leak Prevention Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.JreMemoryLeakPreventionListener
>      1. JreMemoryLeakPreventionListener Examples
>   6. Security Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.security.SecurityListener
>   7. ThreadLocal Leak Prevention Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.ThreadLocalLeakPreventionListener
>   8. UserConfig - org.apache.catalina.startup.UserConfig
>   9. Version Logging Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.startup.VersionLoggerListener
> - Additional Implementations
>   1. System property replacement - org.apache.catalina.util.SystemPropertyReplacerListener
> - Deprecated Implementations
>   1. JMX Remote Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.mbeans.JmxRemoteLifecycleListener

Introduction

> A Listener element defines a component that performs actions when specific events occur, usually Tomcat starting or Tomcat stopping.

> Listeners may be nested inside a Server, Engine, Host or Context. Some Listeners are only intended to be nested inside specific elements. These constraints are noted in the documentation below.

Attributes

> Common Attributes

> > All implementations of Listener support the following attributes:

> > Attribute | Description
> > --- | ---
> > `className` | Java class name of the implementation to use. This class must implement the `org.apache.catalina.LifecycleListener` interface.

Nested Components

> No element may be nested inside a Listener.

Standard Implementations

> Unlike most Catalina components, there are several standard Listener implementations available. As a result, the `className` attribute MUST be used to select the implementation you wish to use.

> APR Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.AprLifecycleListener

> > The APR Lifecycle Listener checks for the presence of the APR/native library and loads the library if it is present. For more information see the APR/native guide.

> > This listener must only be nested within Server elements.

> > The following additional attributes are supported by the APR Lifecycle Listener:

> > Attribute | Description
> > --- | ---
> > `SSLEngine` | Name of the SSLEngine to use. `off`: do not use SSL, `on`: use SSL but no specific ENGINE. The default value is on. This initializes the native SSL engine, which must be enabled in the APR/native connector by the use of the `SSLEnabled` attribute. See the Official OpenSSL website for more details on supported SSL hardware engines and manufacturers.
> > `SSLRandomSeed` | Entropy source used to seed the SSLEngine's PRNG. The default value is `builtin`. On development systems, you may want to set this to `/dev/urandom` to allow quicker start times.

> > `FIPSMode`

> > Set to `on` to request that OpenSSL be in FIPS mode (if OpenSSL is already in FIPS mode, it will remain in FIPS mode). Set to `enter` to force OpenSSL to enter FIPS mode (an error will occur if OpenSSL is already in FIPS mode). Set to `require` to require that OpenSSL already be in FIPS mode (an error will occur if OpenSSL is not already in FIPS mode).

> > FIPS mode requires you to have a FIPS-capable OpenSSL library which you must build yourself. If this attribute is set to any of the above values, the SSLEngine must be enabled as well.

> > The default value is `off`.

> Jasper Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.JasperListener

> > The Jasper Listener initializes the Jasper 2 JSP engine before any web applications that may use it are loaded. For more information on the Jasper 2 JSP engine see the Jasper How To.

> > This listener must only be nested within Server elements.

> > No additional attributes are supported by the Jasper Listener .

> Global Resources Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.mbeans.GlobalResourcesLifecycleListener

> > The Global Resources Lifecycle Listener initializes the Global JNDI resources defined in server.xml as part of the Global Resources element. Without this listener, none of the Global Resources will be available.

> > This listener must only be nested within Server elements.

> > No additional attributes are supported by the Global Resources Lifecycle Listener.

> JNI Library Loading Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.JniLifecycleListener

> > The JNI Library Loading Listener makes it possible for multiple Webapps to use a native library, by loading the native library using a shared class loader (typically the Common class loader but may vary in some configurations)

> > The listener supports two mutually exclusive attributes, so one of them must be used, but you can not use both together:

> > Attribute | Description
> > --- | ---
> > `libraryName` | The name of the native library, as defined in `java.lang.System.loadLibrary()`
> > `libraryPath` | The absolute path of the native library, as defined in `java.lang.System.load()`

> JRE Memory Leak Prevention Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.JreMemoryLeakPreventionListener

> > The JRE Memory Leak Prevention Listener provides work-arounds for known places where the Java Runtime environment uses the context class loader to load a singleton as this will cause a memory leak if a web application class loader happens to be the context class loader at the time. The work-around is to initialise these singletons when this listener starts as Tomcat's common class loader is the context class loader at that time. It also provides work-arounds for known issues that can result in locked JAR files.

> > This listener must only be nested within Server elements.

