๐Ÿ“š Troubleshooting Knowledge Base

Issue #001

Java Agent Startup Failure with FIPS 140-3 Enabled

Error Message

java.lang.RuntimeException: When -Xenablefips140-3 is specified, JSSE needs to be enabled to run in FIPS140-3 by setting system property com.ibm.jsse2.usefipsprovider to true and com.ibm.jsse2.usefipsProviderName to IBMJCEPlusFIPS.

๐Ÿ” Root Cause

The JVM is configured with -Xenablefips140-3 but the required IBM JSSE FIPS provider configuration is missing.

When FIPS 140-3 mode is enabled, IBM Java requires JSSE to explicitly use a FIPS-compliant security provider. Without these settings, JVM initialization fails and the application server cannot start successfully.

โœ… Resolution

Open the WebSphere Administrative Console and navigate to:

Application Server โ†’ Java Virtual Machine โ†’ Custom Properties

Add the following property:

Name : com.ibm.jsse2.usefipsprovider Value : true

Add the following property:

Name : com.ibm.jsse2.usefipsProviderName Value : IBMJCEPlusFIPS

Save the configuration and restart the affected node/server.

๐Ÿงช Verification

๐Ÿ“š Summary

When FIPS 140-3 mode is enabled using -Xenablefips140-3, IBM JSSE must be configured to use the IBMJCEPlusFIPS provider. Adding the required JVM custom properties and restarting the server resolves the startup failure.