SecureSocket

Package	flash.net
Class	public class SecureSocket
Inheritance	SecureSocket Socket EventDispatcher Object

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

The SecureSocket class enables code to make socket connections using the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols.

AIR profile support: This feature is supported on all desktop operating systems, but is not supported on all AIR for TV devices. On mobile devices, it is supported on Android, but not on iOS. You can test for support at run time using the SecureSocket.isSupported property. See AIR Profile Support for more information regarding API support across multiple profiles.

The SSL/TLS protocols provide a mechanism to handle both aspects of a secure socket connection:

Encryption of data communication over the socket
Authentication of the host's identity via its certificate

The supported encryption protocols are SSL 3.0 and higher, and TLS 1.0 and higher. (TLS is the successor protocol for SSL. TLS 1.0 equals SSL 3.1, TLS 1.1 equals SSL 3.2, and so on.) SSL versions lower than 3.0 are not supported.

Validation of the server certificate is performed using the trust store and certificate validation support of the client platform. In addition you can add your own certificates programmatically with the addBinaryChainBuildingCertificate() method.

The SecureSocket class only connects to servers with valid, trusted certificates. You cannot choose to connect to a server in spite of a problem with its certificate. For example, there is no way to connect to a server with an expired certificate. The same is true for a certificate that doesn't chain to a trusted anchor certificate. The connection will not be made, even though the certificate would be valid otherwise.

The SecureSocket class is useful for performing encrypted communication to a trusted server. In other respects, a SecureSocket object behaves like a regular Socket object.

To use the SecureSocket class, create a SecureSocket object (new SecureSocket()). Next, set up your listeners, and then run SecureSocket.connect(host, port). When you successfully connect to the server, the socket dispatches a connect event. A successful connection is one in which the server's security protocols are supported and its certificate is valid and trusted. If the certificate cannot be validated, the Socket dispatches an IOError event.

Important: The Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) is not supported by all operating systems. Users can also disable OCSP checking on individual computers. If OCSP is not supported or is disabled and a certificate does not contain the information necessary to check revocation using a Certificate Revocation List (CRL), then certificate revocation is not checked. The certificate is accepted if otherwise valid. This scenario could allow a server to use a revoked certificate.

View the examples

More examples

Binary client sockets

Related API Elements

Socket class

Public Properties

	Property		Defined By
		bytesAvailable : uint [read-only] The number of bytes of data available for reading in the input buffer.	Socket
		bytesPending : uint [read-only] Indicates the number of bytes remaining in the write buffer.	Socket
		connected : Boolean [read-only] Indicates whether this Socket object is currently connected.	Socket
		constructor : Object A reference to the class object or constructor function for a given object instance.	Object
		endian : String Indicates the byte order for the data.	Socket
		isSupported : Boolean [static] [read-only] Indicates whether secure sockets are supported on the current system.	SecureSocket
		localAddress : String [read-only] The IP address this socket is bound to on the local machine.	Socket
		localPort : int [read-only] The port this socket is bound to on the local machine.	Socket
		objectEncoding : uint Controls the version of AMF used when writing or reading an object.	Socket
		remoteAddress : String [read-only] The IP address of the remote machine to which this socket is connected.	Socket
		remotePort : int [read-only] The port on the remote machine to which this socket is connected.	Socket
		serverCertificate : X509Certificate [read-only] Holds the X.509 certificate obtained from the server after a secure SSL/TLS connection is established.	SecureSocket
		serverCertificateStatus : String [read-only] Returns the status of the server's certificate.	SecureSocket
		timeout : uint Indicates the number of milliseconds to wait for a connection.	Socket

