Unable to Log in Because of userWorkstations Attribute in Active Directory

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

User can't log in to Confluence and sees an "invalid username or password" error even though they're submitting the correct credentials.

The following appears in the atlassian-confluence.log:

2014-01-21 11:10:56,188 WARN [http-8090-3] [atlassian.confluence.user.ConfluenceAuthenticator] authenticate OperationFailedException caught while authenticating user <USER>. 
 You may need to disable the 'Follow Referrals' option in your LDAP configuration. See http://confluence.atlassian.com/x/0QMMDg
com.atlassian.crowd.exception.runtime.OperationFailedException
	at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.core.CrowdServiceImpl.convertOperationFailedException(CrowdServiceImpl.java:915)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.core.CrowdServiceImpl.authenticate(CrowdServiceImpl.java:80)
	at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor938.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.$Proxy39.authenticate(Unknown Source)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.atlassianuser.EmbeddedCrowdAuthenticator.authenticate(EmbeddedCrowdAuthenticator.java:31)
	at bucket.user.DefaultUSERccessor.authenticate(DefaultUSERccessor.java:604)
	at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor937.invoke(Unknown Source)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
	at org.springframework.aop.support.AopUtils.invokeJoinpointUsingReflection(AopUtils.java:307)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.invokeJoinpoint(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:182)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:149)
	at com.atlassian.spring.interceptors.SpringProfilingInterceptor.invoke(SpringProfilingInterceptor.java:16)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:171)
	at org.springframework.transaction.interceptor.TransactionInterceptor.invoke(TransactionInterceptor.java:106)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.ReflectiveMethodInvocation.proceed(ReflectiveMethodInvocation.java:171)
	at org.springframework.aop.framework.JdkDynamicAopProxy.invoke(JdkDynamicAopProxy.java:204)
	at com.sun.proxy.$Proxy50.authenticate(Unknown Source)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.user.ConfluenceAuthenticator.authenticate(ConfluenceAuthenticator.java:70)
	at com.atlassian.seraph.auth.DefaultAuthenticator.login(DefaultAuthenticator.java:94)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.user.ConfluenceAuthenticator.login(ConfluenceAuthenticator.java:53)
	at com.atlassian.seraph.filter.PasswordBasedLoginFilter.runAuthentication(PasswordBasedLoginFilter.java:127)
	at com.atlassian.seraph.filter.PasswordBasedLoginFilter.login(PasswordBasedLoginFilter.java:72)
	at com.atlassian.seraph.filter.BaseLoginFilter.doFilter(BaseLoginFilter.java:130)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.IteratingFilterChain.doFilter(IteratingFilterChain.java:46)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.DelegatingPluginFilter$1.doFilter(DelegatingPluginFilter.java:66)
	at com.atlassian.oauth.serviceprovider.internal.servlet.OAuthFilter.doFilter(OAuthFilter.java:55)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.DelegatingPluginFilter.doFilter(DelegatingPluginFilter.java:74)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.IteratingFilterChain.doFilter(IteratingFilterChain.java:42)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.DelegatingPluginFilter$1.doFilter(DelegatingPluginFilter.java:66)
	at com.atlassian.prettyurls.filter.PrettyUrlsCombinedMatchDispatcherFilter.doFilter(PrettyUrlsCombinedMatchDispatcherFilter.java:61)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.DelegatingPluginFilter.doFilter(DelegatingPluginFilter.java:74)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.IteratingFilterChain.doFilter(IteratingFilterChain.java:42)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.ServletFilterModuleContainerFilter.doFilter(ServletFilterModuleContainerFilter.java:77)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.ServletFilterModuleContainerFilter.doFilter(ServletFilterModuleContainerFilter.java:63)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.util.ClusterHeaderFilter.doFilter(ClusterHeaderFilter.java:37)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.johnson.filters.AbstractJohnsonFilter.doFilter(AbstractJohnsonFilter.java:72)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at org.springframework.orm.hibernate.support.OpenSessionInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(OpenSessionInViewFilter.java:170)
	at com.atlassian.spring.filter.FlushingSpringSessionInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(FlushingSpringSessionInViewFilter.java:29)
	at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:76)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.util.ConfluenceErrorFilter.doFilter(ConfluenceErrorFilter.java:22)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.util.profiling.filters.ProfilingFilter.doFilter(ProfilingFilter.java:99)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.core.datetime.RequestTimeThreadLocalFilter.doFilter(RequestTimeThreadLocalFilter.java:35)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.gzipfilter.GzipFilter.doFilterInternal(GzipFilter.java:74)
