Troubleshooting: Server Error - Input Is Not a Valid Base-64 String

Version Affected: All
 
 

Overview

Specific users land on a server error when logging in to a realm. The Debug log shows an entry similar to:

Message="Error Message: The input is not a valid Base-64 string as it contains a non-base 64 character, more than two padding characters, or an illegal character among the padding characters.

Cause

Since only specific users hit this error, one of their attributes likely contains a character that falls outside what's considered valid Base64:

• Base64 characters must be within A-Z, a-z, and 0-9.
• More than two padding characters produces a value like mjohnson*** in a user's attribute. Spaces count as padding characters too.
• Illegal characters can appear in a user's name, such as Asbjørn.

Resolution:

Check the user's attributes for padded and/or foreign characters. More often than not, the issue is tied to a foreign character in the user's name attribute.


 

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