> > The following additional attributes are supported by the JRE Memory Leak Prevention Listener:

> > Attribute | Description
> > --- | ---

> > `appContextProtection`

> > Enables protection so that calls to `sun.awt.AppContext.getAppContext()` triggered by a web application do not result in a memory leak. Note that a call to this method will be triggered as part of the web application stop process when running on Java 6. It is therefore strongly recommended that this protection is enabled when running on Java 6. The default is `true` for Java 6. The default is `false` for Java 7. This protection is disabled if running on Java 8 onwards since the leak has been fixed for Java 8 onwards.

> > `AWTThreadProtection` | Enables protection so that calls to `java.awt.Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit()` triggered by a web application do not result in a memory leak. Defaults to `false` because an AWT thread is launched. This protection is disabled if running on Java 9 onwards since the leak has been fixed for Java 9 onwards.

> > `classesToInitialize`

> > List of comma-separated fully qualified class names to load and initialize during the startup of this Listener. This allows to pre-load classes that are known to provoke classloader leaks if they are loaded during a request processing. Non-JRE classes may be referenced, like `oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleTimeoutThreadPerVM`. The default value is empty, but specific JRE classes are loaded by other leak protection features managed by other attributes of this Listener.

> > `driverManagerProtection` | The first use of `java.sql.DriverManager` will trigger the loading of JDBC Drivers visible to the current class loader and its parents. The web application level memory leak protection can take care of this in most cases but triggering the loading here has fewer side-effects. The default is `true`.

> > `forkJoinCommonPoolProtection`

> > Enables protection so the threads created for `ForkJoinPool.commonPool()` do not result in a memory leak. The protection is enabled by setting the `java.util.concurrent.ForkJoinPool.common.threadFactory` system property. If this property is set when Tomcat starts, Tomcat will not over-ride it even if this protection is explicitly enabled. The default is `true`. This protection is only used when running on Java 8. The common pool does not exist in earlier versions and the leak has been fixed for Java 9 onwards.

> > `gcDaemonProtection`

> > Enables protection so that calls to `sun.misc.GC.requestLatency(long)` triggered by a web application do not result in a memory leak. Use of RMI is likely to trigger a call to this method. A side effect of enabling this protection is the creation of a thread named "GC Daemon". The protection uses reflection to access internal Sun classes and may generate errors on startup on non-Sun JVMs. The default is `true`. This protection is disabled if running on Java 9 onwards since the leak has been fixed for Java 9 onwards.

> > `java2DDisposerProtection` | Enables protection so that loading the `sun.java2d.Disposer` class by a web application does not result in a memory leak. Defaults to `false` because a thread is launched. Note: The underlying leak has been fixed in Java 1.6.0 update 21 onwards and Java 7 onwards. This option is unnecessary if running on a fixed version of Java.

> > `ldapPoolProtection`

> > Enables protection so that the PoolCleaner thread started by `com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapPoolManager` does not result in a memory leak. The thread is started the first time the `LdapPoolManager` class is used if the system property `com.sun.jndi.ldap.connect.pool.timeout` is set to a value greater than 0. Without this protection, if a web application uses this class the PoolCleaner thread will be configured with the thread's context class loader set to the web application class loader which in turn will trigger a memory leak on reload. Defaults to `true`. This protection is disabled if running on Java 9 onwards since the leak has been fixed for Java 9 onwards.

> > `securityLoginConfigurationProtection`

> > Enables protection so that usage of the `javax.security.auth.login.Configuration` class by a web application does not provoke a memory leak. The first access of this class will trigger the initializer that will retain a static reference to the context class loader. The protection loads the class with the system class loader to ensure that the static initializer is not triggered by a web application. Defaults to `true`. This protection is disabled if running on Java 8 onwards since the leak has been fixed for Java 8 onwards.

> > `securityPolicyProtection`

> > Enables protection so that usage of the deprecated `javax.security.auth.Policy` class by a web application does not result in a memory leak. The first access of this class will trigger the static initializer that will retain a static reference to the context class loader. The protection calls the `getPolicy()` method of this class to ensure that the static initializer is not triggered by a web application. Defaults to `true`.

> > Note: The underlying leak has been fixed in Java 7 update 51 onwards and Java 8 onwards. This protection is therefor disabled if running on Java 8 onwards.

