Login Fails Due to error java.sql.SQLException and Incorrect string value
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Data Center platform.
Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
*Except Fisheye and Crucible
Summary
Symptoms
Login fails and your LDAP is Novell Directory Services.
The following appears in the atlassian-confluence.log:
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ERROR [scheduler_Worker-6] [atlassian.crowd.directory.DbCachingDirectoryPoller] pollChanges Error occurred while refreshing the cache for directory [ 6291457 ].
org.springframework.jdbc.UncategorizedSQLException: Hibernate operation: could not update: [com.atlassian.crowd.model.user.InternalUser#6357021]; uncategorized SQLException for SQL []; SQL state [HY000]; error code [1366]; Incorrect string value: '\xF2\xB9\x84\xAE\xEF\xBF...' for column 'external_id' at row 1; nested exception is java.sql.SQLException: Incorrect string value: '\xF2\xB9\x84\xAE\xEF\xBF...' for column 'external_id' at row 1
at org.springframework.jdbc.support.AbstractFallbackSQLExceptionTranslator.translate(AbstractFallbackSQLExceptionTranslator.java:83)
at org.springframework.orm.hibernate.HibernateAccessor.convertJdbcAccessException(HibernateAccessor.java:364)
at org.springframework.orm.hibernate.HibernateAccessor.convertHibernateAccessException(HibernateAccessor.java:351)
at org.springframework.orm.hibernate.HibernateTemplate.execute(HibernateTemplate.java:375)
at org.springframework.orm.hibernate.HibernateTemplate.execute(HibernateTemplate.java:337)
at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.hibernate2.HibernateUserDao.internalFindUserByExternalId(HibernateUserDao.java:487)
at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.hibernate2.HibernateUserDao.internalFindByExternalId(HibernateUserDao.java:459)
at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.hibernate2.HibernateUserDao.findByExternalId(HibernateUserDao.java:435)
at com.atlassian.confluence.user.crowd.CachedCrowdUserDao.findByExternalId(CachedCrowdUserDao.java:164)
at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor262.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.springframework.aop.support.AopUtils.invokeJoinpointUsingReflection(AopUtils.java:307)
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.invokeJoinpoint(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:182)
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:149)
at org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionInterceptor.invoke(TransactionInterceptor.java:106)
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:171)
at org.springframework.aop.framework.JdkDynamicAopProxy.invoke(JdkDynamicAopProxy.java:204)
at com.sun.proxy.$Proxy35.findByExternalId(Unknown Source)
at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.AbstractInternalDirectory.findUserByExternalId(AbstractInternalDirectory.java:156)
at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.DbCachingRemoteChangeOperations.updateUsers(DbCachingRemoteChangeOperations.java:221)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
at org.springframework.aop.support.AopUtils.invokeJoinpointUsingReflection(AopUtils.java:307)
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.invokeJoinpoint(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:182)
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:149)
at org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionInterceptor.invoke(TransactionInterceptor.java:106)
at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:171)
at org.springframework.aop.framework.JdkDynamicAopProxy.invoke(JdkDynamicAopProxy.java:204)
at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.$Proxy1569.updateUsers(Unknown Source)
at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.DirectoryCacheImplUsingChangeOperations.addOrUpdateCachedUsers(DirectoryCacheImplUsingChangeOperations.java:59)
at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.ldap.cache.RemoteDirectoryCacheRefresher.synchroniseAllUsers(RemoteDirectoryCacheRefresher.java:68)
at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.ldap.cache.AbstractCacheRefresher.synchroniseAll(AbstractCacheRefresher.java:78)
at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.DbCachingRemoteDirectory.synchroniseCache(DbCachingRemoteDirectory.java:998)
at com.atlassian.crowd.manager.directory.DirectorySynchroniserImpl.synchronise(DirectorySynchroniserImpl.java:75)
at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.DbCachingDirectoryPoller.pollChanges(DbCachingDirectoryPoller.java:50)
at com.atlassian.crowd.manager.directory.monitor.poller.DirectoryPollerJobBean.executeInternal(DirectoryPollerJobBean.java:29)
at org.springframework.scheduling.quartz.QuartzJobBean.execute(QuartzJobBean.java:86)
at org.quartz.core.JobRunShell.run(JobRunShell.java:199)
at com.atlassian.confluence.schedule.quartz.ConfluenceQuartzThreadPool$1.run(ConfluenceQuartzThreadPool.java:20)
at org.quartz.simpl.SimpleThreadPool$WorkerThread.run(SimpleThreadPool.java:549)
Caused by: java.sql.SQLException: Incorrect string value: '\xF2\xB9\x84\xAE\xEF\xBF...' for column 'external_id' at row 1
at com.mysql.jdbc.SQLError.createSQLException(SQLError.java:1078)
at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.checkErrorPacket(MysqlIO.java:4120)
at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.checkErrorPacket(MysqlIO.java:4052)
at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.sendCommand(MysqlIO.java:2503)
at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.sqlQueryDirect(MysqlIO.java:2664)
at com.mysql.jdbc.ConnectionImpl.execSQL(ConnectionImpl.java:2815)
at com.mysql.jdbc.PreparedStatement.executeInternal(PreparedStatement.java:2155)
at com.mysql.jdbc.PreparedStatement.executeUpdate(PreparedStatement.java:2458)
at com.mysql.jdbc.PreparedStatement.executeUpdate(PreparedStatement.java:2375)
at com.mysql.jdbc.PreparedStatement.executeUpdate(PreparedStatement.java:2359)
at com.mchange.v2.c3p0.impl.NewProxyPreparedStatement.executeUpdate(NewProxyPreparedStatement.java:105)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.NonBatchingBatcher.addToBatch(NonBatchingBatcher.java:22)
at net.sf.hibernate.persister.EntityPersister.update(EntityPersister.java:661)
at net.sf.hibernate.persister.EntityPersister.update(EntityPersister.java:621)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.ScheduledUpdate.execute(ScheduledUpdate.java:52)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.SessionImpl.execute(SessionImpl.java:2464)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.SessionImpl.executeAll(SessionImpl.java:2450)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.SessionImpl.execute(SessionImpl.java:2408)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.SessionImpl.autoFlushIfRequired(SessionImpl.java:1836)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.SessionImpl.find(SessionImpl.java:3667)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.CriteriaImpl.list(CriteriaImpl.java:238)
at net.sf.hibernate.impl.CriteriaImpl.uniqueResult(CriteriaImpl.java:385)
at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.hibernate2.HibernateUserDao$3.doInHibernate(HibernateUserDao.java:492)
at org.springframework.orm.hibernate.HibernateTemplate.execute(HibernateTemplate.java:370)
... 39 moreDiagnosis
Enable SQL TRACE logging to check on the report of individual SQL requests that are sent to the database by Hibernate and you'll see the result for 'external_id':
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TRACE [http-8443-18] [sf.hibernate.type.StringType] nullSafeSet binding '���@����' to parameter: 14Cause
It's a known issue for Novell Directory Services as reported here. It's caused by a character that is not supported in the user's GUID. WebSphere is known to have this problem too.
Solution
Resolution
Consult your System Admin to remove the invalid character from LDAP. Refer to this documentation as a hint to change the user's GUID.
If you are not able to change the GUID, alternatively you can re-create the user object in the Novell Directory Services that Confluence instance uses. This was possible as it is a read-only directory that obtains its data from a master directory.
The suggested changes are not supported by Atlassian, please consult your System Admin for the execution.
Updated on April 24, 2025
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