Page Tree loads indefinitely after Upgrading Confluence to version 8.5.5 or later
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Note that this knowledge base article was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center knowledge base articles for non-Data Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
*Except Fisheye and Crucible
Summary
After upgrading Confluence to the latest LTS version (8.5.5 or later), the Confluence Page Tree continuously loads indefinitely without completing the page tree load.
Environment
Confluence 8.5.5 or later
Cause
The Page Tree is failing to load, along with other broken GUI functionalities, due to security-related velocity directive changes introduced in Confluence 8.5.5. These changes were implemented in response to the security vulnerability identified in JAC CONFSERVER-94064, which involved Remote Code Execution (RCE) in the Confluence Data Center and server. As a result, certain old plugins have ceased to function properly, affecting various aspects of Confluence's functionality.
Specifically, the Page Tree loading issue following the upgrade to Confluence 8.5.5 is attributed to an old Confluence plugin known as the "Calendar Plugin." This outdated plugin from Atlassian prevents the initialization of Confluence Page Tree system plugin modules during startup, thereby causing the Page Tree loading problem.
Diagnosis
If there are any issues with the Page Tree system app modules due to the presence of the "Calendar Plugin", the following error entries will be present in the atlassian-confluence.log files:
2024-04-08 15:28:20,913 ERROR [Catalina-utility-1] [atlassian.plugin.parsers.XmlDescriptorParserUtils] newModuleDescriptor There were problems loading the module 'extractor' in plugin 'Page Tree Plugin'. The module has been disabled.
2024-04-08 15:28:20,913 ERROR [Catalina-utility-1] [atlassian.plugin.parsers.XmlDescriptorParserUtils] newModuleDescriptor Cannot find ModuleDescriptor class for plugin of type 'extractor'.Besides, confirm if the Calendar Plugin in the installed plugins:
<plugin>
<key>confluence.extra.calendar</key>
<name>Calendar Plugin</name>
<version>2.7.2.1</version>
<vendor>Atlassian</vendor>
<status>ENABLED</status>
<vendor-url>http://www.atlassian.com/</vendor-url>
<framework-version>1</framework-version>
<bundled>User installed</bundled>
</plugin>Solution
To address this issue, it is recommended to disable or remove the Calendar Plugin from Confluence.
Additionally, restarting Confluence and clearing the plugin cache are necessary steps. Restarting Confluence ensures that any system plugin modules affected by the presence of the Calendar Plugin are properly initialized during startup.
Note: It’s also possible that other very old plugins could be causing the same issue. For example, the Snippet Plugin (com.atlassian.confluence.extra.snippet, Version: 2.0.2) might be a contributing factor.