[Bug]: New user does not receive welcome email

[cmonino]

⚠️ This issue respects the following points: ⚠️

• This is a bug, not a question or a configuration/webserver/proxy issue.
• This issue is not already reported on Github OR Nextcloud Community Forum (I've searched it).
• Nextcloud Server is up to date. See Maintenance and Release Schedule for supported versions.
• I agree to follow Nextcloud's Code of Conduct.

Bug description

Newly created users no longer receive the welcome email automatically. But email seems to work fine anywhere else :

• Sending a test email from the SMTP settings works
• Clicking "Resend welcome email" works

The issue was discovered after the following this Helm upgrade path (but i believe that it is not the source of problem):

• 6.6.10 (Nextcloud 30.0.17) -> 7.0.1 (Nextcloud 31.0.1) -> 8.9.1 (Nextcloud 32.2.7) -> 9.0.3 (Nextcloud 33.0.0)

This was not tested on a fresh install, only on an upgraded instance.

It looks like the upgrade may have changed the core:newUser.sendEmail value in oc_appconfig from yes/no to 1, which causes the checks for === 'yes' to fail and disables the automatic sending of the welcome email when a user is created.

SELECT *
FROM oc_appconfig
WHERE appid = 'core';

-- After upgrade to Nextcloud 33:
core | newUser.sendEmail | 1

-- On Nextcloud 30:
core | newUser.sendEmail | yes

This seems to disable the automatic email trigger because the code compares the config value to the string 'yes'.

for occ command (core/Command/User/Add.php) (line 183) :

if ($this->appConfig->getValueString('core', 'newUser.sendEmail', 'yes') === 'yes') {

for web ui (apps/provisioning_api/lib/Controller/UsersController.php) (line 593) :

if ($this->config->getAppValue('core', 'newUser.sendEmail', 'yes') === 'yes') {

Quick fix :
for occ command (core/Command/User/Add.php) (line 183)

if ($this->appConfig->getValueBool('core', 'newUser.sendEmail', true)) {

for web ui (apps/provisioning_api/lib/Controller/UsersController.php) (line 593) :

if ($this->config->getAppValue('core', 'newUser.sendEmail', 'yes') === '1')

Steps to reproduce

From web ui :

1. Go to Account page
2. Click Account management settings
3. Check that "Send welcome email to new accounts" is on
4. Create a new user with the email field filled

Or from occ command :

1. sudo -u www-data php occ user:add jdoe --email example@xyz.com --generate-password

Expected behavior

A newly created user should automatically receive the welcome email when the feature is enabled, just as before the upgrade.

Nextcloud Server version

33

Operating system

None

PHP engine version

PHP 8.4

Web server

Apache (supported)

Database engine version

PostgreSQL

Is this bug present after an update or on a fresh install?

Upgraded to a MAJOR version (ex. 31 to 32)

Are you using the Nextcloud Server Encryption module?

None

What user-backends are you using?

• Default user-backend (database)
• LDAP/ Active Directory
• SSO - SAML
• Other

Configuration report

{
    "system": {
        "htaccess.RewriteBase": "\/",
        "memcache.local": "\\OC\\Memcache\\APCu",
        "apps_paths": [
            {
                "path": "\/var\/www\/html\/apps",
                "url": "\/apps",
                "writable": false
            },
            {
                "path": "\/var\/www\/html\/custom_apps",
                "url": "\/custom_apps",
                "writable": true
            }
        ],
        "overwriteprotocol": "https",
        "objectstore": {
            "class": "\\OC\\Files\\ObjectStore\\S3",
            "arguments": {
                "bucket": ***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***,
                "region": ***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***,
                "hostname": ***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***,
                "port": "443",
                "storageClass": "STANDARD",
                "objectPrefix": "urn:oid:",
                "autocreate": false,
                "use_ssl": true,
                "use_path_style": false,
                "legacy_auth": false,
                "key": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
                "secret": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***"
            }
        },
        "mail_smtpmode": "smtp",
        "mail_smtphost": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "mail_smtpport": "465",
        "mail_smtpsecure": "ssl",
        "mail_smtpauth": true,
        "mail_smtpauthtype": "LOGIN",
        "mail_smtpname": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "mail_from_address": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "mail_domain": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "mail_smtppassword": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "upgrade.disable-web": true,
        "passwordsalt": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "secret": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "trusted_domains": [
            "localhost",
            "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***"
        ],
        "datadirectory": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "dbtype": "pgsql",
        "version": "33.0.1.2",
        "overwrite.cli.url": "https:\/\/localhost",
        "dbname": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "dbhost": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "dbport": "",
        "dbtableprefix": "oc_",
        "dbuser": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "dbpassword": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "instanceid": "***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***",
        "installed": true,
        "defaultapp": "files",
        "maintenance": false,
        "twofactor_enforced": "true",
        "twofactor_enforced_groups": [
            ***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***
        ],
        "twofactor_enforced_excluded_groups": [
            ***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***
        ],
        "log_type": "file",
        "logfile": "nextcloud.log",
        "log_type_audit": "file",
        "logfile_audit": "audit.log",
        "loglevel": 0,
        "lost_password_link": "disabled",
        "default_language": "fr",
        "openmetrics_allowed_clients": [
            ***REMOVED SENSITIVE VALUE***
        ]
    }
}

