Release Manual 8.5.x

Upgrade instructions

The XL Release upgrade process you use depends on the version from which you are upgrading, and the version to which you want to go.

For detailed instructions based on your upgrade scenario, refer to Upgrade scenarios.

If you are upgrading from XL Release version 8.0.x, make sure you view the release manuals for XL Release 8.1.x and XL Release 8.2.x.

XL Release 8.5.10

XL Release 8.5.10 release notes

Bug fixes

[REL-10032] - The task after "User input task" picks the old release variable value
[REL-10049] - Script task - global and folder variables are captured inconsistently before task starts
[REL-10156] - Release can't be created in different target folder if the template contains a task with an attachment
[REL-4101] - Release description is blank if release is started from a trigger
[REL-6704] - Restarting a Phase does not persist the edited values of a Task
[REL-6754] - Prevent potential clickjacking attacks
[REL-7707] - Permissions not being correctly applied by the task API
[REL-8029] - In scripts, checkboxes of boolean type cannot be selected
[REL-8298] - Fix getRole(String roleName) in RolesApi
[REL-8376] - Importing a Template with Global Variable references in DSL
[REL-8390] - Risk profile is not copied from template to release
[REL-8511] - Opening a task dialog on a release with many dependencies takes too long
[REL-8969] - UI defect when cursor move out of description windows.
[REL-9244] - Security context being overridden for Value Provider
[REL-9474] - Restart phase fails if sequential group is in the planned state
[REL-9507] - xlrelease.UserInputTask variable reference does not get re-linked to release variable when task is copied via API into a running release
[REL-9542] - GroovyScript task loses the user from "Run automated tasks as user"
[REL-9738] - Special characters in usernames prevent users from being saved
[REL-9795] - Encrypt secret values in script tasks
[REL-9846] - ZipException when HttpRequest.py hits 404 with no content.
[REL-9925] - Removing a task name should not be permitted
[REL-9951] - Variable in phase title not resolved unless user has edit release permission
[REL-9959] - Can't navigate on months first time you click on navigator

XL Release 8.5.9

XL Release 8.5.9 release notes

Bug fixes

[REL-8589] - Server needs to reject requests for extra filename check for plugin manager
[REL-8710] - Phase titles in a manual task now update correctly when the task is reopened
[REL-8713] - Resolved database error that prevented dashboard tiles from being displayed in some circumstances
[REL-8754] - Templates exported from the UI using a Releasefile defining a synthetic enum property are now correctly stored and can be imported back to the UI
[REL-8841] - Change 'ConfigurationApiImpl' to 'ConfigurationApi'
[REL-8910] - Generate correct audit logs for "Roles" and "Teams & Permissions"
[REL-8917] - Resolved error when creating a variable via a script that happened if the valueprovider.id was not "null"
[REL-9042] - Variables used in tasks not being correctly resolved when phase restarts
[REL-9052] - Variables with empty names should not be allowed
[REL-9079] - Dependencies should not be able to be added to a completed Gate Task
[REL-9131] - Prevented users from creating lock task with release#edit_task permission
[REL-9136] - Correctly resolve username value for access logs
[REL-9146] - Enforce Strict Transport Security (HSTS) in response header

XL Release 8.5.8

XL Release 8.5.8 release notes

Bug fixes

[REL-7873] - A value can still be deleted when the mouse cursor is half an inch away from the "X" icon
[REL-8733] - Generated SQL query exceeds the 2100 parameter
[REL-8877] - Permissions are lost when a role is updated
[REL-8882] - XL Release 902 Service installation failure
[REL-8899] - Cannot create a role if a team already has that name
[REL-8770] - No audit logs are generated

XL Release 8.5.7

XL Release 8.5.7 release notes

Bug fixes

[REL-6741] - Sanitize username for internal users
[REL-8842] - Protection against XSS on Variable Selector

XL Release 8.5.6

XL Release 8.5.6 release notes

New features

[REL-6310] - Provide support for large text input fields for string type properties in Shared Configuration page

