This package contains utility classes related to the Kerberos network authentication protocol. They do not provide much Kerberos support themselves.

The Kerberos network authentication protocol is defined in RFC 4120. The Java platform contains support for the client side of Kerberos via the {@link org.ietf.jgss} package. There might also be a login module that implements {@link javax.security.auth.spi.LoginModule LoginModule} to authenticate Kerberos principals.

You can provide the name of your default realm and Key Distribution Center (KDC) host for that realm using the system properties {@code java.security.krb5.realm} and {@code java.security.krb5.kdc}. Both properties must be set. Alternatively, the {@code java.security.krb5.conf} system property can be set to the location of an MIT style {@code krb5.conf} configuration file. If none of these system properties are set, the {@code krb5.conf} file is searched for in an implementation-specific manner. Typically, an implementation will first look for a {@code krb5.conf} file in {@code /lib/security} and failing that, in an OS-specific location.

@since JDK1.4