Ticket replies showing (empty) on 1.17.7

DrMichaD

I have exactly the same problem with version 1.18.3.
Everything worked normally for months before the update, but immediately after updating to 1.18.3, I noticed that agents' replies to new tickets suddenly only showed (empty) after being sent; the text that had been entered had disappeared. If text is then entered again in another reply in the same ticket, it is displayed after submission. This also works with the same content as the previous reply. So it cannot be due to faulty characters. This phenomenon occurs sporadically and not always, but it can be reproduced when a new test ticket is created and several replies are created in it. Suddenly, instead of the text entered, only (empty) appears.
I have tried this on various systems with the latest version of Firefox and with Safari on the iPhone and have been able to reproduce it.

My configuration:
OsTicket 1.18.3
Microsoft Server with IIS
PHP 8.5.1
MySQL 8.0.44
All PHP extensions for PHP active

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD

You are using PHP 8.5 which is not supported. Downgrade to PHP 8.2-8.4 (8.4 recommended), restart the webserver and php-fpm, and retest.

Cheers.

DrMichaD

KevinTheJedi

Hi, thank you for your reply.
I tried PHP 8.4 and restarted everything – same problem. Then I even tried PHP 8.2 – same problem. Then I reinstalled PHP 8.5.1 and the problem with osTicket version 1.18.3 remains.
As a last resort, I downgraded osTicket 1.18.2 to PHP 8.5.1 and the error was no longer reproducible. I don't think it's due to the PHP version.
Cheers

nikben

The same problem we ecountered on 1.18.3, just after upgrade, i guess is not related to PHP version, like suggested.
We are running our osTicket on PHP 8.2.

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD

I’m wondering if it’s this change:

https://github.com/osTicket/osTicket/pull/6910/changes/877adf564aba70cc810ee9862c1718ba9daaf0d2

Try reverting this when you upgrade to v1.18.3, clear all cache/cookies/sessions, restart the webserver and php-fpm, and see if that helps.

If not then I wonder if you can apply the v1.18.3 commits one by one to see at what point it breaks. This will give us a better idea as to what’s going on.

Cheers.

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD I posted the wrong link but I just updated it.

DrMichaD

KevinTheJedi
Hi, thank you for your reply.
After integrating your htmLawed.php file into my system today, the problem with the (empty) message no longer occurred.
I will continue to monitor and test this.
Can you tell me where the error or problem was (if it should now work permanently)?

My configuration:
OsTicket 1.18.3
Microsoft Server with IIS
PHP 8.5.1
MySQL 8.0.44
All PHP extensions for PHP active

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD

Your response isn’t so clear.. did you upgrade to v1.18.3 then replace the new htmlawed file with the old one from v1.18.2, or?

Cheers.

DrMichaD

KevinTheJedi
I rejoiced too soon, as the error just occurred again.
I wrote a lengthy response with two screenshots on a ticket and sent it, and suddenly, it just said (empty). Luckily, I had copied the content beforehand. When I clicked on “Edit and resend,” there was only a hyphen in the reply field—I wonder why? I deleted the hyphen and pasted my copied content again, and resending the identical content worked normally.

I upgraded from 1.18.2 to 1.18.3, although 1.18.2 ran without this error. Then I replaced the htmlawed file with the file you posted above.
I am now switching back to PHP 8.4.16.

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD

So what I was asking you to do is essentially replace the v1.18.3 htmlawed file with the one from v1.18.2. But you have to restart the webserver and php-fpm to clear file cache and any server side caching; trust me, it matters.

Cheers.

DrMichaD

KevinTheJedi
Yes, I did that, replacing the htmlawed file of version 1.18.3 with version 1.18.2.
I also activated PHP 8.4.16.
Of course, I restarted php-cgi.exe and IIS.
I have now created a few tickets and written lots of responses – so far, no (empty) in the text.
I'll continue testing...

