Package org.faceless.pdf2

Class SignatureHandler

  • Direct Known Subclasses:
    EGIZSignatureHandler, PKCS7SignatureHandler
    public abstract class SignatureHandler
extends Object

    This class is the baseline handler for all digital signatures - it could theoretically be used for any type of signature, using biometrics, public/private key and so on. The main implementation is the one returned by AcrobatSignatureHandlerFactory. Typically an object of this type will be a PKCS7SignatureHandler.

    For 99% of users, it is enough to look at the examples in the FormSignature API documentation, which details how to sign and verify documents using the standard handlers. For those wanting to write their own signature handlers however, read on.

    The SignatureHandler class has several methods which need to be implemented by concrete implementations of this class. They are at a minimum getFilter(), the verify() method (if the handler is to be used to verify signatures), and/or the prepareToSign(), getMessageDigest() and sign() methods if the handler is to be used to sign signatures. In addition, when signing if the signature is to have a visible appearance on the page, something useful should be returned from getLayerNames() and getLayerAppearance().

    The idea behind the handler is that when signing, first any annotations associated with the signature are created and filled using the values returned from the getLayerAppearance() method. Then the prepareToSign() method is called, which should set all the values in the "V" dictionary and generally do everything required to set up the signature in preparation for signing. Finally the sign() method is called, it's return value is stored in the "Contents" field.

    The SignatureHandler works in a similar way to the EncryptionHandler class. There are a number of get...Value and put...Value methods which can be used to get/set values in the "V" dictionary of the Signature dictionary. See the discussion in the EncryptionHandler class documentation for details on how these methods work. As an example, the SelfSign handler includes the following lines in it's prepareToSign() method: 

       putNameValue("Filter", "Adobe.PPKLite");
   putNameValue("SubFilter", "adbe.x509.rsa_sha1");
   putNumericValue("R", 65539);
   putStringValue("Cert", certificatebytearray);

    As a slightly more complicated example, to add /MyArray [ 100 << /Type /MyHandler >> ] to the "V" dictionary, just do: 

       putArrayValue("MyArray");
   putNumericValue("MyArray.0", 100);
   putDictionaryValue("MyArray.1");
   putNameValue("MyArray.1.Type", "MyHandler");

    The getFilter() method should return an appropriate value - so again, the SelfSign handler will return the string "Adobe.PPKLite".

    For a concrete example of a working, if somewhat brain-dead signature handler, see the DummySignatureHandler.java example, supplied with the download package.

    Since:
    2.0
    See Also:
    FormSignature, SignatureHandlerFactory

    • Constructor Detail

      • SignatureHandler

        public SignatureHandler()

    • Method Detail

      • containsKey

        protected boolean containsKey​(String key)
        Return true if the V dictionary contains the specified key

      • getStringValue

        protected final byte[] getStringValue​(String key)
        Return a String from the V dictionary as a byte array or null if no such field exists

      • getTextStringValue

        protected final String getTextStringValue​(String key)
        Return a Text String from the V dictionary as a String or null if no such field exists

      • getNameValue

        protected final String getNameValue​(String key)
        Return a Name from the V dictionary as a String or null if no such field exists

      • getNumericValue

        protected final float getNumericValue​(String key)
        Return a Number from the V dictionary as a float or Float.NaN if no such field exists

      • getBooleanValue

        protected final boolean getBooleanValue​(String key)
        Return a Boolean from the V dictionary as a boolean or false if no such field exists

      • getArrayValueSize

        protected final int getArrayValueSize​(String key)
        Return the size of the specified Array from the V dictionary, or -1 if no such field exists

      • getDictionaryValueKeys

        protected final Set<String> getDictionaryValueKeys​(String key)
        Return the Set of keys of the specified Dictionary from the V dictionary, or null if no such field exists.

      • getStreamValue

        protected final InputStream getStreamValue​(String key)
        Return the contents of a Stream from the V dictionary, or false if no such field exists
        Since:
        2.6.5

      • putStringValue

        protected final void putStringValue​(String key,
                                    byte[] val)
        Add (or replace) a String to the V dictionary. A value of null removes the entry.

      • putTextStringValue

        protected final void putTextStringValue​(String key,
                                        String val)
        Add (or replace) a Text String to the V dictionary. A value of null removes the entry

      • putNumericValue

        protected final void putNumericValue​(String key,
                                     float val)
        Add (or replace) a Number to the V dictionary. A value of Float.NaN removes the entry.

      • putNameValue

        protected final void putNameValue​(String key,
                                  String val)
        Add (or replace) a Name to the V dictionary. A value of null removes the entry.

      • putBooleanValue

        protected final void putBooleanValue​(String key,
                                     boolean val)
        Add (or replace) a Boolean to the V dictionary.

      • putArrayValue

        protected final void putArrayValue​(String key)
        Add (or replace) an Array to the V dictionary.

