Hello. I believe there is a problem with the CB Login module. I am hoping someone could help me understand better where to look, in order to solve it.

Background information: I have an existing forum database with about 200 users, in phpBB3. What I am trying to do is get phpBB3 and Joomla working together, using JFusion (1.0.8). And I would like to use Community Builder, but currently I cannot, and here is why.

Steps to create problem:
(1) Install clean phpBB3, make a few users
(2) Install clean Joomla15, no users
(3) Install JFusion, set J! to master, sync users

JFusion will import user records from phpBB3's database into jos_users table. However the passwords will still be in a phpBB3 format.

JFusion uses an authentication plugin which replaces the default Joomla auth plugin, and corrects for this situation. So, even logging in using Joomla's default Login module, there is no issue and everything works wondefully.

However, if you install CB, and try to login using the CB login module, you will get a "bad password" error. I believe this is because you folks have perhaps hard-coded some of the authentication process, and are not deferring to the currently loaded authentication plugin. Or, you are referring to the standard Joomla authentication even though it has been disabled.


Can you help me find the code that handles authentication in CB? I looked all though the cblogin mod but I am not a coder and it doesn't make much sense to me.

Summary: the default login module works fine, but CB login does not, because it is ignoring portions of the currently enabled authentication plugin (which, in my case, is JFusion's plugin).

Workaround: you could ask your users to login using Joomla's or JFusion's login module once, before logging in using CB's. Because those modules correctly refer to the authentication plugin, the password will be read and translated into the standard Joomla format. But I do not think this is an ideal approach in my case.

Is this the code that is bypassing the authentication plugin? (see attached)

Hi nant - thanks for the speedy reply.

Yes I'm using 1.2 RC3. My friend and I are trying to build the site together and he is the document subscriber.

Here are the exact steps to recreate the error:
(1) clean install phpBB3, create a few test users
(2) clean install Joomla! 1.5
(3) install JFusion 1.0.8
(4) set Joomla to master and perform user sync
[note: do not log into joomla with your test users yet]
(5) install community builder 1.2RC3, sync users, etc
(6) disable joomla login mod, enable CB login mod
(7) try to log in

You will get a bad password error if the user has never logged into joomla/CB before. That will be the case for me since I am importing a lot of users from phpBB3.

I'm also attaching the code for JFusion's authentication plugin. You can see some additional steps it takes to clarify the password. What it seems to me is that CB is using its own login function and disregarding the authentication plugin. Is that possible?

Post edited by: bobbank, at: 2008/10/18 17:59

We've confirmed this problem on two different servers and three different installations. If you follow these steps I am confident you will see it as well.

I'm not sure why it would be any different with SMF - only thing I can think of is that SMF password forward doesn't require that extra hash, so perhaps you simply don't see this behavior they way you would with a phpBB board.