Troubleshooting Zowe CLI credentials

Secure credentials

Authentication mechanisms

You can troubleshoot a failed log-in to a mainframe service by reviewing the authentication mechanisms used by Zowe CLI.

Zowe CLI accepts various methods, or mechanisms, of authentication when communicating with the mainframe, and the method that the CLI ultimately follows is based on the service it is communicating with.

However, some services can accept multiple methods of authentication. When multiple methods are provided (in a profile or command) for a service, the CLI follows an order of precedence to determine which method to apply.

To find the authentication methods used for different services and their order of precedence, see the table in Authentication mechanisms.

PEM certificate files

PEM certificate files are used by Zowe CLI to authenticate to the API Mediation Layer. To be accepted, these certificate files must first be recorded in the service's keyring/trust-store on the mainframe before they are used by Zowe CLI.

Some users choose to secure PEM certificates by placing them in a password protected container, such as a PGP file, a ZIP file, or a password protected PKCS12 file (a.k.a. a PFX file). However, Zowe CLI does not currently support any certificate files that require a password for use.

note

These client certificate files are different from the certificates generated or imported during Zowe server configuration. For more information, see Using Certificates.

To log into the API Mediation Layer with a PEM certificate file, refer to this workaround.

Symptom:

When using a password protected certificate to log in to API ML, an error message displays.

Sample message:

Unexpected Command Error:
Please review the message and stack below.
Contact the creator of handler:
"PATH-TO-INSTALLED-NPM\bin\npm\node_modules\@zowe\cli\lib/auth/ApimlAuthHandler"
Message:
error:1E08010C:DECODER routines::unsupported
Stack:
Error: error:1E08010C:DECODER routines::unsupported
    at setKey (node:internal/tls/secure-context:92:11)
    at configSecureContext (node:internal/tls/secure-context:174:7)
    at Object.createSecureContext (node:_tls_common:117:3)
    at Object.connect (node:_tls_wrap:1629:48)
    at Agent.createConnection (node:https:150:22)
    at Agent.createSocket (node:_http_agent:350:26)
    at Agent.addRequest (node:_http_agent:297:10)
    at new ClientRequest (node:_http_client:335:16)
    at Object.request (node:https:360:10)
    at PATH-TO-INSTALLED-NPM\bin\npm\node_modules\@zowe\cli\node_modules\@zowe\imperative\lib\rest\src\client\AbstractRestClient.js:117:39

Solution:

Create a new PEM certificate file with no password requirement to log in to API ML.