List of activated Apps

Enabled:
  - admin_audit: 1.23.0
  - app_api: 33.0.0
  - bruteforcesettings: 6.0.0-dev.0
  - cloud_federation_api: 1.17.0
  - contactsinteraction: 1.14.1
  - dav: 1.36.0
  - federatedfilesharing: 1.23.0
  - federation: 1.23.0
  - files: 2.5.0
  - files_downloadlimit: 5.1.0-dev.0
  - files_pdfviewer: 6.0.0-dev.0
  - files_sharing: 1.25.2
  - files_trashbin: 1.23.0
  - files_versions: 1.26.0
  - geoblocker: 0.5.20
  - groupfolders: 21.0.6
  - impersonate: 4.0.0
  - logreader: 6.0.0
  - lookup_server_connector: 1.21.0
  - oauth2: 1.21.0
  - ownershiptransfer: 1.4.0
  - password_policy: 5.0.0-dev.0
  - profile: 1.2.0
  - provisioning_api: 1.23.0
  - serverinfo: 5.0.0-dev.0
  - settings: 1.16.0
  - systemtags: 1.23.0
  - text: 7.0.0-dev.3
  - theming: 2.8.0
  - theming_customcss: 1.20.0
  - twofactor_admin: 4.11.1
  - twofactor_backupcodes: 1.22.0
  - twofactor_totp: 15.0.0-dev.0
  - updatenotification: 1.23.0
  - user_status: 1.13.0
  - viewer: 6.0.0-dev.0
  - webhook_listeners: 1.5.0
  - workflowengine: 2.15.0
Disabled:
  - activity: 6.0.0-dev.0 (installed 3.0.0)
  - circles: 33.0.0 (installed 30.0.0)
  - comments: 1.23.0 (installed 1.20.1)
  - dashboard: 7.13.0 (installed 7.10.0)
  - encryption: 2.21.0
  - files_external: 1.25.1
  - files_reminders: 1.6.0 (installed 1.3.0)
  - firstrunwizard: 6.0.0-dev.0 (installed 3.0.0)
  - nextcloud_announcements: 5.0.0 (installed 2.0.0)
  - notifications: 6.0.0 (installed 3.0.0)
  - photos: 6.0.0-dev.0 (installed 3.0.2)
  - privacy: 5.0.0-dev.0 (installed 2.0.0)
  - recommendations: 6.0.0-dev.0 (installed 3.0.0)
  - related_resources: 4.0.0-dev.0 (installed 1.5.0)
  - sharebymail: 1.23.0 (installed 1.20.0)
  - support: 5.0.0 (installed 2.0.0)
  - survey_client: 5.0.0-dev.0 (installed 2.0.0)
  - suspicious_login: 11.0.0-dev.0
  - testing: 1.23.0
  - twofactor_nextcloud_notification: 7.0.0
  - user_ldap: 1.24.0
  - weather_status: 1.13.0 (installed 1.10.0)

Nextcloud Signing status

Technical information
=====================
The following list covers which files have failed the integrity check. Please read
the previous linked documentation to learn more about the errors and how to fix
them.

Results
=======
- core
	- EXTRA_FILE
		- nextcloud.log
		- audit.log

Raw output
==========
Array
(
    [core] => Array
        (
            [EXTRA_FILE] => Array
                (
                    [nextcloud.log] => Array
                        (
                            [expected] => 
                            [current] => 5b2ca3ed1cf1f284bf69428819e482190b2365dfc30e365c9c0e3f7ec908e11dacb61e4106772a39823e49e19025d9b0145844da5cbecd4b4211bbc98d703ccc
                        )

                    [audit.log] => Array
                        (
                            [expected] => 
                            [current] => 63819ff5f21785b95c7289dac6a8b372b42af834ef2593de297997d50aa67f869fd6928043d5fa85784acdc9c91194ba2743cc13e78054ef9c0ebbae849a2654
                        )

                )

        )

)

Nextcloud Logs

No log entry of the problem because the condition was not trigered at all

Additional info

In the debug i also tried to change the value type of newUser.sendEmail to string but it broke the webapp making it throw error 500:
sudo -u www-data php occ config:app:set core newUser.sendEmail --value=yes --type string

[pabzm]

I can't reproduce that on Nextcloud 33.0.3. Can you please try to reproduce it with loglevel set to 0 (debug)? Then the logs will contain related lines, which could help to figure out what's wrong.

[invario]

I replied in #60170 but am cross-posting here also:

Can't paste the log directly here due to it being too large. Attached as files instead.

Debug log taken from when I generate a new user with blank password and valid email address:
newuser.log

Debug log taken from when I click the "resend welcome email" link on the above new user:
resend_email.log

Also, now I am unable to get the proper welcome email with the "set your password" link even when I click the "resend welcome email" a second time, so I'm not sure why that is.

Also something I noted, and I'm not sure if this is normal. Line 11 in the "newuser.log" above where I redacted the email. It only shows the email partially '*REDACTED*@DOMAIN... which is odd to me, but maybe intentional. If my email were someone@yahoo.com it is showing in the log as someone@yahoo... but the ... at the end makes me think that it was intentionally truncated.

[ch-sgr]

@pabzm @joshtrichards I'm facing the same issue. We're syncing our users from an Active Directory. The users don't get the welcome mail, resending it from the user management is working as expected. I have debug logs available, is there anything special I should look for in them?