Invalid message with signature 18245 is thrown when JIRA applications are behind Apache

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Symptoms

JIRA applications are configured behind Apache using AJP protocol and the following appears in the application server log files (UNIX: $JIRA_INSTALL/logs/catalina.out, or Windows: $JIRA_INSTALL/logs/stdout and stderr):

1 2 3 4 Nov 26, 2013 12:09:51 PM org.apache.coyote.ajp.AjpMessage processHeader SEVERE: Invalid message received with signature 18245 Nov 26, 2013 12:09:51 PM org.apache.coyote.ajp.AjpMessage processHeader SEVERE: Invalid message received with signature 18245

Also, the following appears on the browser screen:

(Auto-migrated image: description temporarily unavailable)

Cause

This error is caused by incorrect Apache configuration. This is usually related to the VirtualHost configuration section in Apache httpd.conf file.

Resolution

Make sure that the following is inside the VirtualHost, replacing jiraserver with the hostname of the JIRA application server and also modifying the context path accordingly (/issues).

1 2 3 4 ProxyRequests Off ProxyPass /issues ajp://jiraserver:8009/issues ProxyPassReverse /issues ajp://jiraserver:8009/issues
Updated on April 8, 2025

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