Symptoms

Failure when login to Confluence 3.5 when configured with ConfluenceGroupJoiningAuthenticator or ConfluenceLDAPGroupJoiningAuthenticator.

The following error is shown in the logs:

java.lang.NullPointerException
 at com.atlassian.crowd.embedded.core.CrowdServiceImpl.isUserMemberOfGroup(CrowdServiceImpl.java:265)
 at  com.atlassian.confluence.user.ConfluenceGroupJoiningAuthenticator.addUserToGroup(ConfluenceGroupJoiningAuthenticator.java:59)
 at  com.atlassian.confluence.user.ConfluenceGroupJoiningAuthenticator$1.doInTransactionWithoutResult(ConfluenceGroupJoiningAuthenticator.java:48)
 at  org.springframework.transaction.support.TransactionCallbackWithoutResult.doInTransaction(TransactionCallbackWithoutResult.java:33)
 at org.springframework.transaction.support.TransactionTemplate.execute(TransactionTemplate.java:127)

Cause

This is caused by a null pointer exception in com.atlassian.confluence.user.ConfluenceGroupJoiningAuthenticator and com.atlassian.confluence.user.ConfluenceLDAPGroupJoiningAuthenticator, which are unable find local confluence-administrator group.

Workaround

1. Find the authenticator element in your <Confluence-Installation-Directory>/confluence/web-inf/classes/seraph-config.xmlfile and replace this element with the default Confluence Authenticator:

   <authenticator class="com.atlassian.confluence.user.ConfluenceAuthenticator"/>
   

   This authenticator will not add any users to confluence-users automatically

2. Restart Confluence is required for the default authenticator to be activated.

Resolution

Login as a confluence administrator:

1. Go to the 'Administration Console' and click 'User Directories' in the left-hand panel.
   
2. A user list of user directories will be shown Click 'Edit' next to the directory you want to have users automatically added to a group.
3. Under the 'LDAP Permissions' section, ensure  the  'Read Only with Local Groups'  option is selected.
4. Then type in the group name in the 'Default Group memberships' field (eg 'confluence-users').
5. Click the 'Test Settings' then the 'Save' button at the bottom of the screen.