SSLException: Unrecognized SSL message, plaintext connection

[Ritu Bansal]

I am trying to invoke a SSL webservice via a Proxy server behind a firewall. The call fails with the following exception:

AxisFault
faultCode: {http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/}Server.userException
faultSubcode:
faultString: javax.net.ssl.SSLException: Unrecognized SSL message, plaintext connection?
faultActor:
faultNode:
faultDetail:
{http://xml.apache.org/axis/}stackTrace:javax.net.ssl.SSLException: Unrecognized SSL message, plaintext connection?
at com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.InputRecord.handleUnknownRecord(InputRecord.java:523)
at com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.InputRecord.read(InputRecord.java:355)
at com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.readRecord(SSLSocketImpl.java:789)
at com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.performInitialHandshake(SSLSocketImpl.java:1096)
at com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.startHandshake(SSLSocketImpl.java:1123)
at com.sun.net.ssl.internal.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.startHandshake(SSLSocketImpl.java:1107)
at org.apache.axis.components.net.JSSESocketFactory.create(JSSESocketFactory.java:186)
at org.apache.axis.transport.http.HTTPSender.getSocket(HTTPSender.java:191)
at org.apache.axis.transport.http.HTTPSender.writeToSocket(HTTPSender.java:404)
at org.apache.axis.transport.http.HTTPSender.invoke(HTTPSender.java:138)
at org.apache.axis.strategies.InvocationStrategy.visit(InvocationStrategy.java:32)
at org.apache.axis.SimpleChain.doVisiting(SimpleChain.java:118)
at org.apache.axis.SimpleChain.invoke(SimpleChain.java:83)
at org.apache.axis.client.AxisClient.invoke(AxisClient.java:165)
at org.apache.axis.client.Call.invokeEngine(Call.java:2784)
at org.apache.axis.client.Call.invoke(Call.java:2767)
at org.apache.axis.client.Call.invoke(Call.java:2443)
at org.apache.axis.client.Call.invoke(Call.java:2366)
at org.apache.axis.client.Call.invoke(Call.java:1812)

The webservice invocation works when the proxy is not used. Any ideas why it is failing via Proxy?

[Paul Clapham]

My first guess is that the proxy doesn't expect to have to deal with SSL, and therefore it's sending non-SSL messages -- which is what the error message says. But I did say "guess". So, does your proxy support SSL? And is your proxy configuration set up to use SSL properly?

[Ritu Bansal]

The proxy is set up to deal with SSL...could there be any other reason?