Can an expired certificate stop me from logging in?

[Mathew Bauml]

Hello,

I have recently gained control of a confluence server (which we're currently phasing out) and we can no longer login. The only thing that has changed is that the certificate has expired. 

Does this mean an expired certificate can stop the authentication process from being completed or is there something else going on? 

And if so, is there a way to clone the instance to a local one to get the data off. The certificates are no longer being updated and live on a PFsense server.

Thank you.

[Daniel Ebers]

Hi @Mathew Bauml

it depends on how your current setup is and Community members can only give some rough advise, without knowing your system it will be nearly impossible to pinpoint what is given and where to go from here.

For the SSL certificate:

• assuming we are talking about the one in the webserver, sometimes seen as reverse-proxy (which is used and involved to present the users the actual Confluence login page):
  • depending on the browser (security settings) user could just click away the warning (although not recommended)
  • you could insert a (quite cheap) SSL certificate until the server is actually ready being dismantled

From what I understood there is a authentication problem, though.

Therefore I would check if the communication with the authentication server (could be LDAP, Active Directory or some others) is intended to be encrypted - if so, it is likely there is also some expired certificate involved. This indeed would make authentication attempts of users fail.

Also, for cloning your Confluence server it would be a yes. But again, this also needs further inspection and discussion on what you have and what you want to achieve.

When the server are the same you could just use the database tools and copy the files to a new server. However, there is also a XML export and import way which is documented here:
https://confluence.atlassian.com/doc/site-backup-and-restore-163578.html

At the moment I am not able to tell you what exactly to do - I did not fully understand why you want to clone the instance when you say the server is going to be dismantled. But from a general standpoint, it is indeed perfectly possible to clone a Confluence installation.

Please note there are some caveats which should not be forgotten:

How to create a cloned Confluence instance with a new server ID and application ID
https://confluence.atlassian.com/confkb/how-to-create-a-cloned-confluence-instance-with-a-new-server-id-and-application-id-1014268238.html

Regards,
Daniel

[Fadoua]

@Mathew Bauml 

Do you mean the trusted certificate?

The one problem that will give you a very limited Confluence usage is an expired license. However you will still be able to log in.

Please let me know what certificate you are talking about.

Best,

Fadoua

[Mathew Bauml]

Sorry I should have specified. 

I'm talking about an SSL certificate.

[Fadoua]

Yes that will create issues definitely.

[Mathew Bauml]

Do you know any temporary way around this or a way I can just clone the instance?

[Fadoua]

Why do you want to clone the instance? Why don't you fix the cert issue?

[Mathew Bauml]

This server is being dismantled in the near future and no longer is being updated, but we need some data off of it for a project. 

[Fadoua]

All your data is saved in the DB, you can install Jira on a new server then connect it to the old DB.

[Mathew Bauml]

Will that work with confluence? I though confluence moved from DB to filesystem.