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Inspiring
April 3, 2024
Question

Cannot get ColdFusion 2023 Administrator to run after install

  • April 3, 2024
  • 2 replies
  • 2018 views

I am trying to install ColdFusion 2023 on a new Windows virtual machine.

I set it up as Development Type - Development with CF Server Profile - Development Profile.  

After installation I ran the Web Server Config tool and added the IIS website/all

 

Here is what IIS has after installation & web config

 

 

After this I tried to access the localhost and receive this error message

 

The ColdFusion administration doesn't load either

 

Windows Virtual Machine

Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Standard64-bit

VMware 7,1

CPU: Dual 3.10 GHz Intel Xeon(r) Gold 6254@, Memory: 32768 MB

C: 79.62 GB (43.86 GB free)

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    Charlie Arehart
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 4, 2024

    Jen, as you discovered, the errors you should would have suggested cf is not running. Glad you sorted that out. 

     

    As for the rest you offer in that comment, there's more to consider that may be helpful (some relating to your original post). If you have a couple minutes, you might find an answer or at least better help us help you. 

     

    1) As for your next problem of being "unable to access my site via another computer", you're probably right how that would not be a cf problem. Here are some questions to guide you/us. 

     

    What is such a page request showing? Is it hanging before failing? Would it fail or hang the same way if you DID stop cf? If so that would exonerate cf. Perhaps it's an iis setting, such as a limit in its optional "ip address and domain" feature, though I doubt it. 

     

    Instead, what if you even stop iis: does the request (from "another computer") still fail or hang the same way? If, so that exonerates iis. It could be a firewall issue, or a proxy issue. 

     

    2) One more question about this failing request from "another computer": was that your trying to access the cf admin? Via its port (like 8500)? If so, that's different. First, cf does by default limit access to that to be accessed only from the computer running cf itself (by default which can be changed). 

     

    Second, your firewall (on the cf machine, and/or in your network) would also by default be blocking any non-standard port such as that 8500. You definitely need to open that port (carefully) to be able to access that from off the cf machine...and you'd need to tell the cf admin to allow in such an ip address, as mentioned above. 

     

    3) Finally, as for your showing a CFIDE virtual directory in  iis, that would not have been done by the cf wsconfig tool...at least it's not been done (a CFIDE vd added) since cf2016, which is when they switched to the cf_scripts (for serving js and other files needed for some lesser-used cf tags). As for admin access, that version started enabling the built-in web server defaulting to 8500.

     

    If you look at that CFIDE vd in iis, you will likely find it points at some folder other than your current cf's cfusion/wwwroot/CFIDE folder, and as such it should be removed.

     

    And FWIW, a cf (and wsconfig) update last year now even explicitly prevents the connector from passing into cf any CFIDE request. (I suspect BKBK wasn't thinking of that and the previous point when he proposed you try that CFIDE url.)

     

    I realize you may have already known some or all of the above. We can't tell from what you shared. As I help people with such problems almost daily, I've tried to share the questions and possibilities that seem most appropriate here. Some confuse that for arrogance and condescension, which are never my intent. (I also try to write in a way that might help others who find this thread, now or in the future.)

     

    Let us know how things go on this next aspect you've presented. 

    /Charlie (troubleshooter, carehart. org)
    Known Participant
    July 2, 2024

    I'm a bit flumoxed as to what the resolution of this is.

    I have a DoD set of STIG rules that state I'm not supposed to use the internal ColdFusion Administrator.

    OK.

    I create an IIS website on a separate internal IP address over SSL and denying anonymous access.  

    Now I have ColdFusion blocking me from using anything with CFIDE in the URL.

    While I have been upgrading from 2018 to 2023, I have the internal administrator available.  I applied the suggestion of adding the IP address I'm using to attempt to access the CF administrator and this does not work at all.

    So how am I supposed to administer ColdFusion while remaining compliant with DoD rules to maintain our authority to operate?

    Charlie Arehart
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 2, 2024

    There's not currently any good news on this front.

     

    1) Since an update in Oct 2023 the cf admin can ONLY be reached via the built-in web server, not through the Tomcat AJP connector that Adobe implements via the wsconfig tool. 

     

    This was a security-motivated change by Adobe to PREVENT any unexpected, inadvertent access to the CFIDE folder by way of an external web server like iis or apache. The AJP connector NOW BLOCKS any attempt to use CFIDE for requests made through that connector.

     

    2) The challenge you raise is based on the fact that the stig has not been changed since cf11 in 2014, when it proclaimed that running the cf built-in web server was a violation. That needs to be revisited. It's one thing to say one should not use that as the ONLY web server for accessing CF. It went too far in asserting it should be disabled entirely, especially when since cf2016 Adobe enables that web server in the installer by default, and ALSO changed the wsconfig tool to no longer even configure a CFIDE a virtual directory in iis or apache.

     

    This latest change just solidifies that effort, making it impossible to get around--again, they woukd argue for the sake of security. This whole matter of the change and the stig challenge was discussed in another thread here at the time. 

     

    FWIW, as for getting the stig reconsidered, I heard an announcement from Adobe at one of the cf conferences this year that they were indeed working with DOD on an updated stig. 

     

    3) So what can you do in the meantime?

     

    Some may argue (however unwisely) that one could choose to NOT update the connector (perform wsconfig upgrade) beyond the update which introduced the change. The counterpoint is that withholding such a connector upgrade should itself be discouraged because the connector updates also address other security or functionality issues. (Indeed, it should be a stig violation not to have the connector updated, just like one should not run cf itself without being updated, along with the Java underlying it.) 

     

    Otherwise, it seems you must seek variance from the stig, given this security-motivated change by Adobe, to require use of the built-in web server for accessing the cf admin (which I realize may seem an effort of unacceptable hassle for some).

     

    Or let's see what others may say. But really, this discussion is better suited for that other thread. This one here was for a entirely different problem, it seems. 

    /Charlie (troubleshooter, carehart. org)
    BKBK
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 4, 2024
    CF_JenAuthor
    Inspiring
    April 4, 2024

    Hello BKBK,

    Turns out the ColdFusion Application Service was not started.  Once I started it I was able to access the CF Admin.  

    Now i'm running into issues where I am unable to access my site via another computer.  I believe this is an IIS issue and not a ColdFusion issue. 

     

    Thank you for your help.

    Jen

    BKBK
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    April 4, 2024

    Hi Jen,

    Like you, I too am inclined to believe it is now an IIS issue. On which URL were you able to access the ColdFusion Administrator?