PKIX Error handling using Rest Assured Relaxed HTTPS method

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through handling PKIX SSL handshake errors in Rest Assured, a popular library for API automation. Encountering PKIX errors when connecting to HTTPS endpoints can be frustrating, but using Rest Assured's relaxed HTTPS method can help you bypass these issues effectively.

Step 1: Understand the PKIX SSL Handshake Error

• The PKIX SSL handshake error arises when Java cannot validate the SSL certificate from the server.
• This often occurs due to:
  • Missing root certificates in the Java trust store.
  • Self-signed certificates.
  • Certificates not being recognized by the default Java settings.

Step 2: Set Up Your Rest Assured Project

• Ensure you have Rest Assured added to your project. If you are using Maven, include the following dependency in your pom.xml:

<dependency>
    <groupId>io.rest-assured</groupId>
    <artifactId>rest-assured</artifactId>
    <version>5.4.0</version> <!-- Check for the latest version -->
</dependency>

• Make sure you have the required Java and any other dependencies set up correctly.

Step 3: Implement Relaxed HTTPS Method

• The relaxed HTTPS method allows Rest Assured to bypass SSL validations, making it useful for development and testing with untrusted certificates.
• Here’s how to implement it:

1. Import necessary Rest Assured classes at the top of your Java file:

import io.restassured.RestAssured;
import io.restassured.response.Response;

2. Use the following code snippet to configure Rest Assured to relax HTTPS:

RestAssured.useRelaxedHTTPSValidation();

3. Example of making a GET request to an HTTPS endpoint:

Response response = RestAssured
    .given()
    .useRelaxedHTTPSValidation() // Relax SSL validation
    .when()
    .get("https://your-https-endpoint.com");

4. Handle the response as needed:

System.out.println("Response Status Code: " + response.getStatusCode());
System.out.println("Response Body: " + response.getBody().asString());

Step 4: Test Your Configuration

• Run the code to ensure that the PKIX error is resolved.
• Verify that you receive the expected response from the server without encountering SSL handshake issues.
• If applicable, adjust your test cases to ensure they work with relaxed HTTPS settings.

Conclusion

By using Rest Assured's relaxed HTTPS method, you can effectively bypass PKIX SSL handshake errors during API testing. This approach is particularly useful in development environments with self-signed certificates. Remember to review SSL certificate management for production environments to maintain security. As a next step, consider integrating proper SSL validation in your production code to avoid potential vulnerabilities.