Bug fixes

[REL-3060] - Password variable cannot not be empty when starting a task that uses it
[REL-8232] - XL Release JVM shuts down due to an error when running as a Windows Service
[REL-8420] - Information exposure through an error message when using failure handler or precondition
[REL-8553] - Use folder option does not work for non-admin user
[REL-8584] - ReleaseActorCache caches wrong releases
[REL-8629] - Patch third-party vulnerable components
[REL-8634] - Unable to move phase while running a release if one or more completed phases are hidden
[REL-8644] - Creating a release through "Create Release" task ignores child template's "Abort on failure" flag
[REL-8645] - When creating new role on the UI, XL Release updates every role (PUT roles/principals)
[REL-8734] - Database error: maximum number of expressions in a list is 1000

XL Release 8.5.5

XL Release 8.5.5 release notes

Bug fixes

[REL-6750] - Disable content sniffing
[REL-6751] - Missing X-XSS-Protection header
[REL-6752] - Information exposure through an error message
[REL-7824] - Client-side remote code execution through excel
[REL-7948] - Restricted access to /server/info resource folder to prevent library versions being exposed
[REL-7998] - Releases not completely archived when deleting parent folder
[REL-8361] - Dashboards screen is broken in Chrome

XL Release 8.5.4

XL Release 8.5.4 release notes

Bug fixes

[REL-7922] - Do not show pre-SQL properties as 'unknown'

XL Release 8.5.3

XL Release 8.5.3 release notes

New features

[REL-7901] - Changed "License expired" text

Improvements

[REL-7898] - Added ReleaseId on activity log event

Bug fixes

[REL-6254] - XL Release crashes when task types are missing
[REL-7863] - Creating release from template with UserInput task + Variable throws an error
[REL-7868] - Browser console error when you type '${d' in inline text editor
[REL-7880] - Switching folder does not work when folders in a releases are filtered by some text

XL Release 8.5.2

XL Release 8.5.2 release notes

New features

[REL-7827] - Added a refresh button on the dashboard
[REL-7838] - Added back Logback-Access logger

Improvements

[REL-7386] - Show full task type name in "Longest task type" dashboard tile
[REL-7771] - Improve performance on "Create new release" screen
[REL-7823] - Improve CiJson2Reader
[REL-7825] - EnvironmentReservationApi: added method to add application into an existing reservation

Bug fixes

[REL-5717] - The xlr-jenkins-plugin task should not restart build on retry if Jenkins build already started
[REL-6533] - Issue setting UNIX host on 7.6.1 under shared configuration
[REL-6543] - JIRA not updated with comment when status changed to closed
[REL-6736] - NULL Pointer Exception when trying to view an imported template's trigger view
[REL-7066] - favicon.ico error when using OIDC authentication
[REL-7493] - Build number link in the dashboard Jenkins tile cannot be clicked
[REL-7669] - Phase is completed even with planned task(s) after a parallel group with no task is completed
[REL-7766] - Phase can not be deleted when a comment is added to the task
[REL-7767] - Improve variable value change logging for activity log
[REL-7776] - xl generate does not include gate dependency
[REL-7780] - Watchers not found when a task is moved to a group task
[REL-7805] - xlr-api has dependencies to private repository
[REL-7828] - Risk score messages for overdue risk assessor calculates twice when the tasks are part of parallel group
[REL-7867] - Not able to set dates in the range 29/05/2018 - 31/05/2018 on date-filter component

XL Release 8.5.1

XL Release 8.5.1 release notes

Bug fixes

[REL-7017] - Script output logged in work directory not cleaned even after release is completed/archived
[REL-7759] - Compliance tiles are broken

XL Release 8.5.0

XL Release 8.5.0 is a long-term support (LTS) version that will be supported for a year after it is superseded by the next long-term support (LTS) version. Short-term-support (STS) versions do not receive maintenance releases. For more information, see Short-term support/Long-term support policy.

XL Release 8.5.0 new features

Manage environment bookings and resolve conflicts

Release Engineers and Environment Managers now have more extensive options for managing environment bookings and application deployment windows in an easy-to-use calendar interface that is fully integrated with release processes. XebiaLabs checks for environment bookings before executing application deployments, so teams can identify and resolve conflicts early, before the deployment fails. This feature is available as beta functionality. For more information, see Scheduling environments.

