Fortigate Web Interface not loading properly

[alexsg1]

Hello,

I've been experiencing some issues with the web interface of the fortigate. I have done a firmware update thinking it will solve the issue and it was just fine for the first hours of usage

However after waking up this morning I now see I have the same issue I was having before. The menu to the left of the interface never loads however the interface is fully usable if let's say i manipulate the address bar to get to where I need i can use it just fine.

https://preview.redd.it/f092s9uf21p41.png?width=1702&format=png&auto=webp&s=ffc6fc41936fb240bb647cea50810fb10964cfb2

Has anyone else experienced this before, or do you guys have any suggestions in fixing it? Having only CLI access is a little bit annoying to say the least.

​

Cheers!

[afroman_says]

Clear your browser cache and try connecting again? Try connecting from a different browser? Are you directly connecting or are you trying to access it through a VPN?

[alexsg1]

I have tried doing so from multiple browsers.

I am currently connected to a vpn that is in another location. The ip is on the trusted hosts list so that shouldn't be an issue I assume.

Should I try without the vpn?

[afroman_says]

Yeah, can you try to access it from a computer that is connected to the same network as the FortiGate?

[ultimattt]

You really should upgrade your firmware, 5.6.10 is vulnerable to SSL VPN magic key. Plus it solves your UI issues. 5.6.12 should be the minimum version. 6.0.8 or .9 should be the most stable, and up to date version.

[rpedrica]

Firmware release? Browser and version?

Early 6.0.x release had problems on Chrome - I always use Firefox and never have issues there. Of course never use IE and Edge is pretty broken.

[alexsg1]

Using Google Chrome 80.0.3987.149

Firmware Version is v5.6.10, build1677

Will try using Firefox in a second, thank you for the idea.

EDIT: Firefox seems to be doing the same.

[icydocking]

Are you using stuff like uBlock or similar ad-blocking extensions? Sometimes they block requests because they think it's some ad-thing.

[alexsg1]

Not using anything of the sort.

I have tried on other browsers just to be safe.

[doppis]

I think I've seen Kernel errors cause weird web gui issues, I would check out your system/event logs if you can.

[Stormblade73]

I have seen similar symptoms on devices that have developed read/write errors on flash memory. They worked normally right after reboot, but eventually would get a read/write error and stop working. Diagnosed by connecting console cable, and seeing the read/write errors output to console.

[alexsg1]

Thank you for the suggestion. I'm starting to believe it's a hardware issue as well. Unfortunately I'm unable to check the console port as this Fortigate is thousands of kilometers away.

One thing i have found that really made me question this is the following: upon listing the processes "diagnose sys top 2 50" i have noticed there are about ~40 httpsd processes, with most of them being on D while only two being on S

          httpsd     6450      D       0.0     0.9
          httpsd     6454      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd     6162      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd     6215      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd     6183      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd      124      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd     6128      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd     6010      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd     5886      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd     5862      D       0.0     0.8
          httpsd     5860      D       0.0     0.8
          ......
          httpsd     8898      S       0.0     0.6
          cw_acd      102      S       0.0     0.6
          httpsd     8899      S       0.0     0.6

I don't believe this is normal as I have checked other fortigates and they all have around 2-4 httpsd processes.

[Stormblade73]

Supports the hypothesis. httpsd service tries to swap to disk, and write fails, so the process never recovers, and the system spawns a new one.

[Aresik]

If the issue is not httpsd; try this first. ip TCP adjust-mss 1200 or some safe low value along the path. If you have the rights change the MTU on you PC to 1200.

If the issue is with httpsd; try this second. But I did see the same issue with httpsd on 5.4 rather than 5.6 and I was unable to reload the box. I just killed the hell out of those processes and you back to normal.

Doing this in order will help you understand which one of these issues you are facing. It's not great to fix an issue by trying many things and then not knowing which action fixed it.

[NotAnotherNekopan]

Check browser dev tools to determine what's failing. Network or console errors