OPC-UA Connection Fails with NullPointerException (SecretConfigKtx.getPlaintextString) in 8.3.4 ZIP Install

Ignition Early Access
1

Hi everyone,

I’m running into what seems like a repeatable NullPointerException bug with OPC‑UA connections in Ignition 8.3.4 (Windows 64‑bit ZIP install). I’ve completely reset the gateway and even recreated the OPC‑UA connection with the most minimal settings possible, but the issue persists.

Environment

  • Ignition 8.3.4 (Windows 64‑bit ZIP)

  • Running locally on Windows 10

  • Default OPC‑UA server running on opc.tcp://localhost:62541

  • Anonymous access allowed

  • Logix driver device connected successfully

  • No other OPC‑UA connections enabled

  • All certificates trusted (client + server)

What I am trying to do

Create a simple OPC‑UA connection from the gateway’s OPC‑UA Client to its own built‑in OPC‑UA Server.

I created a new connection from scratch with:

  • SecurityMode: None

  • SecurityPolicy: None

  • Authentication: Anonymous

  • Password fields: None

  • Host Override: localhost

  • Failover: disabled

This should avoid all secret/keystore/password handling.

Actual Result

Even with Security = None/None and no passwords, the OPC‑UA connection immediately faults with this stack trace:

java.lang.NullPointerException: Parameter specified as non-null is null: method com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.secrets.SecretConfigKtx.getPlaintextString-gIAlu-s, parameter $this$getPlaintextString
    at com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.secrets.SecretConfigKtx.getPlaintextString-gIAlu-s(SecretConfigKtx.kt)
    at com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.opcua.client.connection.OpcUaConnectionExtensionPoint.create(OpcUaConnectionExtensionPoint.kt:62)
    at com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.opcua.client.connection.OpcUaConnectionExtensionPoint.create(OpcUaConnectionExtensionPoint.kt:22)
    at com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.opc.OpcConnectionExtensionPoint.create(OpcConnectionExtensionPoint.java:58)
    at com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.opc.OpcConnectionManagerImpl.createAndStartConnection(OpcConnectionManagerImpl.java:403)
    at com.inductiveautomation.ignition.gateway.opc.OpcConnectionManagerImpl$OpcConnectionResourceHandler.onResourceAdded(OpcConnectionManagerImpl.java:471)
    ...

It looks like the OPC‑UA connection creation path is still trying to dereference a Secret/Password value internally, even though the UI is explicitly set to use None.

What I have already tried

  • Deleted all OPC‑UA connections.

  • Recreated a brand‑new connection with:

    • Anonymous auth

    • Password = None

    • Security = None/None

    • Failover disabled

  • Verified that:

    • No passwords are configured

    • No referenced Secrets exist

    • Server certificates are trusted

  • Restarted gateway

  • Restarted the OPC‑UA module

  • Confirmed that the Logix device is connected successfully under Device Connections

Still getting the same NPE every time the connection tries to start.

Expected Behavior

A simple OPC‑UA loopback connection should work with Anonymous + Security=None/None, without touching Secrets at all.

Questions

  1. Is this a known issue with the new Secrets API in 8.3.4 OPC‑UA Client?

  2. Is there a workaround (other than downgrading to 8.1.x)?

  3. Should I file a bug ticket with Support, or is this a configuration/UI issue?

Any help or insight is greatly appreciated!

2

Look at the advanced settings on the connection and you'll probably find that the KeyStore Alias Password setting has not been configured.