Firefox 63.0 not creating logins.json, not showing saved logins
Fresh install of Ubuntu 18.04 on a new SSD. I did not import anything into Firefox. I am currently using Firefox 63.0.3.
I clicked Save in the save login dialog box on a couple of sites. I then go to about:preferences -> Privacy & Security and click on Saved Logins and the box is empty.
The sites I saved logins from still auto log me in. I verified this by exiting Firefox, and re-starting about 6 times.
My research came up with perhaps a plugin or addon causing this issue, especially the Flash Player plugin. Since I didn't import anything into this new installation, there were none that could cause this.
First, I tried manually installing Flash player. No change. Problem still exists. Saved Logins is still empty.
Then, I saved another new password. Shutdown and re-started Firefox. I can automatically login to this new site. No change. Problem still exists. Saved Logins is still empty.
Then I ran across this page: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile and learned that logins.json and key4.db were where saved logins were.
Hmmm, I have no logins.json file, Why not? Apparently Firefox 63.0 didn't create one, but then, how could I auto logon to sites? This should not be possible
$ cd ~/.mozilla/firefox/5ve7p6yq.default/ $ ls addons.json cookies.sqlite-wal lock serviceworker.txt addonStartup.json.lz4 crashes minidumps sessionCheckpoints.json AlternateServices.txt datareporting permissions.sqlite sessionstore-backups blocklist.xml extensions pkcs11.txt shield-preference-experiments.json bookmarkbackups extensions.json places.sqlite SiteSecurityServiceState.txt broadcast-listeners.json favicons.sqlite places.sqlite-wal storage cert8.db favicons.sqlite-wal pluginreg.dat storage.sqlite cert9.db features prefs.js times.json cert_override.txt formhistory.sqlite revocations.txt TRRBlacklist.txt compatibility.ini gmp saved-telemetry-pings weave containers.json gmp-gmpopenh264 search.json.mozlz4 webappsstore.sqlite content-prefs.sqlite handlers.json secmod.db webappsstore.sqlite-wal cookies.sqlite key4.db SecurityPreloadState.txt xulstore.json
My resolution was to copy logins.json and key4.db from a working profile to this new profile.
All Replies (6)
icybits said
My resolution was to copy logins.json and key4.db from a working profile to this new profile.
Did that transfer the saved logins from the other profile to the current one? Is Firefox able to save additional logins and they show up in the file? (Since the file has a .json extension, if you drag-and-drop it into a tab like this one -- not on an area for uploading files, please -- then Firefox should show the file's contents in a structured view.)
By the way, unless you were deleting all your cookies between visits to the sites, it's possible you were staying logged in due to cookies the sites set (e.g., if you clicked a box in their form to stay logged in) rather than an invisible password manager.
@jscher2000, yes, the copy of the 2 files did transfer the saved logins from the other profile and yes I can save new logins and they do show up in the Saved Logins popup from within the Privacy & Security preferences pane.
Yes, I did also figure out that the couple of sites I tested were keeping me signed in, though they may not be too secure because I should have gotten new session IDs when I quit Firefox and re-started it.
Or does Firefox use saved session IDs when it re-opens the windows from the last session?
The directory list shows both cert9.db and cert8.db and pkcs11.txt and secmode.db, so it includes older DBM versions and the newer SQL versions.
Did you copy the older files from another profile folder?
Try to remove (rename) pkcs11.txt and secmode.db in the profile folder with Firefox closed. If this works then copy a matching logins.json and key4.db to the profile folder to see if that brings up the usernames and passwords stored in logins.json.
icybits said
Or does Firefox use saved session IDs when it re-opens the windows from the last session?
Sites send Firefox session IDs in session cookies. I've always thought that in a tab restored from a previous session, the session cookies used in that page will be restored, too ("state" information is stored along with the URL of the page in the session history file). However, I haven't tested recently.
@cor-el, I only copied logins.json and key4.db and since this 2 file copy solved my immediate problem, I took it no further.
What shows in the directory listing is what a fresh install of Ubuntu 18.04 and a fresh install of Firefox 63.0 placed there. ...And that Firefox 63.0 didn't create a logins.json file when (apparently) it should have.
@jscher2000, it appears that from my recent experience that session IDs are restored when Firefox is set to restore the previous session on startup.