Enhanced release variables

Release variables have been enhanced with support for auto-completion of variable values in release properties, phases, tasks, and dashboards, and with support for nesting variables inside other variables. In addition, the new special variable ${release.url} is automatically available for use in all releases. For more information, see Variables in XL Release

Compliance and security

New security and compliance tiles enable Release Managers and DevOps Engineers to ensure that applications meet IT compliance requirements and helps them identify applications that are failing to meet security standards. This gives the team a complete overview of test results from the static application security testing (SAST), dynamic application security testing (DAST), and open source security management (OSSM) tools in their release pipelines. Combining test results from across the pipeline in a single dashboard helps preserve the chain of custody of a release and makes it easy for DevOps teams and Security Officers to review results, identify trends, and make decisions about security findings.

The following tiles have been added: SonarQube, Fortify SSC, Fortify on Demand, Checkmarx, and Black Duck.

Reporting

Teams can now create folder-level dashboards that show detailed data about running and completed releases in a particular folder. Folders are often used to organize projects, so this feature allows teams to set up dashboards that cater to their specific needs; they can focus on the release, deployment, security, and compliance data that is most relevant for them.

You can create and customize deployment and release statistics dashboards from templates, or create a dashboard from scratch. For more information, see Dashboard templates.

The following deployment titles have been added:

DevOps as Code

DevOps As Code provides an alternative way for developers and other technical users to define deployment packages, infrastructure, environments, release templates, and more, using YAML files that they can store in source control with the application code.

With DevOps As Code, development teams can use the XebiaLabs DevOps Platform by adding a YAML file to their development project and applying it using the XebiaLabs CLI. The DevOps as Code feature automatically creates the configuration items that are required and starts the release pipeline. For more information, see Get started with DevOps as Code.

The XebiaLabs CLI

The XebiaLabs command-line interface (CLI) enables development teams to apply YAML files to the XebiaLabs DevOps Platform to create configuration items, releases, and more. The XL CLI can also export data as YAML files from both XL Release and XL Deploy. Teams can get started with the DevOps as Code using the data they have already defined in the XebiaLabs DevOps Platform.

You can automatically invoke the XL CLI from Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines running in tools such as Jenkins, Azure DevOps, and TravisCI. You are not required to download and install a plugin. An XL CLI command in the CI pipeline can apply YAML files and kick off releases in the XebiaLabs DevOps Platform. For more information, see Install the XL Command Line Interface.

Implement best practices using blueprints

The XL CLI includes support for blueprints that guide developers through a process that automatically generates the XL YAML files for their application. A blueprint asks the user a short series of questions about their application and the type of environment it requires. The CLI uses the answers to generate everything a development team needs to get started with XebiaLabs: YAML files to define configuration items and releases and special configuration files that manage sensitive data such as passwords.

Organizations can use the blueprint framework to create blueprints that reflect their own standard application, infrastructure, and environment profiles. XebiaLabs provides sample blueprints with best practices built-in that you can use to migrate from on-premises infrastructure and legacy middleware to cloud-based platforms. For more information, see Get started with blueprints.

Changed the encrypted data format

As of version 8.5.0, XL Release uses AES-256 to encrypt sensitive information such as passwords. The purpose of this update is to improve the security for XL Release data. If you are upgrading to XL Release version 8.5.0, the encrypted data is stored in the new format.

Example:

Old format: user.password={b64}j4MbPnUkedK4SHpjraxZHg\=\=

New format: user.password={aes\:v0}vEWwVYoSXqKXW+1Zro5u4KwFiMfsQJ0TJBeTsmtXgv8\=

Contact XebiaLabs Support if you have hotfixes

If you have hotfixes installed, contact the XebiaLabs support team before upgrading.

