PK85685: THE ERROR MESSAGE SRVE0255E RETURNS TO A CLIENT BROWSER IF THE APPLICATION IS DOWN

Fixes are available

APAR status

Closed as program error.

Error description

This error message SRVE0255E: A WebGroup/Virtual Host to handle
{0} has not been defined returns to a client browser if the
application is accessed when it is down. The client may be able
to identify the running web server is WebSphere Application
Server because this message is unique to Application Server,
which may not be good from security point of view. Web
container is expected to return a simple 404 error page
without this message included in the response.

Local fix

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N/A
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Problem summary

****************************************************************
* USERS AFFECTED:  All users of IBM WebSphere Application      *
*                  Server Version 6.0.2, 6.1 and 7.0           *
****************************************************************
* PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: The error message returned when an      *
*                      application is not found indicates      *
*                      that the request is serviced by IBM     *
*                      WebSphere Application Server.           *
****************************************************************
* RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
****************************************************************
The following message is returned when an application to
process the request is not found:
"SRVE0255E: A WebGroup/Virtual Host to handle <HOST>:<PORT>
has not been defined
IBM WebSphere Application Server"

Problem conclusion

Webcontainer code has been modified to provide a new custom
property, com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webgroupvhostnotfound, which
allows a customer to provide a user defined String value as
the message text.
If this property is not set then the message text will be the
SRVE0255E error message.
For example:
name : com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webgroupvhostnotfound
value : Application not found


The fix for this APAR is currently targeted for inclusion in
fix packs 6.0.2.37, 6.1.0.27, 7.0.0.7.  Please refer to the
Recommended Updates page for delivery information:
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=180&uid=swg27004980


Notes:

1) On IBM WebSphere Application Server Version 6.0.2
"SRVE0017W: A WebGroup/Virtual Host to handle <HOST>:<PORT>
has not been defined IBM WebSphere Application Server" may be
returned.
From Version 6.1 onwards this message has been replaced by
"SRVE0255E: A WebGroup/Virtual Host to handle <HOST>:<PORT>
has not been defined IBM WebSphere Application Server"

2) If there is an application installed and running which has
a context root of "/", even after setting
com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webgroupvhostnotfound Custom Property
, a different error message may be returned: "Error 404: No
target servlet configured for uri: /<name>".
To prevent this, either stop the application or re-install the
application with a different context root.  Note that the
sample application DefaultApplication uses a context root of
"/".

3) After setting com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webgroupvhostnotfound
Custom Property, on some versions of Microsoft Internet
Explorer a 404 Error may still be returned. This is because,
by default Microsoft Internet Explorer is configured to
replace an error message of less than 512 bytes returned by a
webserver, with a message of its own.
To overcome this problem either ensure that the
message defined in the custom property is longer than 512
bytes or configure Microsoft Internet Explorer to not replace
error messages.

For example, to prevent Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 8.x
from replacing an error message:.

Internet Explorer > Tools menu > Internet Options > Advanced
Tab > Browsing
Uncheck the "Show Friendly HTTP error messages" option.

For more information you can look at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294807

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

APAR number
PK85685
Reported component name
WAS EXPRESS
Reported component ID
5724I6300
Reported release
60W
Status
CLOSED PER
PE
NoPE
HIPER
NoHIPER
Special Attention
NoSpecatt
Submitted date
2009-04-30
Closed date
2009-06-11
Last modified date
2009-11-03

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

PM69554

Fix information

Fixed component name
WAS EXPRESS
Fixed component ID
5724I6300

Applicable component levels

R60A PSY
UP
R60H PSY
UP
R60I PSY
UP
R60P PSY
UP
R60S PSY
UP
R60W PSY
UP
R61H PSY
UP
R61I PSY
UP
R61P PSY
UP
R61S PSY
UP
R61W PSY
UP
R61A PSY
UP
R700 PSY
UP

[{"Business Unit":{"code":"BU059","label":"IBM Software w\/o TPS"},"Product":{"code":"SS7JFU","label":"WebSphere Application Server - Express"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"6.0","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB45","label":"Automation"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
28 December 2021

Tips

PK85685: THE ERROR MESSAGE SRVE0255E RETURNS TO A CLIENT BROWSER IF THE APPLICATION IS DOWN

Fixes are available

Subscribe

APAR status

Closed as program error.

Error description

Local fix

Problem summary

Problem conclusion

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

APAR number

Reported component name

Reported component ID

Reported release

Status

PE

HIPER

Special Attention

Submitted date

Closed date

Last modified date

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

Fixed component ID

Applicable component levels

R60A PSY

R60H PSY

R60I PSY

R60P PSY

R60S PSY

R60W PSY

R61H PSY

R61I PSY

R61P PSY

R61S PSY

R61W PSY

R61A PSY

R700 PSY

Document Information

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