Issue Overview

When loading a PKCS12 keystore without a password in Java, the keystore may only load the private key but not the corresponding certificate. This can lead to authentication failures and security issues.

Possible Causes

• Java Keystore Implementation: Some Java versions may not fully support password-less PKCS12 keystores.
• Improper PKCS12 File Creation: If the file was generated incorrectly, certificates may not be included.
• Incorrect Keystore Loading Code: Using incorrect API calls can result in partial loading of the keystore.

Solutions

• Verify PKCS12 File: Use OpenSSL to check if the certificate is included: openssl pkcs12 -info -in keystore.p12
• Specify a Dummy Password: Even for a password-less file, try loading with an empty string ("") as the password.
• Update Java Version: Ensure you are using the latest Java version as some older versions have PKCS12 handling bugs.
• Use KeyStore Explorer: A GUI tool to inspect and validate the keystore contents.

Example Code

            
KeyStore ks = KeyStore.getInstance("PKCS12");
FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream("keystore.p12");
ks.load(fis, "".toCharArray());
fis.close();
            
        

Conclusion

To resolve the issue of Java Keystore not loading the certificate from a password-less PKCS12 file, ensure the file contains the required certificates, specify an empty password, and verify your Java version.