Can't login into Crowd due to "Connection to authentication server failed"
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps 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
Problem
Can't login into Crowd and the following appears in the UI when trying to log in:
Connection to authentication server failed. Please review the logs for more information.
The following appears in the atlassian-crowd.log
2015-06-12 22:38:51,201 http-bio-91.205.232.246-443-exec-20 ERROR [xfire.transport.http.HttpChannel] java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused
2015-06-12 22:38:51,204 http-bio-91.205.232.246-443-exec-20 ERROR [crowd.console.action.Login] Failed to connect to the authentication server, please check your crowd.properties
org.springframework.security.authentication.AuthenticationServiceException: Could not invoke service.. Nested exception is org.codehaus.xfire.fault.XFireFault: Couldn't send message.
at com.atlassian.crowd.integration.springsecurity.CrowdAuthenticationProvider.translateException(CrowdAuthenticationProvider.java:301)
at com.atlassian.crowd.integration.springsecurity.CrowdAuthenticationProvider.authenticateUsernamePassword(CrowdAuthenticationProvider.java:164)
at com.atlassian.crowd.integration.springsecurity.CrowdAuthenticationProvider.authenticate(CrowdAuthenticationProvider.java:102)
at org.springframework.security.authentication.ProviderManager.authenticate(ProviderManager.java:156)
at com.atlassian.crowd.integration.springsecurity.DynamicProviderManagerImpl.authenticate(DynamicProviderManagerImpl.java:40)
at org.springframework.security.web.authentication.UsernamePasswordAuthenticationFilter.attemptAuthentication(UsernamePasswordAuthenticationFilter.java:94)
at org.springframework.security.web.authentication.AbstractAuthenticationProcessingFilter.doFilter(AbstractAuthenticationProcessingFilter.java:211)
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:342)
at org.springframework.security.web.authentication.logout.LogoutFilter.doFilter(LogoutFilter.java:110)
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:342)
at org.springframework.security.web.context.request.async.WebAsyncManagerIntegrationFilter.doFilterInternal(WebAsyncManagerIntegrationFilter.java:50)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:106)
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:342)
at org.springframework.security.web.context.SecurityContextPersistenceFilter.doFilter(SecurityContextPersistenceFilter.java:87)
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:342)
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy.doFilterInternal(FilterChainProxy.java:192)
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:160)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:343)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:260)
at com.atlassian.crowd.console.filter.CrowdDelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(CrowdDelegatingFilterProxy.java:39)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at com.atlassian.crowd.console.filter.LoginCsrfFilter.doFilterInternal(LoginCsrfFilter.java:47)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:106)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:343)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:260)
at com.atlassian.crowd.console.filter.CrowdDelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(CrowdDelegatingFilterProxy.java:39)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
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.security.auth.trustedapps.filter.TrustedApplicationsFilter.doFilter(TrustedApplicationsFilter.java:98)
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.oauth.serviceprovider.internal.servlet.OAuthFilter.doFilter(OAuthFilter.java:69)
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:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at com.atlassian.crowd.console.filter.LicenceFilter.doFilterInternal(LicenceFilter.java:59)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:106)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:343)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:260)
at com.atlassian.crowd.console.filter.CrowdDelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(CrowdDelegatingFilterProxy.java:39)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at com.atlassian.johnson.filters.AbstractJohnsonFilter.doFilter(AbstractJohnsonFilter.java:67)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at org.springframework.orm.hibernate4.support.OpenSessionInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(OpenSessionInViewFilter.java:151)
at com.atlassian.crowd.console.filter.CrowdOpenSessionInViewFilter.doFilterInternal(CrowdOpenSessionInViewFilter.java:26)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:106)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at com.atlassian.crowd.plugin.web.filter.RequestCacheThreadLocalFilter.doFilter(RequestCacheThreadLocalFilter.java:31)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at com.atlassian.gzipfilter.GzipFilter.doFilterInternal(GzipFilter.java:82)
at com.atlassian.gzipfilter.GzipFilter.doFilter(GzipFilter.java:59)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:343)
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:260)
at com.atlassian.crowd.console.filter.CrowdDelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(CrowdDelegatingFilterProxy.java:39)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at com.atlassian.plugin.servlet.filter.IteratingFilterChain.doFilter(IteratingFilterChain.java:46)
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:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at org.springframework.web.filter.CharacterEncodingFilter.doFilterInternal(CharacterEncodingFilter.java:88)
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:106)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at com.atlassian.crowd.plugin.web.filter.HttpContextFilter.doFilter(HttpContextFilter.java:34)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:241)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:208)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:220)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:122)
at org.apache.catalina.authenticator.AuthenticatorBase.invoke(AuthenticatorBase.java:501)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:171)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:116)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:408)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.AbstractHttp11Processor.process(AbstractHttp11Processor.java:1040)
at org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol$AbstractConnectionHandler.process(AbstractProtocol.java:607)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$SocketProcessor.run(JIoEndpoint.java:316)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1142)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:617)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.TaskThread$WrappingRunnable.run(TaskThread.java:61)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745)
Caused by: org.codehaus.xfire.XFireRuntimeException: Could not invoke service.. Nested exception is org.codehaus.xfire.fault.XFireFault: Couldn't send message.
