When the database password is changed with a new one containing a $ character (a dollar-sign), parts of the administrative interface of SecureTransport (ST) don't work, and 404 errors can be observed.

Resolution

The presence of the '$' character in the password could lead to ST not being able to process the password string properly and to fail to connect to the database. The issue with the $-character is that it is a special character in some programming languages and treated differently than the literal dollar-sign.

To restore the database password to the default one and be able to access ST, follow the instructions below:

Step #1: Put the MySQL server in "skip-grant-tables" mode, allowing for authentication without a password.

Edit the $FILEDRIVEHOME/conf/mysql.conf file and add the following line before the "bind-address" line:

skip-grant-tables

An example how the configuration will look like:

[mysqld]
## connection settings
skip-grant-tables
bind-address=127.0.0.1
port=33760

Step #2: Remove the database password hash from $FILEDRIVEHOME/conf/configuration.xml

1. Edit the file $FILEDRIVEHOME/conf/configuration.xml.

2. There are several "database" components in the file, all holding the password hash. An example of the main component is below:

<Database databaseType="mysql" host="127.0.0.1" jdbcDriver="com.mysql.jdbc.Driver" jdbcUrl="jdbc:mysql://${host}:${port}/st?user=${user}&password=${password}&characterEncoding=UTF-8&useTimezone=true&serverTimezone=UTC" password="{AES128}cJxPsLF9yUPMTCO7gARTYw==" port="33060" user="root">

3. Remove the password hash ({AES128}cJxPsLF9yUPMTCO7gARTYw== in the example above) from each component, leaving the field blank, as shown below:

<Database ...... password="" ......>

4. Save the changes of configuration.xml

Step #3: Kill all instances of mysqld

Run the following command:

ps -ef | grep mysqld | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill -9

Step #4: Start the database

$FILEDRIVEHOME/bin/start_db

Step #5: Set a new custom password for the DB

Run the following query against MySQL:

$FILEDRIVEHOME/mysql/bin/mysql --defaults-file=$FILEDRIVEHOME/conf/mysql.conf -uroot mysql -e "update user set Password=PASSWORD('tumbleweed') where User='root'; flush privileges;"

NOTE: $FILEDRIVEHOME denotes the full system path to the installation folder of ST. Before running the command, replace $FILEDRIVEHOME with the actual path

Step #6: Clean up

Delete the skip-grant-tables line added in step 1.

Stop all ST services and then start them.