> > `tokenPollerProtection`

> > Enables protection so that any token poller thread initialized by `sun.security.pkcs11.SunPKCS11.initToken()` does not result in a memory leak. The thread is started depending on various conditions as part of the initialization of the Java Cryptography Architecture. Without the protection this can happen during Webapp deployment when the MessageDigest for generating session IDs is initialized. As a result the thread has the Webapp class loader as its thread context class loader. Enabling the protection initializes JCA early during Tomcat startup. Defaults to `true`. This protection is disabled if running on Java 9 onwards since the leak has been fixed for Java 9 onwards.

> > `urlCacheProtection` | Enables protection so that reading resources from JAR files using `java.net.URLConnection`s does not result in the JAR file being locked. Note that enabling this protection disables caching by default for all resources obtained via `java.net.URLConnection`s. Caching may be re-enabled on a case by case basis as required. Defaults to `true`.
> > `xmlParsingProtection` | Enables protection so that parsing XML files within a web application does not result in a memory leak. Note that memory profilers may not display the GC root associated with this leak making it particularly hard to diagnose. Defaults to `true`. This protection is disabled if running on Java 9 onwards since the leak has been fixed for Java 9 onwards.

> > JreMemoryLeakPreventionListener Examples

> > > The following is an example of how to configure the `classesToInitialize` attribute of this listener.

> > > If this listener was configured in server.xml as:

> > >       <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.core.JreMemoryLeakPreventionListener"
> > >                 classesToInitialize="oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleTimeoutThreadPerVM" />

> > > then the `OracleTimeoutThreadPerVM` class would be loaded and initialized during listener startup instead of during request processing.

> Security Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.security.SecurityListener

> > The Security Lifecycle Listener performs a number of security checks when Tomcat starts and prevents Tomcat from starting if they fail. The listener is not enabled by default. To enabled it uncomment the listener in $CATALINA_BASE/conf/server.xml. If the operating system supports umask then the line in $CATALINA_HOME/bin/catalina.sh that obtains the umask also needs to be uncommented.

> > This listener must only be nested within Server elements.

> > The following additional attributes are supported by the Security Lifecycle Listener:

> > Attribute | Description
> > --- | ---
> > `checkedOsUsers` | A comma separated list of OS users that must not be used to start Tomcat. If not specified, the default value of root is used. To disable this check, set the attribute to the empty string. Usernames are checked in a case-insensitive manner.
> > `minimumUmask` | The least restrictive umask that must be configured before Tomcat will start. If not specified, the default value of 0007 is used. To disable this check, set the attribute to the empty string. The check is not performed on Windows platforms.

> ThreadLocal Leak Prevention Listener - org.apache.catalina.core.ThreadLocalLeakPreventionListener

> > The ThreadLocal Leak Prevention Listener triggers the renewal of threads in Executor pools when a Context is being stopped to avoid thread-local related memory leaks. Active threads will be renewed one by one when they come back to the pool after executing their task. The renewal happens only for contexts that have their `renewThreadsWhenStoppingContext` attribute set to `true`.

> > This listener must only be nested within Server elements.

> > No additional attributes are supported by the ThreadLocal Leak Prevention Listener.

> UserConfig - org.apache.catalina.startup.UserConfig

> > The UserConfig provides feature of User Web Applications. User Web Applications map a request URI starting with a tilde character ("~") and a username to a directory (commonly named public_html) in that user's home directory on the server.

> > See the User Web Applications special feature on the Host element for more information.

> > The following additional attributes are supported by the UserConfig:

> > Attribute | Description
> > --- | ---
> > `directoryName` | The directory name to be searched for within each user home directory. The default is `public_html`.

> > `userClass`

> > The class name of the user database class. There are currently two user database, the `org.apache.catalina.startup.PasswdUserDatabase` is used on a Unix system that uses the /etc/passwd file to identify valid users. The `org.apache.catalina.startup.HomesUserDatabase` is used on a server where /etc/passwd is not in use. HomesUserDatabase deploy all directories found in a specified base directory.

> > `homeBase` | The base directory containing user home directories. This is effective only when `org.apache.catalina.startup.HomesUserDatabase` is used.
> > `allow` | A regular expression defining user who deployment is allowed. If this attribute is specified, the user to deploy must match for this pattern. If this attribute is not specified, all users will be deployed unless the user matches a deny pattern.
> > `deny` | A regular expression defining user who deployment is denied. If this attribute is specified, the user to deploy must not match for this pattern. If this attribute is not specified, deployment of user will be governed by a allow attribute.

> Version Logging Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.startup.VersionLoggerListener

> > The Version Logging Lifecycle Listener logs Tomcat, Java and operating system information when Tomcat starts.

> > This listener must only be nested within Server elements and should be the first listener defined.