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD

Hyphen means empty content which means it was likely stripped. Now we need to figure out what is stripping the content. Please provide the EXACT steps to replicate the issue from the time you login to the time the issue is reproduced including the EXACT content you are using that winds up empty. I did a few tests and couldn’t replicate the issue so I need exact information to replicate it.

Cheers.

DrMichaD

KevinTheJedi
I cannot reproduce the problem in the current configuration.
Should I use the htmlawed file from version 1.18.3 again and try to reproduce the problem?

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD

Yea, then post the EXACT raw HTML content causing the issue so I can replicate.

Cheers.

DrMichaD

KevinTheJedi
Well, it seems that PHP version 8.5 was indeed responsible for this and that I didn't replace everything when I changed to version 8.4.16. Now, with the complete original files from osticket 1.18.3 and using PHP 8.4.16 and restarting the web server and php-fpm, I can no longer reproduce the original problem after many tests and now also in the production environment. Thanks for the help ;-)

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD

NICE!! That's great news! Glad you got it working. Now on to figuring out what's going on with the others in this thread. Thanks for the time, testing, and most importantly the confirmation.

Cheers.

DrMichaD

KevinTheJedi
Hello,
Unfortunately, the problem has just occurred again.
Below you will find the HTML content in the attachment.

ticket-183128.zip

18kB

I created a new ticket for a customer myself and added another customer in CC.
Then I pasted his text from an email and wrote a reply myself with a small image.
I marked the ticket as “resolved” at the bottom before sending it.
Then the ticket was sent and closed.
When I opened the closed ticket, my reply text only said (empty), and I had to paste the previously copied reply into a new reply, which was then sent and saved correctly.
What else can I do to solve the problem?
Thank you and best regards

So, it happened again:
This time, I created a new ticket with an email address that had not yet been entered. I have the feeling that it has to do with the time at which the text is written. As soon as a longer text is created, which takes a correspondingly long time to write, the ticket only shows (empty) after saving (assumption).
I only made entries in the first text field, again with a small image. I left the second lower text field for the agent's response blank. When the ticket was opened, only the text (empty) was displayed. Inserting the same copied content was then successfully saved.
Below you will find the HTML content in the attachment.

ticket-928005.zip

17kB

KevinTheJedi

DrMichaD

Post the raw content within this forum. I do not use 3rd party links.

Cheers.

DrMichaD

KevinTheJedi
Since the (empty) error continued to occur sporadically (sometimes even multiple times within a single ticket), I took the file include\htmLawed.php from version 1.17.3 and overwritten the 1.18.3 file with it. Since restarting the web server and php-cgi.exe, the error has not occurred again today on a whole series of tickets on two different systems.

ITMike1896

Hello,
we have had the same problems with "(empty)" posts after updating to v1.18.3 (from 1.18.1 and 1.18.2 systems) using PHP 8.4.17 running Windows Server 2019/IIS/FastCGI.
Replacing the "htmLawed.php" in 1.18.3 with the one from 1.18.2 seemed to have led to stable posts without "(empty)" issues. I'm still observing and getting feedback from the different teams using the system.
The assumption DrMichaD had about the time passing between opening the answer dialog, writing the content and sending it seems pretty interesting.
But maybe also the localization/language could be an issue? Seeing the links DrMichaD posted for the raw code, it’s possible German (de.phar) language is used in OSticket. We do use the German localization on our site.
...just a thought.

br
Mike

DrMichaD

ITMike1896
Hello,
After transferring the original data from osticket 1.18.3 again and eliminating all PHP errors, everything seems to be running smoothly with PHP 8.4.16 and the error is no longer reproducible. I have made at least 20 attempts to create new tickets and respond to tickets, sometimes with processing or input pauses of approximately 15 minutes. My tickets are locked for 15 minutes. I waited for them to be unlocked, locked the ticket again by entering further information, and then sent it. No problems.
So maybe it really was just PHP version 8.5.1 that was to blame and the PHP errors that I have now fixed in version 8.4.16.
I will report back if the (empty) error reappears.