XL Release 8.5.0 release notes

New features

[REL-4292] - Support variable references in variable values
[REL-5172] - Searching releases should not be limited to a single ReleaseStatus group
[REL-6798] - Atlassian CROWD integration with XL Release
[REL-7083] - Special ${release.url} variable
[REL-7087] - Create DeploymentTaskFacet
[REL-7197] - Create tables using markdown
[REL-7351] - [API] Support all variable types when starting a release
[REL-7355] - Provide variable completion in text fields
[REL-7373] - Implement application configuration screen
[REL-7388] - Render hyperlinks in Task status line and show when completed
[REL-7400] - Implement logical environments
[REL-7401] - Add stages to associate environments
[REL-7402] - Provide new global permission for Environment Manager
[REL-7410] - Create Scheduling screen to show environment reservation
[REL-7411] - Add new environment reservation
[REL-7440] - Ability to customize HikariCP configurations
[REL-7457] - Additional HikariCP settings for cluster membership connection pool
[REL-7465] - Storage for deployment events
[REL-7497] - Markdown text tile
[REL-7521] - 2 Dashboards to be provided Out-Of-the-Box on folder level and Global level
[REL-7526] - Retrieving User activity data
[REL-7538] - Update Releases Overview page, select multiple release statuses
[REL-7546] - Deployments: Implement generic deployments query mechanism
[REL-7547] - Deployments: Create latest application versions tile
[REL-7548] - Deployments: Create the deployments tile (doughnut chart)
[REL-7552] - Allow reporting for completed/aborted but not archived releases
[REL-7553] - Deployments: Create the deployment success rate tile %
[REL-7554] - Deployments: Create the deployments activity tile
[REL-7555] - Deployments: Create total deployments tile
[REL-7556] - Deployments: Create space consuming tile
[REL-7570] - Check environment availability on task details
[REL-7608] - Add variable value provider for environments and applications
[REL-7610] - Don't query nexus to confirm existence of plugin jars. Presence in aggregated metadata is enough.
[REL-7636] - Make reservation editable
[REL-7641] - Add Filters to reservation

Improvements

[REL-5123] - Use multiline strings in Xfile export
[REL-7231] - Ask for confirmation when user changes template on create release task
[REL-7251] - Make add task menu longer
[REL-7387] - Optimize archive database upgrade
[REL-7425] - Create release task doesn't show folder component if user does not have view permission for any folder
[REL-7491] - Use planner (FE or BE) for phases in calendar view
[REL-7593] - Adding icon to JIRA tasks

Bug fixes

[REL-3111] - Forbidden access error when opening start release task with a template for which user doesn't have view permission
[REL-5717] - xlr-jenkins-plugin task should not restart build on retry if Jenkins build already started
[REL-7062] - Error while opening a "Create release task" if referencing a secured template/secured folder
[REL-7252] - Output of script task is logged three times
[REL-7258] - Thread deadlocks on upgrade to 8.2.0
[REL-7390] - Create Release Task produces non portable DSL for folderId
[REL-7391] - Error Transaction rolled back because it has been marked as rollback-only saving version from XL Release using mySQL for db
[REL-7397] - Task with huge DSL script hangs in XL Release 8.0
[REL-7427] - OIDC Plugin missing license check for APIs
[REL-7435] - Abort On failure release property is not taking value from triggered template "Abort On failure" property
[REL-7450] - [SCM] NPE when trying to export attachments on some templates
[REL-7462] - Task status Line - XL Deploy task box size changes after it completes on release flow view
[REL-7485] - PK violation when creating release from moved template (to different folder) with customized dashboard
[REL-7500] - Search on releases fails because of class exception
[REL-7535] - JavaScript injection using variables in markdown description
[REL-7540] - Cannot create releases from a template inside a folder without folder#edit
[REL-7543] - xlr-relationship-plugin libraries overrides the dashboard libraries in XL Release
[REL-7557] - Do not use components with known security vulnerabilities
[REL-7579] - AES Encryption without using Initialization Vector (IV)
[REL-7590] - Comments are getting truncated after upgrade to 8.2.0
[REL-7592] - Activity logs do not show changes to Groovy script task
[REL-7647] - Do not use cursors when upgrading in postgresql
[REL-7736] - Activity log is not captured for some actions in a task