Public Methods

	Method		Defined By
		SecureSocket() Creates a new SecureSocket object.	SecureSocket
		addBinaryChainBuildingCertificate(certificate:ByteArray, trusted:Boolean):void Adds an X.509 certificate to the local certificate chain that your system uses for validating the server certificate.	SecureSocket
		addEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false, priority:int = 0, useWeakReference:Boolean = false):void Registers an event listener object with an EventDispatcher object so that the listener receives notification of an event.	EventDispatcher
		close():void Closes the socket.	Socket
		connect(host:String, port:int):void [override] Connects the socket to the specified host and port using SSL or TLS.	SecureSocket
		dispatchEvent(event:Event):Boolean Dispatches an event into the event flow.	EventDispatcher
		flush():void Flushes any accumulated data in the socket's output buffer.	Socket
		hasEventListener(type:String):Boolean Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type of event.	EventDispatcher
		hasOwnProperty(name:String):Boolean Indicates whether an object has a specified property defined.	Object
		isPrototypeOf(theClass:Object):Boolean Indicates whether an instance of the Object class is in the prototype chain of the object specified as the parameter.	Object
		propertyIsEnumerable(name:String):Boolean Indicates whether the specified property exists and is enumerable.	Object
		readBoolean():Boolean Reads a Boolean value from the socket.	Socket
		readByte():int Reads a signed byte from the socket.	Socket
		readBytes(bytes:ByteArray, offset:uint = 0, length:uint = 0):void Reads the number of data bytes specified by the length parameter from the socket.	Socket
		readDouble():Number Reads an IEEE 754 double-precision floating-point number from the socket.	Socket
		readFloat():Number Reads an IEEE 754 single-precision floating-point number from the socket.	Socket
		readInt():int Reads a signed 32-bit integer from the socket.	Socket
		readMultiByte(length:uint, charSet:String):String Reads a multibyte string from the byte stream, using the specified character set.	Socket
		readObject():* Reads an object from the socket, encoded in AMF serialized format.	Socket
		readShort():int Reads a signed 16-bit integer from the socket.	Socket
		readUnsignedByte():uint Reads an unsigned byte from the socket.	Socket
		readUnsignedInt():uint Reads an unsigned 32-bit integer from the socket.	Socket
		readUnsignedShort():uint Reads an unsigned 16-bit integer from the socket.	Socket
		readUTF():String Reads a UTF-8 string from the socket.	Socket
		readUTFBytes(length:uint):String Reads the number of UTF-8 data bytes specified by the length parameter from the socket, and returns a string.	Socket
		removeEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false):void Removes a listener from the EventDispatcher object.	EventDispatcher
		setPropertyIsEnumerable(name:String, isEnum:Boolean = true):void Sets the availability of a dynamic property for loop operations.	Object
		toLocaleString():String Returns the string representation of this object, formatted according to locale-specific conventions.	Object
		toString():String Returns the string representation of the specified object.	Object
		valueOf():Object Returns the primitive value of the specified object.	Object
		willTrigger(type:String):Boolean Checks whether an event listener is registered with this EventDispatcher object or any of its ancestors for the specified event type.	EventDispatcher
		writeBoolean(value:Boolean):void Writes a Boolean value to the socket.	Socket
		writeByte(value:int):void Writes a byte to the socket.	Socket
		writeBytes(bytes:ByteArray, offset:uint = 0, length:uint = 0):void Writes a sequence of bytes from the specified byte array.	Socket
		writeDouble(value:Number):void Writes an IEEE 754 double-precision floating-point number to the socket.	Socket
		writeFloat(value:Number):void Writes an IEEE 754 single-precision floating-point number to the socket.	Socket
		writeInt(value:int):void Writes a 32-bit signed integer to the socket.	Socket
		writeMultiByte(value:String, charSet:String):void Writes a multibyte string from the byte stream, using the specified character set.	Socket
		writeObject(object:*):void Write an object to the socket in AMF serialized format.	Socket
		writeShort(value:int):void Writes a 16-bit integer to the socket.	Socket
		writeUnsignedInt(value:uint):void Writes a 32-bit unsigned integer to the socket.	Socket
		writeUTF(value:String):void Writes the following data to the socket: a 16-bit unsigned integer, which indicates the length of the specified UTF-8 string in bytes, followed by the string itself.	Socket
		writeUTFBytes(value:String):void Writes a UTF-8 string to the socket.	Socket

Events

Click for more information on events

	Summary	Defined By
activate	[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application gains operating system focus and becomes active.	EventDispatcher
close	Dispatched when the server closes the socket connection.	SecureSocket
connect	Dispatched when a network connection has been established.	SecureSocket
deactivate	[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application operating loses system focus and is becoming inactive.	EventDispatcher
ioError	Dispatched when an input or output error occurs that causes a send or receive operation to fail.	SecureSocket
outputProgress	Dispatched when a socket moves data from its write buffer to the networking transport layer	Socket
securityError	Dispatched when a call to SecureSocket.connect() fails because of a security restriction.	SecureSocket
socketData	Dispatched when a socket has received data.	SecureSocket

Property Detail

isSupported

property

isSupported:Boolean [read-only]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Indicates whether secure sockets are supported on the current system.