      • putDictionaryValue

        protected final void putDictionaryValue​(String key)
        Add (or replace) a Dictionary to the V dictionary.

      • putStreamValue

        protected final void putStreamValue​(String key,
                                    byte[] val)
        Add (or replace) the contents of a Stream in the V dictionary.
        Since:
        2.6.5

      • getHandlerName

        public String getHandlerName()
        Return the human-readable name of this handler
        Since:
        2.18.2

      • getVariables

        public Map<String,​SignatureHandler.Placeholder> getVariables()
                                                            throws GeneralSecurityException

        Return the list of "variables" which will be set by the handler after the PDF is rendered. Entries in the returned map should have a String as a key and a SignatureHandler.Placeholder as a value. These placeholders will be inserted into the PDF at the correct points.

        For most SignatureHandlers, the only variables are the "ByteRange" and "Contents" array containing the signature token, which is what this method returns (it may be overridden if more variables are required).

        This method was updated for a new signing architecture in release 2.11.12.

        Returns:
        a Map containing the variables to be substituted into the PDF during signing
        Throws:
        GeneralSecurityException
        Since:
        2.3
        See Also:
        AcrobatSignatureHandlerFactory.setContentSize(int)

      • getEstimatedContentSize

        public int getEstimatedContentSize​(int contentsize)
        Return the estimated size of the signature object to be embedded, or <= 0 if this cannot be determined. The default implementation returns 0.
        Parameters:
        contentsize - the negation of any value previously passed into setContentSize(int)
        Since:
        2.11.21

      • getFilter

        public abstract String getFilter()
        Return the name of the filter, eg "Adobe.PPKLite".

      • preDigest

        protected void preDigest​(long filelength,
                         Map<String,​SignatureHandler.Placeholder> variables)
                  throws Exception
        Update any Variables that need to be updated before the Digest is calculated (eg ByteRange).
        Parameters:
        filelength - the length of the PDF file, in bytes
        variables - the Map of variables, ordered by their position in the file.
        Throws:
        Exception
        Since:
        2.11.12

      • postDigest

        protected void postDigest​(long filelength,
                          Map<String,​SignatureHandler.Placeholder> variables)
                   throws Exception
        Update any Variables that need to be updated after the Digest is calculated (eg Contents).
        Parameters:
        filelength - the length of the PDF file, in bytes
        variables - the Map of variables, ordered by their position in the file.
        Throws:
        Exception
        Since:
        2.11.12

      • sign

        protected byte[] sign()
               throws GeneralSecurityException,
                      IOException

        Finish the digest calculation on the digest returned from getMessageDigest() and return a signature token the signs it. The returned byte array will be stored as the "Contents" value of the Signature dictionary.

        As well as being called to perform the actual signing, the default behaviour of the getVariables() method is also to call this method with an empty digest, to determine the size of the token to store in the PDF (the getMessageDigest() method is called twice as well). This can be overridden, by calling AcrobatSignatureHandlerFactory.setContentSize(int) for handlers created by that factory or, if you're implementing a custom signature handler, by writing your own getVariables() method.

        Returns:
        a byte array representing the signature token
        Throws:
        GeneralSecurityException - if the signature cannot be applied for some cryptographic reason
        IOException - if the InputStream cannot be read
        Since:
        2.10 (this method existed earlier but took an InputStream as a parameter, and was required to create the digest now returned from getMessageDigest() internally)

      • getMessageDigest

        protected abstract MessageDigest getMessageDigest()
        Return a MessageDigest that will be used to calculate the digest of the PDF for signing. This message will be called before sign() - see the API docs for that method for more details.
        Since:
        2.10

      • prepareToSign

        protected void prepareToSign​(KeyStore keystore,
                             String alias,
                             char[] password)
                      throws GeneralSecurityException

        This method initialized the handler using the specified values into a state where it's ready to sign. This method should be used to set any additional fields in the Signature dictionary, for example "Certs" for the Self-Sign handler.

        Those overriding this method must call super.prepareToSign() before doing anything else.

        Parameters:
        keystore - the KeyStore
        alias - which key to use
        password - the password to use to decode the key
        Throws:
        GeneralSecurityException

      • getLayerNames

        public abstract String[] getLayerNames()

        Return the list of appearance layer names used by this Signature Handler to create a visible appearance on the page, in the order they should be drawn. This method is called internally by the FormSignature class when drawing the signature annotations on the page. For more information see the document "Digital Signature Appearances for Public-Key Interoperability", from Adobes website.

        As an example, both the Verisign and the SelfSign handlers return the array [ "n0", "n1", "n2", "n3" ].

        Returns:
        the ordered list of layer names that should to used to create a visible representation of this signature on a page.
        See Also:
        getLayerAppearance(java.lang.String, org.faceless.pdf2.PDFStyle)