at org.codehaus.xfire.client.XFireProxy.handleRequest(XFireProxy.java:92)
at org.codehaus.xfire.client.XFireProxy.invoke(XFireProxy.java:57)
at com.sun.proxy.$Proxy409.authenticateApplication(Unknown Source)
at com.atlassian.crowd.service.soap.client.SecurityServerClientImpl.authenticate(SecurityServerClientImpl.java:235)
at com.atlassian.crowd.service.soap.client.SecurityServerClientImpl.getSoapApplicationToken(SecurityServerClientImpl.java:215)
at com.atlassian.crowd.service.soap.client.SecurityServerClientImpl.authenticatePrincipal(SecurityServerClientImpl.java:255)
at com.atlassian.crowd.service.cache.CacheAwareAuthenticationManager.authenticate(CacheAwareAuthenticationManager.java:49)
at com.atlassian.crowd.integration.http.HttpAuthenticatorImpl.verifyAuthentication(HttpAuthenticatorImpl.java:247)
at com.atlassian.crowd.integration.springsecurity.RemoteCrowdAuthenticationProvider.authenticate(RemoteCrowdAuthenticationProvider.java:50)
at com.atlassian.crowd.integration.springsecurity.CrowdAuthenticationProvider.authenticateUsernamePassword(CrowdAuthenticationProvider.java:150)
... 91 more
Caused by: org.codehaus.xfire.fault.XFireFault: Couldn't send message.
at org.codehaus.xfire.fault.XFireFault.createFault(XFireFault.java:89)
at org.codehaus.xfire.handler.OutMessageSender.invoke(OutMessageSender.java:30)
at org.codehaus.xfire.handler.HandlerPipeline.invoke(HandlerPipeline.java:131)
at org.codehaus.xfire.client.Invocation.invoke(Invocation.java:79)
at org.codehaus.xfire.client.Invocation.invoke(Invocation.java:114)
at org.codehaus.xfire.client.Client.invoke(Client.java:336)
at org.codehaus.xfire.client.XFireProxy.handleRequest(XFireProxy.java:77)
... 100 more
Caused by: org.codehaus.xfire.XFireException: Couldn't send message.
at org.codehaus.xfire.transport.http.HttpChannel.sendViaClient(HttpChannel.java:145)
at org.codehaus.xfire.transport.http.HttpChannel.send(HttpChannel.java:48)
at org.codehaus.xfire.handler.OutMessageSender.invoke(OutMessageSender.java:26)
... 105 more
Caused by: java.net.ConnectException: Connection refused
at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.socketConnect(Native Method)
at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.doConnect(AbstractPlainSocketImpl.java:345)
at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.connectToAddress(AbstractPlainSocketImpl.java:206)
at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.connect(AbstractPlainSocketImpl.java:188)
at java.net.SocksSocketImpl.connect(SocksSocketImpl.java:392)
at java.net.Socket.connect(Socket.java:589)
at sun.security.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.connect(SSLSocketImpl.java:656)
at sun.security.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.<init>(SSLSocketImpl.java:460)
at sun.security.ssl.SSLSocketFactoryImpl.createSocket(SSLSocketFactoryImpl.java:153)
at org.apache.commons.httpclient.protocol.SSLProtocolSocketFactory.createSocket(SSLProtocolSocketFactory.java:82)
at org.apache.commons.httpclient.protocol.SSLProtocolSocketFactory.createSocket(SSLProtocolSocketFactory.java:127)
at org.apache.commons.httpclient.HttpConnection.open(HttpConnection.java:707)
at org.apache.commons.httpclient.MultiThreadedHttpConnectionManager$HttpConnectionAdapter.open(MultiThreadedHttpConnectionManager.java:1361)
at org.apache.commons.httpclient.HttpMethodDirector.executeWithRetry(HttpMethodDirector.java:387)
at org.apache.commons.httpclient.HttpMethodDirector.executeMethod(HttpMethodDirector.java:171)
at org.apache.commons.httpclient.HttpClient.executeMethod(HttpClient.java:397)
at org.codehaus.xfire.transport.http.CommonsHttpMessageSender.send(CommonsHttpMessageSender.java:369)
at org.codehaus.xfire.transport.http.HttpChannel.sendViaClient(HttpChannel.java:123)
... 107 more
Cause
The HTTP connection timeout (milliseconds) used for communication with the Crowd server (http.timeout in crowd.properties) configured as 5000 by default. However, in some cases it might be configured to smaller value and it causes this issue.
Resolution
We need to increase the value of http.timeout from crowd.properties(located in <crowd-home> directory). In order to do that:
Open
crowd.propertiesin a text editor.Increase the value of
http.timeoutto a value 5000 or greater (e.g. 30000).Save the file.
Restart your Crowd.
Updated on September 25, 2025
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