[ome-users] Java update blocks login by OMERO.insight and import by OMERO.cli

[Mark Carroll (Staff)]

Yesterday we began investigating a problem where some Mac users here in
Dundee could no longer log in to OMERO through Insight. Our preliminary
diagnosis is that updating to Java 1.8.0_201 includes the fix for
JDK-8211883 which disables anonymous cipher suites for TLS. Insight and
CLI import may no longer work on any platform that uses a recent release
of Java. While we work on the problem users should note:

* Updating to current Java may stop Java-based OMERO clients from being
able to connect. This affects all use of Insight and also prevents using
"bin/omero import ..." to import images.
* Using the standard Fiji installation that bundles its own Java may
afford a workaround for those who have updated: use the ImageJ/Fiji
plugin for OMERO then log in via Connect to OMERO.

For further information see:

https://bugs.java.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=JDK-8211883
https://help.openmicroscopy.org/imagej.html

Java upgrades often include fixes for security vulnerabilities. Before
deciding to postpone an upgrade we recommend that users review the Java
release notes and assess the risk of going without the included patches.

To use current Java with Insight 5.4.9: Java installations typically
include a file named java.security which contains a setting for the
jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms property. System administrators can edit this
file to remove "anon" from among the disabled algorithms. Alternatively,
advanced users may create a file containing an override for only this
line and direct their JRE to it by including the
-Djdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms=my-override-file.security option when
launching Java.

We apologize for the inconvenience and will keep the OME community
posted on the matter.

Regards,
The OME team

The University of Dundee is a registered Scottish Charity, No: SC015096