Problem with Scheduled Tasks - Adobe may want to look into this

I have the simple way,
1. Before submit enable network debug
2. Then submit it, it will display error but network capture it, you can right klik on the network edit and resend just edit the value from u=4 into 5
3. send it, then you scheduletask now appear on list

hope that help

Hi everyone,

I have looked into this and think I have found:

1.  a likely cause of the issue;
2.  a solution.

1.  Likely cause: Steps to reproduce

1.1  Save the following line of code as a CFM file.

<cfdump var="#getHTTPRequestData()#">

1.2  Launch the code, in turn, on the most recent versions of the browsers Chrome, Firefox and Edge.
A picture of the result:

1.3  Take a look at the headers. You will see that Firefox, and Firefox alone, has the PRIORITY header. The value of this header is in the form "u=N", where u denotes urgency and N is an integer between 0 and 7 inclusive. My hypothesis is that that is where the "u=4" in the error comes from.

It just so happens that the scheduled-tasks form in the ColdFusion Administrator has a field named PRIORITY.

My hypothesis is that the following happens in the action-page of the ColdFusion Administrator when it processes the scheduled-task form. It incorrectly populates the PRIORITY form-field with the value of the PRIORITY header.

1.4  Steps to demonstrate the issue:
(a) Open the ColdFusion Administrator in Firefox. Create a new scheduled-task in the Administrator.

(b) Close then restart the ColdFusion Administrator, and go to the Scheduled Tasks page.

(c) Click on the button to edit the task you created in step (a). 

(d) Press F12 to launch Developer Tools.

(e) Click on the button Submit Changes.

1.5  Examine the request headers in Developer Tools. You will see the PRIORITY request-header. Its value is "u=4". 

2.  A Solution

The solution I propose is to temporarily disable the PRIORITY header in Firefox. To do so, proceed as follows:

2.1  Type about:config in the address field in Firefox, and press <ENTER>. That will open Firefox's configuration page. Press the button to accept the risks.

2.2  In the search field, type priority. You will then obtain a list of all the settings that contain the word "priority".

2.3  Locate the setting network.http.priority_header.enabled. Its default value is true. Double-click on the setting, thereby toggling its value to false.  

2.4  Close Firefox.

2.5  Reopen Firefox. Launch the ColdFusion Administrator and edit the scheduled task you created in step 1.4 (a). 

You should no longer get the error 'For input string: "u=4"' 

To everyone experiencing this, let me offer some more thoughts/suggestions. 

First, since "switching browsers" seems to "fix things" for many, I'm suspecting this could be about cookies. Can any of you try a new incognito or new private window, to see if the issue happens then? Or try clearing cookies (even if just for the domain or ip you're using for the cf admin url)? Do both approaches "not work" for any of you? That would itself be a useful diagnostic. 

Second, as for why it's happening to you, it may be some configuration or environmental issue on your end, whether in cf or in your browser or OS. Until we truly identify the cause, we can't know if this is so. 

And I allude there to this being an issue that's not impacting everyone. I want to amplify that: despite the number of you reporting this here, it's not something I've heard about from anyone but you all here. To be clear, I help people use all versions--in multiple places online, as well as in my daily consulting. (Could I have missed some other thread? Sure.)

I'm not saying this to dimish the significance for you. I'm simply clarifying in case you may wonder "how could Adobe let such a significant problem linger, if it keeps everyone from managing scheduled tasks?"

But that brings to mind one more tip that may help some of you: you can also manage scheduled tasks either with the cfschedule tag (very old school) or with the cfsetup command line tool (new since cf2021, allowing management of most cf admin settings via the CLI or json files). I have a talk on using cfsetup, at carehart.org/presentations. Then also, those using Commandbox can leverage its even more powerful cfconfig tool as another workaround to this problem.

But please report if you look into the cookie matter, both for its potential as a simpler solution and useful diagnostic to help Adobe.

(And I can help anyone with any of the above via remote screenshare consulting. I'm afraid I can't offer that for free even for cf bugs: I don't work for Adobe, and I could be kept busy all day but never getting compensated if I offered that.) 

I'm having the same issue! Very frustrating and I can't create or edit any scheduled task for the past 3-4 weeks I'd say. I'm on Coldfusion 2021 Enterprise Update 14. This was an issue on update 13 as well. It wasn't on 12. I've been on CF 2021 for a while. I haven't upgraded from a previous version recently.

For any scheduled task (new or current) I submit changes and it always says "An error occurred scheduling the task. For input string: "u=4"". I found the u=4 under additional settings -> priority. I don't add u=4 there. No idea why it keeps showing up. I clear it out, or also change the priority to 5 (seemed to be what it should be maybe) and click on Submit changes and it gives me the same error. I check priority again and it's back to u=4.

I don't see anything in the logs really. Seems like a client side issue almost. I've tried in Chrome and Firefox on my laptop and on a Windows server. Same issue everywhere.

@Doug_E_Fresh , that looks like a problem. Report a ColdFusion bug.

Doug, so a few things:

1)  You don't say here what cf version you're running. That could be important, as well as what update you're on.

2) Along those lines, were things working previously on this instance of cf? If so, when did things break (after what change).

3) You say this happens when adding one. Does it happen when adding any? Are any existing ones working?

4) If you did upgrade recently from one version to another, did you import its scheduled tasks? If so, how did you do it (there are a few ways)?

5) Finally, if you may wonder how many others have experienced this, I'll say that I've not heard of it at all before--not here (or elsewhere) in the community, nor in my consulting services (helping hundreds of folks each year). But perhaps Adobe or someone else may have seen it, to offer specific thoughts on it. 

Sorry for more questions than answers, but sometimes by answering them you may help us narrow in on either a solution or more specific diagnostics to suggest.