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LimeSurvey version: 7.0.0+260526
Own server or LimeSurvey Cloud: own server
Survey theme/template: general backend
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Hej,
I updated my self-hosted server to Ubuntu 22.04 about a week ago and with it limesurvey from 5.3.32+220817 to 7.0.0+260526. Ever since, limesurvey intermittently interrupts ist service. Safari 26.5 on MacOS 26.5.1 instead gives a message claiming that I was not connected to the internet, which is not the case, e.g. with video calls still running in parallel. MS Edge tells me the server was down which again is not true as an index.html independent of limesurvey on the same server remains accessible even though limesurvey is not.
In the update process, I had to reconfigure file and folder privileges and followed the instruction given here . At one point ever since the update, I received an error message telling me that PHP did not have necessary privileges to create a new directory related to that new survey using mkdir. Sadly I failed to keep the message.

apache error logs generate a host of messages in this style:[access_compat:error] [pid …] [client …] AH01797: client denied by server configuration: /var/www//limesurvey/application/core/plugins/ReactEditor/images/new_editor_image_small.png, referer: [site name removed]/limesurvey/index.php/surveyAdministration/listsurveys
other files affected are: /limesurvey/application/extensions/admin/grid/ColumnFilterWidget/assets/columns_filter.js, ient 172.29.224.147:57884] AH01797: client denied by server configuration: /var/www/deviat-project/limesurvey/application/extensions/admin/SearchBoxWidget/assets/filters.js, limesurvey/application/core/plugins/ReactEditor/images/new_editor_image_small.png

mysql logs show no errors; I don't see any PHP specific logs.

Maybe most troublesome: The admin login seems to stay open even after the breakdown of the connection. That is, after some time when I reload the page or re-enter …/limesurvey/admin in the browser, I am lead to the admin page without the need for an additional login.

Can anyone figure out what is happening or help me solve this?

I updated my self-hosted server to Ubuntu 22.04 about a week ago and with it limesurvey from 5.3.32+220817 to 7.0.0+260526.

How did you update from 5.3.32 to 7.0.0?

To be honest, I personally think it is never a good idea to jump from various versions back to the newest one.

Also, 7.0.0. is pretty new, I usually wait a couple of iterations before I move to the newest version for production.

Just have a look at the versions and the dates. There are basically 4 years between these two versions and one full version was skipped. I am sure that such a scenario was never tested.

I personally like to start clean with every major update, which generally avoids any such things. But I understand that this is not a viable approach for some, especially if there are many users and continuous surveys.

In any way, it is highly recomendable to setup a test enviroment with a copy of the original installation to test the update/upgrade without harming the production environment. yes, that is some additional work, but surely good practice to avoid any bad suprises. Updates within major versions are generally quite safe in my experience. With upgrades between major releases e.g. 5.x to 6.x, or 6.x to 7.x I would taken more precautions. And you went from 5.x to 7.x skipping 6.x in between.

Did you make sure that your PHP version is working with LS 7.x?

Yeah, I guess this wasn’t the smartest approach to the update. Of course, everything is saved and could be restored if needed. 

you mention to check whether PHP is working with LS. What checks exactly are you referring to? Just the documentation or are there any specific error messages I could look for on my server?

I am referring to checking, if the recommended PHP versions for LS 7.x is matching with the PHP version you are running on your server.

Yes, my server is running PHP 8.4.22

So I'm trying to roll back the upgrade and go stepwise. I don't see any releases prior to 6.17 available via limesurvey. Is there a repository of prior releases somewhere? I found a github link in the forum as well as a link to archived releases on limesurvey.org, both of which don't seem to be working anymore.
edit: I uninstalled LS 7, reinstalled the old database and did an upgrade to LS 6.17. For now, it seems to be running.

I think rolling back will be an issue, at least if you do not have a database backup. From what I have read, there have been some changes to the database structure, which might prevent you from just rolling back the same installation.

But I haven't touched LS 7.x yet (lack of time at the moment), so I am probably not the best to respond to this.