JR50324: UPDATING TASK VARIABLE DATA CONTAINING #/& RESULTS IN A SERIALIZATION ERROR

8.5.5.0-WS-BPM-IFJR50324
Version 8.5 Refresh Pack 5 for the IBM Business Process Manager products
Download Version 8.0.1 Fix Pack 3 for the IBM Business Process Manager products
Version 8.5 Refresh Pack 6 for the IBM Business Process Manager products
Version 8.5.0 Fix Pack 2 for the IBM Business Process Manager products

APAR status

• Closed as program error.

Error description

• When editing task variables in Process Inspector or using
  setData in REST API, if the value contains # / & , the
  characters are not escaped and the java serializer throws an
  exception.
  
     This is an example of the exception that is logged
  [9/4/15 20:04:57:463 GMT] 0000012e BPMInspectorR W   Exception
  during
  request processing:
                                   javax.servlet.ServletException:
  java.io.IOException: String not terminated on line 1, column
  3132
   at
  com.ibm.processinspector.server.handlers.ActivityInstanceDataHan
  dler.han
  dleRequest(ActivityInstanceDataHandler.java:105)
   at
  com.ibm.processinspector.server.BPMInspectorRestFacade.doPost(BP
  MInspect
  orRestFacade.java:250)
   at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:595)
   at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:668)
  ...
  Caused by: java.io.IOException: String not terminated on line 1,
   column
  3132
   at
  com.ibm.json.java.internal.Tokenizer.readString(Tokenizer.java:2
  17)
   at com.ibm.json.java.internal.Tokenizer.next(Tokenizer.java:85)
   at
  com.ibm.json.java.internal.Parser.parseObject(Parser.java:109)
   at
  com.ibm.json.java.internal.Parser.parseValue(Parser.java:231)
   at
  com.ibm.json.java.internal.Parser.parseArray(Parser.java:162)
  ...
   at com.ibm.json.java.JSONObject.parse(JSONObject.java:80)
   at com.ibm.json.java.JSONObject.parse(JSONObject.java:92)
   at
  com.ibm.processinspector.server.handlers.ActivityInstanceDataHan
  dler.han
  dleRequest(ActivityInstanceDataHandler.java:81)
   ... 36 more
  

Local fix

• n/a
  

Problem summary

• ABSTRACT ? UPDATING TASK VARIABLE DATA CONTAINING & RESULTS IN A
   SERIALIZATION ERROR
  
  ERROR DESCRIPTION:
  When editing task variables in Process Inspector if the value
  contains '&' , the characters are not escaped correctly before
  sending
  
  PRODUCTS AFFECTED IBM Business Process Manager (BPM)
  Advanced IBM BPM Standard
  IBM BPM Express
  
  LOCAL FIX - N/A
  
  
  PROBLEM SUMMARY
  Modifying task variables in Process Inspector
  with values that include the character '&' will result
  in the following exception in the trace log:
  ?Exception: javax.servlet.ServletException: java.io.IOException:
  String not terminated on line X? or ?"CWTBG0536E: A JSON parsing
  error occurred while parsing the 'params' parameter. The error
  is 'String not terminated on line 1, column 12' while parsing
  '{"var":"'."? in the REST API response.  The value of the
  variable remains unchanged and the task status is not affected.
  

Problem conclusion

• PROBLEM CONCLUSION ?
  A fix is available for IBM BPM v8.0.1.1 to escape the character
  properly and prevent the parsing error from occurring.
  
  On Fix Central (http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral), search
  for JR50324:
  1.Select IBM Business Process Manager with your edition from the
  product selector, the installed version to the fix pack level,
  and your platform, and then click Continue.
  2.Select APAR or SPR, enter JR50324, and click Continue.
  When you download fix packages, ensure that you also download
  the readme file for each fix. Review each readme file for
  additional installation instructions and information about the
  fix.
  

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

• APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

• APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Fix information

• Fixed component name

  BPM ADVANCED

• Fixed component ID

  5725C9400

Applicable component levels

• R801 PSY

     UP