How to switch to/from HTTPS using Apache as a proxy to Tomcat

Posted on by

I’m writing this down because it too me an age to figure out a way of doing this. I have a website which Tomcat is happily serving. Areas of the site require a secure connection so I’m using Spring security to require particular URLs to be accessed over HTTPS. It means that when I access http://example.org:8080/webapp/login, it’ll bump me to https://example.org:8443/webapp/login. Note: Tomcat is setup with the SSL connector and a self signed .keystore see (http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-6.0-doc/ssl-howto.html).

I have two vhosts setup in Apache, one for the http://example.org and one for https://example.org. They are both using mod_proxy to ProxyPass and ProxyPassReverse requests to the appropriate Tomcat URL’s. The problem comes when switching to HTTPS from HTTP and vice versa. Ideally I wanted some sort of ProxyPassReverse declaration in my config for http://example.org what would change HTTP headers (that Spring sets) for https://example.org:8443/webapp into https://example.org. Except ProxyPassReverse doesn’t work like that.

Now, I realise I could simply not use Spring to manage which parts of the site should be accessed over HTTPS and which should not…and just setup Apache to redirect as appropriate. I don’t want to do that though, because that makes the task of adding these restrictions a deploy time task, rather than a development time task. I don’t want to risk someone forgetting to add new restrictions when deploying the webapp and I’d much rather the developer added these restrictions when they were working on the task and really thinking about where and when they are needed.

So, how do I solve the problem so that the app can manage its secure-ness and I can setup Apache once and forget about it? The answer is to ProxyPassReverse onto a “special” URL, which when accessed will redirect to the HTTPS (or HTTP) site. For example, if the HTTP site needed to redirect to the HTTPS site, I’d add rules like so to perform the redirect:

    # Proxy a request (from the server) to switch to https onto a special URL "/2https/"
    ProxyPassReverse /2https/ https://example.org:8443/webapp/

    # When a client requests a URL prefixed with "/2https" map it onto the secure site
    RewriteRule ^/2https/(.*)$ https://example.org/$1 [R,L]

…and you’d add something similar to the secure site Apache config. As long as I don’t mount any pages at /2http or /2https I should be ok. Note a couple of things:

  • You’ll need “SSLProxyEngine on” and “RewriteEngine on” and obviously the appropriate Apache modules loaded for these commands.
  • Because of the redirect between HTTP <-> HTTPS you won’t be able to POST data between them directly (I’m not sure why you’d NEED to though)
  • Obviously you’ll need to setup Apache with an SSL certificate…but that is a different story

I should say a special thanks to this random site – from whence the idea actually came from. If anyone has any better ideas on how to do it I’d love to hear them. Please comment below.

4,090 thoughts on “How to switch to/from HTTPS using Apache as a proxy to Tomcat”

  3. купить оригинальный дайсон дайсон выпрямитель купить оригинальный дайсон дайсон выпрямитель .

  19. The special symbols include a Bonus symbol and a Dragon Wild symbol. The Bonus symbol looks like a shining white pearl. Three of these symbols on any position on the reels award 5 bonus spins. The Dragon Wild is a truly lucrative symbol that takes 4 positions on the reels at once and substitutes for all symbols except the Bonus. Transitioning from 15 Dragon Pearls free play to real money mode is seamless. Choose reputable casinos offering the game, like those listed on PlayFame or BNG Games. In real money mode, set your bet, spin, and aim for pearl collections to unlock the Hold and Win feature. Betting moderately can sustain sessions, increasing chances for the 15 Dragon Pearls grand. The size of the Grand pot comes out at x5000 times your total bet. This means that having C$40 at stake, you can scoop the fantastic C$200,000 if you play for real money and luck would have it. The Grand jackpot is played out during a respin bonus feature. And a condition for winning it successfully is having all the 15 reel positions covered with any kinds of pearls (yellow, green, blue). The said pot can be paid in bitcoin if you are playing in a bitcoin casino of your choice.
    https://autotel.pk/5313/
    Connect with us Spin Value—Casino-free spins often come with a spin value, which can vary from one casino to the other. It tells you how much a spin is worth. Check and compare various casino offers to choose the best free spins on selected slots with the best spin value. Some casinos offer free spins as part of a welcome bonus when you make your first deposit. Here, you need to make a 1st deposit before you can be eligible to claim the 50 free spins. Most casinos have a min deposit amount you need to claim the offer. For instance, a casino can require you to deposit £10 or deposit £20 to claim a 100% bonus plus 50 free spins on Starburst. The free spins do not require a deposit to claim them. Many seek 10 Free Spins offers because they have low wagering requirements (e.g., 5x) and high maximum cashout values. These offers also have high spin values. Nonetheless, your chance to win real money funds is smaller when using 10 Free Spins promos because you have a small number of spins available. For more information on the different types of 10 Free Spins No Deposit bonuses, visit our 10 Free Spins page. You can determine the best offers for you by looking at the details on the page.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>