How to fix error: Apache tomcat : java.net.BindException: Permission denied (Bind failed) <null>:443

Full Error:

SEVERE: Failed to initialize end point associated with ProtocolHandler ["http-bio-4443"]
java.net.BindException: Permission denied (Bind failed) <null>:4443
	at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint.bind(JIoEndpoint.java:413)
	at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.AbstractEndpoint.init(AbstractEndpoint.java:715)
	at org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol.init(AbstractProtocol.java:452)
	at org.apache.coyote.http11.AbstractHttp11JsseProtocol.init(AbstractHttp11JsseProtocol.java:119)
	at org.apache.catalina.connector.Connector.initInternal(Connector.java:978)
	at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.init(LifecycleBase.java:102)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService.initInternal(StandardService.java:560)
	at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.init(LifecycleBase.java:102)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.initInternal(StandardServer.java:840)
	at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.init(LifecycleBase.java:102)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.load(Catalina.java:642)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.load(Catalina.java:667)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.load(Bootstrap.java:253)
	at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:427)
Caused by: java.net.BindException: Permission denied (Bind failed)
	at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.socketBind(Native Method)
	at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.bind(AbstractPlainSocketImpl.java:387)
	at java.net.ServerSocket.bind(ServerSocket.java:390)
	at java.net.ServerSocket.<init>(ServerSocket.java:252)
	at java.net.ServerSocket.<init>(ServerSocket.java:196)
	at javax.net.ssl.SSLServerSocket.<init>(SSLServerSocket.java:136)
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLServerSocketImpl.<init>(SSLServerSocketImpl.java:71)
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLServerSocketFactoryImpl.createServerSocket(SSLServerSocketFactoryImpl.java:80)
	at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.jsse.JSSESocketFactory.createSocket(JSSESocketFactory.java:256)
	at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint.bind(JIoEndpoint.java:400)
	... 17 more

Why, when, and where we get this error?

We get this issue while starting Apache tomcat on secure port 443. The error “java.net.BindException: Permission denied (Bind failed) :443 ” is visible in /usr/share/tomcat/logs/catalina.2016-12-02.log

How to fix it

This error occurs when your Linux firewall levels are set to ‘enforcing‘.To fix this error make it ‘permissive‘

Check current firewall status using the command ‘getenforce‘

Edit the file ‘vi /etc/selinux/config’ and make it ‘permissive’ from ‘enforcing’

# This file controls the state of SELinux on the system.
# SELINUX= can take one of these three values:
#       enforcing - SELinux security policy is enforced.
#       permissive - SELinux prints warnings instead of enforcing.
#       disabled - No SELinux policy is loaded.
SELINUX=permissive
# SELINUXTYPE= can take one of these two values:
#       targeted - Targeted processes are protected,
#       mls - Multi Level Security protection.
SELINUXTYPE=targeted

Reboot the system using ‘reboot‘ as the root
After reboot check, if tomcat is up with 443 port
```
netstat -plan| grep 443
```
And check the tomcat URL with ssl/https (https://localhost:443)

Leave a comment if you find the article helpful.

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