FULL PRODUCT VERSION :
java version "1.8.0_60"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_60-b27)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.60-b23, mixed mode)

ADDITIONAL OS VERSION INFORMATION :
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
Ignored exception: ExitException[ 3]javax.net.ssl.SSLHandshakeException: Received fatal alert: handshake_failure
cache: MemoryCache: removed entry https://XXXX.com/app-ABC/mti.jar jnlp


I found no mention of it in the release notes. Although the first part of the application JNLP file is constructed improperly, as follows:

<jnlp
    spec="1.0+"
    codebase="https://xxxx.com/app-ABC"
    <href="ModEView.jnlp">

The bracket in front of "href="ModEView.jnlp" should NOT be present, and the line above should appear as such (i.e. the one below is properly constructed):

<jnlp
    spec="1.0+"
    codebase="https://dcaca660.ca.boeing.com/pdm/evista"
    href="ModEView.jnlp">

However, when using the properly constructed line, the handshake failure appears again and app-ABC fails to start. After some additional investigating, I found two solutions that work, and their performance (i.e. startup time, stack traces, etc.) is effectively identical, notwithstanding network latency:

1. Change the “href” property to contain empty quotes (i.e. href=””)
2. Remove the “href” property and place the ending bracket at the end of the “codebase” line

I did some searching and found that the “codebase” and “href” attributes are optional when deploying Java Web Start applications that run on Java 6u18 or later, so I believe that both solutions above viable in the long-term. My personal recommendation is solution number 2, since that would simplify the JNLP file syntactically (and the tag we would be removing is not required anyway). On an additional note, I removed both the “codebase” and “href” attributes to perform some additional testing and found that app-ABC does not launch (a “NullPointerException” is thrown). Therefore, it appears from app-ABC's standpoint (I can’t speak on behalf of other applications) that the “codebase” attribute is required.




REGRESSION. Last worked in version 8u45

STEPS TO FOLLOW TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM :
See description.

EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -
See description
ACTUAL -
See description

ERROR MESSAGES/STACK TRACES THAT OCCUR :
See description

REPRODUCIBILITY :
This bug can be reproduced always.