Customer Issue

When attempting to update a user's Universal ID (Federated Identifier) in Studio, administrators may encounter a "Could not update user" error.

This typically occurs when the desired Universal ID is already associated with a "ghost" account—a record that exists in the back-end database but is not visible or searchable within the Studio user interface.

Environment

• Creator Studio | User Management

• SSO-enabled environments

• Affected Platforms: Web (Studio)

Issue Details

This issue is caused by the creation of a "ghost user" record. A ghost user is created when an individual attempts to log into Studio via Single Sign-On (SSO) before they have been officially provisioned in the platform.

In these cases:

1. The system creates a hidden back-end record (an "advocate" and an "identity") to track the SSO attempt.

2. Because the user was not pre-provisioned, no "program membership" is created, making the user invisible in Studio.

3. The Universal ID provided during that SSO attempt becomes "locked" to this invisible ghost record.

4. When an administrator later tries to assign that same Universal ID to a valid, provisioned user account, the system blocks the update because the ID is already in use by the ghost record.

Resolution

To resolve this conflict and successfully update the user's Universal ID, follow these steps to "repair" the account by linking the hidden Studio SSO record to a valid membership:

1. Identify and Forget the Current User: In Studio, locate the existing user account that you were trying to update. Use the Forget User action on this account. Note: This will remove the current provisioned record to allow for a clean re-provisioning via SSO.

2. User Sign-In via Experience: Ask the affected user to sign into the Member Experience (web or mobile app) using SSO.

   • This action triggers "Just-In-Time" (JIT) provisioning.

   • This provisioning method still works, even if there is a hidden "ghost user" on the database.

3. Reassign Permissions: Once the user has signed in, they will appear in Studio as a new user.

   • Locate the new user record in Studio.

   • Reassign the necessary Studio roles and permissions.

   • Important: Use Bulk Actions to update the role/permissions if updating the user profile individually continues to show an error.

4. Sync Profile Data: Run a user sync to ensure all other attributes (name, department, etc.) are correctly populated.

Please check the current status of this issue on the Known Issues Tracker. (Issue ID: CSUP-8972)