URL encoding issues on language change

• Type: Bug
• Status: Closed
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: 7.0.0 DXP GA1, 7.0.3 CE GA4, 7.0.0 DXP FP25, 7.0.0 DXP FP26, 7.0.X EE, Master
• Fix Version/s: 7.0.0 DXP FP28, 7.0.X EE, 7.0.4 CE GA5, 7.1.X, Master
• Component/s: Content Display Widgets > Language widget, Portal Services > Localization
• Labels:
  • ee-ts
  • liferay-digital-enterprise-70-sp5
  • liferay-fixpack-de-28-7010
• Branch Version/s:
  7.0.x
• Backported to Branch:
  Committed
• Fix Priority: 4
• Git Pull Request: https://github.com/brianchandotcom/liferay-portal/pull/50860

Steps to reproduce

Preparation:

1. Start the portal
2. Log in with user
3. Add a Language and a Tags Navigation portlet on the Welcome page
4. Configure the Tags Navigation to display unused tags
5. Add a new tag under Site -> Content -> Tags with a name "a tag" (important: it has to have a space in it)

Issue 1

1. In the Tags Navigation, click on a tag, you'll get http://localhost:8080/web/guest/home/-/tag/a+tag
2. Add de to the URL: http://localhost:8080/de/web/guest/home/-/tag/a+tag
3. Notice the "Set German (Germany) as your preferred language" link at the top and click on it
4. Result: You're looking at a blank page with an exception in the log, for example:

   WARNING [http-nio-8080-exec-7] org.apache.catalina.connector.Response.sendRedirect Failed to redirect to [http://localhost:8080/web/guest/home/-/tag/my tag]
    java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Illegal character in path at index 45: http://localhost:8080/web/guest/home/-/tag/my tag
       at java.net.URI.create(URI.java:852)
       at org.apache.catalina.connector.Response.sendRedirect(Response.java:1280)
       at org.apache.catalina.connector.Response.sendRedirect(Response.java:1252)
       at org.apache.catalina.connector.ResponseFacade.sendRedirect(ResponseFacade.java:500)
       at javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponseWrapper.sendRedirect(HttpServletResponseWrapper.java:138)
       at javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponseWrapper.sendRedirect(HttpServletResponseWrapper.java:138)
       at javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponseWrapper.sendRedirect(HttpServletResponseWrapper.java:138)
       at com.liferay.portal.servlet.filters.absoluteredirects.AbsoluteRedirectsResponse.sendRedirect(AbsoluteRedirectsResponse.java:46)
       at javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponseWrapper.sendRedirect(HttpServletResponseWrapper.java:138)
       at javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponseWrapper.sendRedirect(HttpServletResponseWrapper.java:138)
       at com.liferay.portal.kernel.servlet.MetaInfoCacheServletResponse.sendRedirect(MetaInfoCacheServletResponse.java:424)
       at com.liferay.portal.action.UpdateLanguageAction.execute(UpdateLanguageAction.java:143)
       at org.apache.struts.action.RequestProcessor.processActionPerform(RequestProcessor.java:425)
   (...)
   Caused by: java.net.URISyntaxException: Illegal character in path at index 45: http://localhost:8080/web/guest/home/-/tag/my tag
       at java.net.URI$Parser.fail(URI.java:2848)
       at java.net.URI$Parser.checkChars(URI.java:3021)
       at java.net.URI$Parser.parseHierarchical(URI.java:3105)
       at java.net.URI$Parser.parse(URI.java:3053)
       at java.net.URI.<init>(URI.java:588)
       at java.net.URI.create(URI.java:850)
       ... 123 more
   

Issue 2

1. Go the Welcome page and click on the USA flag in the language portlet
2. Go to http://localhost:8080/de/web/guest/home?param1=something%26paramparam=something
3. Click on the "Set German (Germany) as your preferred language"
   Expected result: You're taken to /web/guest/home?param1=something%26paramparam=something
   Actual result: You're taken to /web/guest/home?param1=something*&*paramparam=something

Meaning: The percent-encoded ampersand gets de-coded, meaning, the original value of "param1" has changed

Technical Notes: The root cause of Issue 1 and Issue 2 is the same, the redirect is not encoded properly