Domain login fails with "Incorrect username or password" in VMware Identity Manager due to invalid Base DN

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

Domain users are unable to log into the Aria Automation platform or integrated components like vRealize Operations (vROps).

• Users receive an "Incorrect username or password" error in the web UI.
• Directory synchronization tasks for Active Directory (AD) appear successful.
• Authentication fails even when valid credentials are provided.
• In the /opt/vmware/horizon/workspace/logs/connector.log files, the following error is observed:

INFO : com.vmware.horizon.directory.ldap.LdapConnector - Query Completed for SearchDN - SearchFilter - (&(objectCategory=person)(sAMAccountName=####))
INFO : com.vmware.horizon.directory.ldap.LdapDirectoryService - User #### not found under base DN... - FAILURE

Environment

VMware Identity Manager (vIDM) 3.3.x

Aria Automation (formerly vRealize Automation) 8.18.x

Cause

The issue occurs due to a misconfigured Base DN in the Active Directory/LDAP connector settings. If the Base DN points to a specific, restricted Organizational Unit (OU) that does not contain the target users (e.g., users reside in OU=Contractors but the Base DN is set to OU=Operational), the LDAP query fails to locate the user object.

Resolution

Modify the Active Directory configuration within VMware Identity Manager to ensure the Base DN covers the directory path where users are located.

1. Log into the VMware Identity Manager administration console.
2. Navigate to Identity & Access Management > Directories.
3. Click on the affected Active Directory.
4. Under the Sync Settings or Mapped Attributes (depending on version), locate the Base DN configuration.
5. Adjust the Base DN to a higher-level OU or the correct parent container that includes all required user objects.
6. Save the configuration.
7. Navigate to the Sync Now option and perform a manual synchronization.
8. Verify that domain users can now log into the platform successfully.

 

Additional Information

If the issue persists, verify that the Global Catalog settings and Search Attributes (UPN vs sAMAccountName) are correctly configured as per [KB 436784]