> > The following additional attributes are supported by the Version Logging Lifecycle Listener:

> > Attribute | Description
> > --- | ---
> > `logArgs` | If `true`, the command line arguments passed to Java when Tomcat started will be logged. If not specified, the default value of `true` will be used.
> > `logEnv` | If `true`, the current environment variables when Tomcat starts will be logged. If not specified, the default value of `false` will be used.
> > `logProps` | If `true`, the current Java system properties will be logged. If not specified, the default value of `false` will be used.

Additional Implementations

> System property replacement - org.apache.catalina.util.SystemPropertyReplacerListener

> > This listener performs system property replacement using the property source configured on the digester. When `${parameter}` denoted parameters are found in the values of system properties, the property source will be invoked to attempt to replace it.

Deprecated Implementations

> JMX Remote Lifecycle Listener - org.apache.catalina.mbeans.JmxRemoteLifecycleListener

> > This listener is now deprecated as the features it provides are now available in the remote JMX capability included with the JRE. This listener will be removed in Tomcat 10 and may be removed from Tomcat 7 some time after 2020-12-31.

> > This listener requires `catalina-jmx-remote.jar` to be placed in `$CATALINA_HOME/lib`. This jar may be found in the extras directory of the binary download area.

> > The JMX Remote Lifecycle Listener fixes the ports used by the JMX/RMI Server making things much simpler if you need to connect jconsole or a similar tool to a remote Tomcat instance that is running behind a firewall. Only these ports are configured via the listener. The remainder of the configuration is via the standard system properties for configuring JMX. For further information on configuring JMX see Monitoring and Management Using JMX included with the Java SDK documentation.

> > This listener must only be nested within a Server element.

> > The following additional attributes are supported by the JMX Remote Lifecycle Listener:

> > Attribute | Description
> > --- | ---
> > `rmiRegistryPortPlatform` | The port to be used by the JMX/RMI registry for the Platform MBeans. This replaces the use of the `com.sun.management.jmxremote.port` system property that should not be set when using this listener.
> > `rmiServerPortPlatform` | The port to be used by the Platform JMX/RMI server.
> > `rmiBindAddress` | The address of the interface to be used by JMX/RMI server.
> > `useLocalPorts` | Should any clients using these ports be forced to use local ports to connect to the JMX/RMI server. This is useful when tunnelling connections over SSH or similar. Defaults to `false`.

> > ### Using file-based Authentication and Authorisation

> > If this listener was configured in server.xml as:

> >       <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.mbeans.JmxRemoteLifecycleListener"
> >               rmiRegistryPortPlatform="10001" rmiServerPortPlatform="10002" />

> > with the following system properties set (e.g. in setenv.sh):

> >       -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.password.file=$CATALINA_BASE/conf/jmxremote.password
> >       -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.access.file=$CATALINA_BASE/conf/jmxremote.access
> >       -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false

> > $CATALINA_BASE/conf/jmxremote.password containing:

> >     admin letmein

> > $CATALINA_BASE/conf/jmxremote.access containing:

> >     admin readwrite

> > then opening ports 10001 (RMI Registry) and 10002 (JMX/RMI Server) in your firewall would enable jconsole to connect to a Tomcat instance running behind a firewall using a connection string of the form:

> >     service:jmx:rmi://<hostname>:10002/jndi/rmi://<hostname>:10001/jmxrmi

> > with a user name of `admin` and a password of `letmein`.

> > ### Using JAAS

> > If we use the following system properties instead:

> >       -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.login.config=Tomcat
> >       -Djava.security.auth.login.config=$CATALINA_BASE/conf/login.config
> >       -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.access.file=$CATALINA_BASE/conf/jmxremote.access
> >       -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false

> > $CATALINA_BASE/conf/login.config containing your choice of JAAS LoginModule implementation, for example:

> >       Tomcat { /* should match to the com.sun.management.jmxremote.login.config property */

> >         /* for illustration purposes only */
> >         com.sun.security.auth.module.LdapLoginModule REQUIRED
> >           userProvider="ldap://ldap-svr/ou=people,dc=example,dc=com"
> >           userFilter="(&(uid={USERNAME})(objectClass=inetOrgPerson))"
> >           authzIdentity="admin"
> >           debug=true;
> >       };

> > $CATALINA_BASE/conf/jmxremote.access containing:

> >     admin readwrite

> > then we would need to provide LDAP credentials instead.

> > Note that the examples above do not use SSL. JMX access should be considered equivalent to administrative access and secured accordingly.

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