Jira setup wizard throws 403

Question

I am setting up a new Jira data center with 2 nodes in a machine. Configured a blank Postgres DB on a different machine. While trying to access the app via http://localhost:8080 the setup wizard loads and when selecting "I'll setup myself" and clicking next shows a 403 page with the below message

HTTP Status 403 – Forbidden

Type Status Report

Description The server understood the request but refuses to authorize it.

Upon digging the log file  atlassian-jira-log, it shows the below

http-nio-8080-exec-6 ERROR 1alc3sq [o.a.c.c.C.[.[.[/].[jsp.displayError_jsp]] Servlet.service() for servlet [jsp.displayError_jsp] threw exception
java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "com.atlassian.web.servlet.api.LocationUpdater.updateLocation(java.io.Writer)" because "locationUpdater" is null
at jsp.displayError_jsp._jspService(displayError_jsp.java:123)
at org.apache.jasper.runtime.HttpJspBase.service(HttpJspBase.java:67)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:623)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:199)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:144)
... 95 filtered
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1190)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:659)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.TaskThread$WrappingRunnable.run(TaskThread.java:63)
at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)
2025-06-11 02:51:40,258-0600 http-nio-8080-exec-6 ERROR 1alc3sq [o.a.c.c.C.[.[localhost].[/].[display-error-servlet]] Servlet.service() for servlet [display-error-servlet] threw exception
java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "com.atlassian.web.servlet.api.LocationUpdater.updateLocation(java.io.Writer)" because "locationUpdater" is null
at jsp.displayError_jsp._jspService(displayError_jsp.java:123)
at org.apache.jasper.runtime.HttpJspBase.service(HttpJspBase.java:67)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:623)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:199)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:144)
... 95 filtered
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1190)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:659)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.TaskThread$WrappingRunnable.run(TaskThread.java:63)
at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

I tried directly hitting the URL http://localhost:8080/secure/SetupDatabase!default.jspa and I am able to establish a test connection successfully.(I guess there is no hinderance between my appserver and the DB server) But, clicking Next button at this stage also throws me a 404 only.

Can someone help me tracking the issue ?

Tuncay Senturk _Snapbytes_ · Answer

Thanks for clarifying, that's helpful.

Jira automatically enables clustering if it detects a cluster.properties file. Let's rename or delete the cluster.properties file from the Jira home directory.

Then stopping jira and, deleting dbconfig.xml, cluster.properties files and caches/indexes folder may be a good idea before starting the Jira, because there might be corrupt config. Of course you can get a backup of these config files before doing so.

Also, make sure that your Jira has full access to jira home directory and tomcat directories.

These are all that come to my mind at the moment. I hope they are helpful

Vhee Van · Answer

Hi @Tuncay Senturk _Snapbytes_ Thanks for your response. I accessed teh application via http://<hostname>:8080 only but changed it to localhost while posting h.ere. Sorry if that confused.

I disabled the clustering in the cluster.properties after reading your comment and restarted the service, but no luck. setenv.sh  does not have nodeid parameter.

Though I have setup 2 nodes, I've been trying to bring up one node only to establish the connection by configuring via setup wizard.

Tuncay Senturk _Snapbytes_ · Answer

Hi @Vhee Van I suppose, you're running Jira Data Center with clustering enabled by default, and since this is a new setup, Jira expects cluster-related configuration files(nodes config). However, accessing via http://localhost:8080 without properly distinguishing nodes or without setting the correct headers (or sticky sessions) may result in problems during the setup wizard. You can temporarily disable clustering by removing (or commenting out) jira.node.id = node1 also check your setenv.sh (or setenv.bat file) that -Djira.node.id is not set. Then restart Jira and run the setup wizard on a single node. If everything goes well, you can then enable clustering.