Secure sockets are not supported on all platforms. Check this property before attempting to create a SecureSocket instance.

Implementation
public static function get isSupported():Boolean

serverCertificate

property

serverCertificate:X509Certificate [read-only]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 3

Holds the X.509 certificate obtained from the server after a secure SSL/TLS connection is established. If a secure connection is not established, this property is set to null.

For more information on X.509 certificates, see RFC2459.

Implementation
public function get serverCertificate():X509Certificate

serverCertificateStatus

property

serverCertificateStatus:String [read-only]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Returns the status of the server's certificate.

The status is CertificateStatus.UNKNOWN until the socket attempts to connect to a server. After validation, the status is one of the strings enumerated by the CertificateStatus class. The connection only succeeds when the certificate is valid and trusted. Thus, after a connect event, the value of serverCertificateStatus is always trusted.

Note: Once the certificate has been validated or rejected, the status value is not updated until the next call to the connect() method. Calling close() does not reset the status value to "unknown".

Implementation
public function get serverCertificateStatus():String

Related API Elements

CertificateStatus class

Constructor Detail

SecureSocket

()

Constructor

public function SecureSocket()

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Creates a new SecureSocket object.

Check SecureSocket.isSupported before attempting to create a SecureSocket instance. If SSL 3.0 or TLS 1.0 sockets are not supported, the runtime will throw an IllegalOperationError.

Throws

	`IllegalOperationError` — When SSL Version 3.0 (and higher) or TLS Version 1.0 (and higher) is not supported.

	`SecurityError` — Local untrusted SWF files cannot communicate with the Internet. You can work around this problem by reclassifying this SWF file as local-with-networking or trusted.

Method Detail

addBinaryChainBuildingCertificate

()

method

public function addBinaryChainBuildingCertificate(certificate:ByteArray, trusted:Boolean):void

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 3

Adds an X.509 certificate to the local certificate chain that your system uses for validating the server certificate. The certificate is temporary, and lasts for the duration of the session.

Server certificate validation relies on your system's trust store for certificate chain building and validation. Use this method to programmatically add additional certification chains and trusted anchors.

On Mac OS, the System keychain is the default keychain used during the SSL/TLS handshake process. Any intermediate certificates in that keychain are included when building the certification chain.

The certificate you add with this API must be a DER-encoded X.509 certificate. If the trusted parameter is true, the certificate you add with this API is considered a trusted anchor.

For more information on X.509 certificates, see RFC2459.

Parameters

	`certificate:ByteArray` — A ByteArray object containing a DER-encoded X.509 digital certificate.

	`trusted:Boolean` — Set to true to designate this certificate as a trust anchor.

Throws

ArgumentError — When the certificate cannot be added.

connect

()

method

override public function connect(host:String, port:int):void

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Connects the socket to the specified host and port using SSL or TLS.

When you call the SecureSocket.connect() method, the socket attempts SSL/TLS handshaking with the server. If the handshake succeeds, the socket attempts to validate the server certificate. If the certificate is valid and trusted, then the secure socket connection is established, and the socket dispatches a connect event. If the handshake fails or the certificate cannot be validated, the socket dispatches an IOError event. You can check the certificate validation result by reading the serverCertificateStatus property after the IOError event is dispatched. (When a connect event is dispatched, the certificate status is always trusted.)

If the socket was already connected, the existing connection is closed first.

Parameters

	`host:String` — The name or IP address of the host to connect to.

	`port:int` — The port number to connect to.

Events

	`connect:Event` — Dispatched when a network connection has been established.

	`ioError:IOErrorEvent` — Dispatched if a host is specified and an input/output error occurs that causes the connection to fail. This includes SSL/TLS handshake errors and failure to successfully validate the host's server certificate.

	`securityError:SecurityErrorEvent` — Dispatched if a call to `Socket.connect()` attempts to connect either to a server that doesn't serve a socket policy file, or to a server whose policy file doesn't grant the calling host access to the specified port. For more information on policy files, see "Website controls (policy files)" in the ActionScript 3.0 Developer's Guide and the Flash Player Developer Center Topic: Security.

Throws

	`IOError` — When you don't specify a host and the connection fails.

	`SecurityError` — When you specify a socket port less than zero or higher than 65535.

Event Detail

close

Event

Event Object Type: flash.events.Event
property Event.type = flash.events.Event.CLOSE

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Dispatched when the server closes the socket connection.

