LDAP Authentication: Malformed LDAP Filter Syntax, Authorization Works Only for Root Admin

Start by reproducing LDAP user import and a non-Root Admin login on CloudStack 4.22.1.0, then inspect the management server logs and LDAP search request shown in the issue. Done means the generated LDAP filter is syntactically valid, LDAP import succeeds, and users without the Root Admin role can load the UI.

problem

Issue Description

After upgrading CloudStack from version 4.21.0.0 to 4.22.1.0, LDAP user authentication stopped working for all roles except Root Admin.

Symptoms

1. Root Admin — authentication succeeds, UI works correctly
2. Non-Root Admin users — authentication appears to succeed, but after login:
   • System cannot load any components in the zone
   • UI shows "infinite page loading" that ends in timeout

Behavior on Fresh Installation

When testing on a new CloudStack 4.22.1.0 instance with LDAP user import, logs show an error — malformed LDAP filter syntax (extra opening parenthesis ( at the end):

{"attributes":["uid","mail","givenname","sn","cn","userAccountControl","memberof"],"baseDN":"DC=ldap,DC=goauthentik,DC=io","bindDN":"cn=ldapservice,ou=users,dc=ldap,dc=goauthentik,dc=io","client":"X.X.X.X.","event":"Search request","filter":"(&(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=inetOrgPerson))(uid=*)(

Comparison with Working Version (Root Admin)

On the version where Root Admin works correctly, the filter looks correct:

{"attributes":["cn","mail","givenname","sn","cn","userAccountControl","memberof"],"baseDN":"DC=ldap,DC=goauthentik,DC=io","bindDN":"cn=ldapservice,ou=users,dc=ldap,dc=goauthentik,dc=io","client":"X.X.X.X.","event":"Search request","filter":"(&(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=inetOrgPerson))(cn=*))","level":"info","requestId":"c411e2c7-0468-46af-9120-b7d1fc652f36","scope":"Whole Subtree","timestamp":"2026-08-26T11:13:44Z","took-ms":15}

versions

Environment

Parameter	Value
Product	Apache CloudStack
Version (before upgrade)	4.21.0.0
Version (after upgrade)	4.22.1.0
Hypervision	KVM

The steps to reproduce the bug

Steps to Reproduce

Scenario 1: Upgrade from 4.21.0.0 → 4.22.1.0

1. Install CloudStack 4.21.0.0 with LDAP authentication configured
2. Upgrade to version 4.22.1.0
3. Attempt to login as a user without Root Admin role
4. Observed result:
   • Login appears successful
   • UI does not load components (infinite loading → timeout)

Scenario 2: Fresh Installation 4.22.1.0

1. Deploy new CloudStack 4.22.1.0 instance
2. Configure LDAP authentication (goauthentik or similar server)
3. Import users from LDAP
4. Check CloudStack Management Server logs
5. Observed result:
   • LDAP query with malformed filter (extra ( at the end)

{"attributes":["uid","mail","givenname","sn","cn","userAccountControl","memberof"],"baseDN":"DC=ldap,DC=goauthentik,DC=io","bindDN":"cn=ldapservice,ou=users,dc=ldap,dc=goauthentik,dc=io","client":"X.X.X.X.","event":"Search request","filter":"(&(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=inetOrgPerson))(uid=*)(

Comparison with Working Version (Root Admin)

On the version where Root Admin works correctly, the filter looks correct:

{"attributes":["cn","mail","givenname","sn","cn","userAccountControl","memberof"],"baseDN":"DC=ldap,DC=goauthentik,DC=io","bindDN":"cn=ldapservice,ou=users,dc=ldap,dc=goauthentik,dc=io","client":"X.X.X.X.","event":"Search request","filter":"(&(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=inetOrgPerson))(cn=*))","level":"info","requestId":"c411e2c7-0468-46af-9120-b7d1fc652f36","scope":"Whole Subtree","timestamp":"2026-08-26T11:13:44Z","took-ms":15}

What to do about it?

Expected Behavior

• LDAP filter should be syntactically correct
• Users of all roles (not only Root Admin) should successfully authenticate and access the UI
• Filter should match the format: (&(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=inetOrgPerson))(uid=*))

Actual Behavior

• LDAP filter contains syntax error: (&(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=inetOrgPerson))(uid=*)(
• Non-Root Admin users cannot work in UI after authentication
• On fresh installation, LDAP user import fails due to invalid filter

Questions

1. How to fix permissions in the "upgraded" CloudStack version where only Root Admin can authenticate without issues?
2. How to fix the issue in fresh installation with the LDAP query error (malformed filter syntax)?