	at com.atlassian.gzipfilter.GzipFilter.doFilter(GzipFilter.java:51)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.cache.AbstractCachingFilter.doFilter(AbstractCachingFilter.java:33)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.AbstractHttpFilter.doFilter(AbstractHttpFilter.java:31)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.IteratingFilterChain.doFilter(IteratingFilterChain.java:46)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.DelegatingPluginFilter$1.doFilter(DelegatingPluginFilter.java:66)
	at com.atlassian.prettyurls.filter.PrettyUrlsCombinedMatchDispatcherFilter.doFilter(PrettyUrlsCombinedMatchDispatcherFilter.java:61)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.DelegatingPluginFilter.doFilter(DelegatingPluginFilter.java:74)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.IteratingFilterChain.doFilter(IteratingFilterChain.java:42)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.DelegatingPluginFilter$1.doFilter(DelegatingPluginFilter.java:66)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.extra.webdav.servlet.filter.ReverseProxyFilter.doFilter(ReverseProxyFilter.java:427)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.extra.webdav.servlet.filter.AbstractHttpFilter.doFilter(AbstractHttpFilter.java:34)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.DelegatingPluginFilter.doFilter(DelegatingPluginFilter.java:74)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.IteratingFilterChain.doFilter(IteratingFilterChain.java:42)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.ServletFilterModuleContainerFilter.doFilter(ServletFilterModuleContainerFilter.java:77)
	at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.ServletFilterModuleContainerFilter.doFilter(ServletFilterModuleContainerFilter.java:63)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.web.filter.validateparam.RequestParamValidationFilter.doFilter(RequestParamValidationFilter.java:58)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.AbstractHttpFilter.doFilter(AbstractHttpFilter.java:31)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.web.filter.TranslationModeFilter.doFilter(TranslationModeFilter.java:43)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.AbstractHttpFilter.doFilter(AbstractHttpFilter.java:31)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.plugin.servlet.filter.ActionContextCleanUp.doFilter(ActionContextCleanUp.java:71)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.web.filter.LanguageExtractionFilter.doFilter(LanguageExtractionFilter.java:53)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.AbstractHttpFilter.doFilter(AbstractHttpFilter.java:31)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.util.RequestCacheThreadLocalFilter.doFilter(RequestCacheThreadLocalFilter.java:25)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.web.filter.DebugFilter.doFilter(DebugFilter.java:50)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.AbstractHttpFilter.doFilter(AbstractHttpFilter.java:31)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.encoding.AbstractEncodingFilter.doFilter(AbstractEncodingFilter.java:41)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.AbstractHttpFilter.doFilter(AbstractHttpFilter.java:31)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.core.filters.HeaderSanitisingFilter.doFilter(HeaderSanitisingFilter.java:44)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at com.atlassian.confluence.servlet.FourOhFourErrorLoggingFilter.doFilter(FourOhFourErrorLoggingFilter.java:65)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:235)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:127)
	at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
	at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:293)
	at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:859)
	at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:602)
	at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:489)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)
Caused by: org.springframework.ldap.PartialResultException: nested exception is javax.naming.PartialResultException [Root exception is javax.naming.CommunicationException: ldapserver.com:389 [Root exception is java.net.SocketTimeoutException: connect timed out]]
	at org.springframework.ldap.support.LdapUtils.convertLdapException(LdapUtils.java:205)
	at org.springframework.ldap.core.LdapTemplate.search(LdapTemplate.java:315)
	at org.springframework.ldap.core.LdapTemplate.search(LdapTemplate.java:237)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.ldap.LdapTemplateWithClassLoaderWrapper$4.call(LdapTemplateWithClassLoaderWrapper.java:99)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.ldap.LdapTemplateWithClassLoaderWrapper$4.call(LdapTemplateWithClassLoaderWrapper.java:96)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.ldap.LdapTemplateWithClassLoaderWrapper.invokeWithContextClassLoader(LdapTemplateWithClassLoaderWrapper.java:54)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.ldap.LdapTemplateWithClassLoaderWrapper.search(LdapTemplateWithClassLoaderWrapper.java:96)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.SpringLDAPConnector.pageSearchResults(SpringLDAPConnector.java:364)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.SpringLDAPConnector.searchEntitiesWithRequestControls(SpringLDAPConnector.java:435)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.SpringLDAPConnector.searchEntities(SpringLDAPConnector.java:418)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.SpringLDAPConnector.searchUserObjects(SpringLDAPConnector.java:641)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