The close event is dispatched only when the server closes the connection; it is not dispatched when you call the Socket.close() method.

The Event.CLOSE constant defines the value of the type property of a close event object.

This event has the following properties:

Property	Value
`bubbles`	`false`
`cancelable`	`false`; there is no default behavior to cancel.
`currentTarget`	The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener.
`target`	The object whose connection has been closed.

connect

Event

Event Object Type: flash.events.Event
property Event.type = flash.events.Event.CONNECT

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Dispatched when a network connection has been established.

The Event.CONNECT constant defines the value of the type property of a connect event object.

This event has the following properties:

Property	Value
`bubbles`	`false`
`cancelable`	`false`; there is no default behavior to cancel.
`currentTarget`	The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener.
`target`	The Socket or XMLSocket object that has established a network connection.

ioError

Event

Event Object Type: flash.events.IOErrorEvent
property IOErrorEvent.type = flash.events.IOErrorEvent.IO_ERROR

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Dispatched when an input or output error occurs that causes a send or receive operation to fail.

When a server certificate cannot be validated, the error event dispatched is an IOError. In this case, you can check the serverCertificateStatus property to determine the cause of the problem.

Defines the value of the type property of an ioError event object.

This event has the following properties:

Property	Value
`bubbles`	`false`
`cancelable`	`false`; there is no default behavior to cancel.
`currentTarget`	The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener.
`errorID`	A reference number associated with the specific error (AIR only).
`target`	The network object experiencing the input/output error.
`text`	Text to be displayed as an error message.

securityError

Event

Event Object Type: flash.events.SecurityErrorEvent
property SecurityErrorEvent.type = flash.events.SecurityErrorEvent.SECURITY_ERROR

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Dispatched when a call to SecureSocket.connect() fails because of a security restriction.

A security error event is dispatched when code running in Flash Player or in AIR outside the application security sandbox attempts to connect to a server in a different domain or to a port lower than 1024 and the server does not provide a policy file that allows the connection. Note that code running within the AIR application sandbox can connect to a server at any domain and on ports below 1024 without a policy file.

The SecurityErrorEvent.SECURITY_ERROR constant defines the value of the type property of a securityError event object.

This event has the following properties:

Property	Value
`bubbles`	`false`
`cancelable`	`false`; there is no default behavior to cancel.
`currentTarget`	The object that is actively processing the Event object with an event listener.
`target`	The network object reporting the security error.
`text`	Text to be displayed as an error message.

Related API Elements

SecureSocket.connect()

socketData

Event

Event Object Type: flash.events.ProgressEvent
property ProgressEvent.type = flash.events.ProgressEvent.SOCKET_DATA

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 11, AIR 2

Dispatched when a socket has received data. Events of type socketData do not use the ProgressEvent.bytesTotal property.

Defines the value of the type property of a socketData event object.

This event has the following properties:

Property	Value
`bubbles`	`false`
`cancelable`	`false`; there is no default behavior to cancel.
`currentTarget`	The object that is actively processing the Event.
`bytesLoaded`	The number of items or bytes loaded at the time the listener processes the event.
`bytesTotal`	0; this property is not used by `socketData` event objects.
`target`	The socket reporting progress.

Examples How to use this example

SecureSocketExample.as

The following example illustrates how to create and connect a SecureSocket object.

package
{
    import flash.display.Sprite;
    import flash.errors.IOError;
    import flash.events.Event;
    import flash.events.IOErrorEvent;
    import flash.net.SecureSocket;
    
    public class SecureSocketExample extends Sprite
    {
        private var secureSocket:SecureSocket = new SecureSocket();
        
        public function SecureSocketExample()
        {
            secureSocket.addEventListener( Event.CONNECT, onConnect )
            secureSocket.addEventListener( IOErrorEvent.IO_ERROR, onError );
            
            try
            {
                secureSocket.connect( "208.77.188.166", 443 );
            }
            catch ( error:Error )
            {
                trace ( error.toString() );
            }
        }
        
        private function onConnect( event:Event ):void
        {
            trace("Connected.");
        }
        
        private function onError( error:IOErrorEvent ):void
        {
            trace( error.text + ", " + secureSocket.serverCertificateStatus );
        }
    }
}

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SecureSocket - AS3

Classes x

isSupported

serverCertificate

serverCertificateStatus

SecureSocket

addBinaryChainBuildingCertificate

connect

close

connect

ioError

securityError

socketData