VBulletin 5 (5.1.8) PL3 - Serious Error

[AlexTheRota]

Hello,

I am experiencing a "Serious Error" with my version of vBulletin 5.1.8 Patch Level 3 where on page load of the home page, and on load of other internal (admincp) pages result with the message:

"Critical Error
We are currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please check back in 24 hours."

For reference; My instance of vb 5 is hosted on AWS EC2 with the database hosted on RDS. I am running version PHP Version 5.5.30 and MySQL 5.5.46

I see this error on page load of https://forum.nexonm.com from the admincp 'home page' button. I also see this when I open the ban users page in the admincp. I one time saw this error when I attempted to login through the home page (as a user would). I also see this error when I open any of the subforums from the home page in a normal browser (Chrome and Safari).

However when I 'delete' the cookies (via the URL bar, not the 'clear browsing data') the issue is resolved. When I perform the same actions in an 'incognito' browser the issues do not manifest.

I have checked that both config.php have debug set to false, I have repaired tables, and cleared the browser cache via the admincp, yet the issue persists. My community team are growing concerned about this issue and I am out of ideas. If there is something wrong with my cookie settings I would be happy to attempt any diagnostics there.

I must also add that I have a second virtually identical instance of vb5 running on a seperate EC2 instance with a local database called forum2.nexonm.com could cookies from this site be causing this chaos?

Any help is welcome.

Best regards,
-Alex

[Mark.B]

Can you get into the admincp?

If so, make sure there is no password expiry set in the usergroup options for the admin usergroup. If there is, set it back to 0.

You should also upgrade to 5.2.2 as soon as possible. 5.1.8 is unsupported and has many bugs and security issues resolved in later versions.

[AlexTheRota]

Yes I can. Most pages are loading fine.
I have checked password expiry for the affected user groups, all are set to '0'.
Updating gives me anxiety. I am leery to perform this operation unless required.

Are there any other avenues I can pursue?

[Wayne Luke]

You should always try to maintain the latest version. In your case, there have been 5 subsequent releases which include almost 1000 resolved issues and work to specifically limit the issue you're experiencing.

[Wayne Luke]

If you can't access the AdminCP, run these queries:

update usergroup set passwordexpires=0 where usergroupid=6;
delete from datastore where title='usergroupcache';
truncate cache;
truncate cacheevent;

If you have a table prefix defined, you'll need to add it to the table names. They are usergroup, datastore, cache, and cacheevent. You can use any database tool that is allowed on your server.

[AlexTheRota]

To clarify, I am able to access the admincp.

I will begin steps to update the server, by first creating an duplicate instance of the production forums, where upon I will install the update, incase of fatal results. If this goes well, I will then go about finding a good time to take down our production servers for the same.

In the mean while, are there no steps to solve this apparent cookie issue? Are there any other tests I can preform to help isolate the issue?

[AlexTheRota]

Oh man... So while creating the clone I encountered an expansion of the initial error. I ran your queries and they did resolve the error, however it seems to have eliminated all content. : \ It was probably cached... but now all channels are gone. : | I will be attempting to rebuild this, so I can continue developing the new styles.

I mentioned that updating vbulletin gives me anxiety, this is why.

[Wayne Luke]

The queries wouldn't have touched your comment. The cache is deleted regularly automatically. Those queries just force a clear. If you ran the install script against an active database, it would have prompted you to the delete the tables. If you deleted them, it would have deleted the content.

You'll need to open a support ticket so someone can take a closer look at your site to see what the problem is.

[AlexTheRota]

Good news, I did not run the install script. Not sure why you would have any impression that I did that. Perhaps I have been working on an assumtion that you are familiar with AWS technology. I apologize.

By create a clone I mean that I have 'images' of both the prod and dev servers, which are basically 'snapshots' of the database and hard drive at one instance in time. I can imprint those on hardware on demand to create what I call 'clones' of the server which the image was taken. So, I am not installing vbulletin on a blank server than preforming a mysql dump into it, I am duplicating an existing server and treating it like a distinct instance.

More good news, I did not delete the tables. It would be silly to demand to know where they went if I had. I simply ran the queries you listed, they all seemed reasonable. I'm sure they are.

I'm happy to open a support ticket. I will do that now.

[AlexTheRota]

Regarding clones, I also edit the config.php to reflect the new ip which usually does the trick, at least enough to access admincp so I can update the server ip there. But now the "Critical Error" is blocking me from getting to the admin.

[AlexTheRota]

Updating to 5.2.2 seems to have fixed this issue on a dev server.
Updating to 5.2.2 seems to have broken other things. My theme for starters, custom profile fields to boot.

I guess this thread can be closed, with a caveat for other readers; back up early and often. Use disposable servers to test. The update was not smooth. (Had to use tools.php to clear all the caches and update the site URL before I could login to 5.2.2)

[AlexTheRota]

This issue may have been reproduced on 5.2.2
Gathering more information.