.SpringLDAPConnector.findUserWithAttributesByName(SpringLDAPConnector.java:590)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.SpringLDAPConnector.findUserByName(SpringLDAPConnector.java:577)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.SpringLDAPConnector.authenticate(SpringLDAPConnector.java:1056)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.DbCachingRemoteDirectory.authenticateAndUpdateInternalUser(DbCachingRemoteDirectory.java:253)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.DbCachingRemoteDirectory.performAuthenticationAndUpdateAttributes(DbCachingRemoteDirectory.java:189)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.directory.DbCachingRemoteDirectory.authenticate(DbCachingRemoteDirectory.java:161)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.manager.directory.DirectoryManagerGeneric.authenticateUser(DirectoryManagerGeneric.java:292)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.manager.application.ApplicationServiceGeneric.authenticateUser(ApplicationServiceGeneric.java:142)
	at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.core.CrowdServiceImpl.authenticate(CrowdServiceImpl.java:68)
	... 129 more
Caused by: javax.naming.PartialResultException [Root exception is javax.naming.CommunicationException: ldapserver.com:389 [Root exception is java.net.SocketTimeoutException: connect timed out]]
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapNamingEnumeration.hasMoreImpl(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapNamingEnumeration.hasMoreReferrals(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapNamingEnumeration.hasMoreImpl(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapNamingEnumeration.hasMoreReferrals(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapNamingEnumeration.hasMoreImpl(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapNamingEnumeration.hasMore(Unknown Source)
	at org.springframework.ldap.core.LdapTemplate.search(LdapTemplate.java:295)
	... 147 more
Caused by: javax.naming.CommunicationException: ldapserver.com:389 [Root exception is java.net.SocketTimeoutException: connect timed out]
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapReferralContext.<init>(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapReferralException.getReferralContext(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapNamingEnumeration.hasMoreReferrals(Unknown Source)
	... 154 more
Caused by: java.net.SocketTimeoutException: connect timed out
	at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.socketConnect(Native Method)
	at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.doConnect(Unknown Source)
	at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.connectToAddress(Unknown Source)
	at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.connect(Unknown Source)
	at java.net.SocksSocketImpl.connect(Unknown Source)
	at java.net.Socket.connect(Unknown Source)
	at sun.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor1872.invoke(Unknown Source)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.Connection.createSocket(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.Connection.<init>(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapClient.<init>(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapClientFactory.createPooledConnection(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.pool.Connections.<init>(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.pool.Pool.getPooledConnection(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapPoolManager.getLdapClient(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapClient.getInstance(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapCtx.connect(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapCtx.<init>(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapCtxFactory.getUsingURL(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.ldap.LdapCtxFactory.getLdapCtxInstance(Unknown Source)
	at com.sun.jndi.url.ldap.ldapURLContextFactory.getObjectInstance(Unknown Source)
	at javax.naming.spi.NamingManager.getURLObject(Unknown Source)
	at javax.naming.spi.NamingManager.processURL(Unknown Source)
	at javax.naming.spi.NamingManager.processURLAddrs(Unknown Source)
	at javax.naming.spi.NamingManager.getObjectInstance(Unknown Source)
	... 157 more

Diagnosis

Perform an Authentication Test on the directory (go to Admin > User Directories, edit the properties of the directory and select Save and Test). You will see this error in the output:

1
2
3

Test user can authenticate : Failed
Account with name <USER> failed to authenticate: [LDAP: error code 49 - 80090308: LdapErr: DSID-0C090334, comment: AcceptSecurityContext error, data 531, vece\u0000]; 
 nested exception is javax.naming.AuthenticationException: [LDAP: error code 49 - 80090308: LdapErr: DSID-0C090334, comment: AcceptSecurityContext error, data 531, vece\u0000]

NB: The error contains data 531 - this code means the user is not permitted to log on from this workstation.

Cause

The userWorkstations attribute in Active Directory is used to limit the machines from which a user can log on, by DNS or NetBIOS name. Confluence's hostname must be in the list for the user to be able to log in to Confluence using their AD credentials.

See this MSDN article for more information.

Solution

Resolution

Add Confluence's hostname to the "userWorkstations" attribute for all Confluence users in Active Directory.

Updated on April 2, 2025

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