Skip to page contentSkip to chat
ServiceNow support
    • Community
      Ask questions, give advice, and connect with fellow ServiceNow professionals.
      Developer
      Build, test, and deploy applications
      Documentation
      Find detailed information about ServiceNow products, apps, features, and releases.
      Impact
      Accelerate ROI and amplify your expertise.
      Learning
      Build skills with instructor-led and online training.
      Partner
      Grow your business with promotions, news, and marketing tools
      ServiceNow
      Learn about ServiceNow products & solutions.
      Store
      Download certified apps and integrations that complement ServiceNow.
      Support
      Manage your instances, access self-help, and get technical support.
Topics/categories on kb_home show as having "no items" - Known Error
  • >
  • Knowledge Base
  • >
  • Known Error (Knowledge Base)
  • >
  • Topics/categories on kb_home show as having "no items"
KB0596178

Topics/categories on kb_home show as having "no items"


676 Views Last updated : Apr 7, 2024 public Copy Permalink
KB Summary by Now Assist

Description

Topics/categories on kb_home show as having "no items" if the user does not have access to the five most recently published articles that match that widget's criteria, even if the user has access to other articles in that category.

Each widget on kb_home.do shows the five most recently published articles that match the criteria of the widget. For example, a widget might show articles in the "Microsoft" category of the "IT" topic. If the current user does not have ACL access to one or more of those five most recently published articles, yet they do actually have access to others that match the criteria, those articles to which they do have access do not take the place of the ones they don't have access to in the widget.

This can lead to situations where, for example, if the user does not have access to all five of the most recently published articles, the widget misreports the topic/category as having "no items," yet there are actually items in that topic/category to which the user does have access.

Steps to Reproduce

Prerequisites:

  • Helsinki Patch 1 instance
  • Demo data installed

Steps:

  1. Open an affected instance.
  2. Navigate to /kb_home.do?jvar_view_topic=Desktop&sysparm_refer=kb_home.do.
  3. Note the names of the five articles that are displayed.
  4. Navigate to /kb_knowledge_list.do?sysparm_query=topic%3DDesktop.
    Note that there are many articles (about 12 of them) with the topic "Desktop."
  5. In the list of articles, find the articles that appeared on kb_home from step 2 and make a note of the article numbers.
  6. Navigate to /sys_security_acl_list.do?sysparm_query=name%3Dkb_knowledge%5Eoperation%3Dread.
  7. Set any ACL that appears in the list to Active = false.
  8. Create a new ACL with the following settings:
    Type: record
    Operation: read
    Name: Knowledge [kb_knowledge] -- None --
    Admin overrides: false
    Condition:
    - Number - is not - [first_article_number] AND
    - Number - is not - [second_article_number] AND
    - Number - is not - [third_article_number] AND
    - Number - is not - [fourth_article_number] AND
    - Number - is not - [fifth_article_number]
  9. Navigate back to /kb_home.do?jvar_view_topic=Desktop&sysparm_refer=kb_home.do.
    Note that the Desktop > No category widget only displays the text No items.

Expected behavior:

  • The five articles that were showing on kb_home should now be blocked by ACL
  • As there are more articles in this topic, they should take the place of the articles that are now being blocked within the widget
  • For example, if 12 articles have the topic "Desktop" and five are being blocked by ACL, then there are still seven articles that can be displayed

Workaround

There is no known workaround for this issue. If you are able to upgrade, review the Fixed In field below to determine the versions that have a permanent fix. You can also subscribe to this known error article (click Subscribe button at the top of the article) to receive notifications when more information is available about this issue.


Related Problem: PRB689562

The world works with ServiceNow.

Sign in for more! There's more content available only to authenticated users Sign in for more!
Did this KB article help you?
Did this KB article help you?

How would you rate your Now Support digital experience?

*

Very unsatisfied

Unsatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very satisfied

Very unsatisfied

Unsatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very satisfied

What can we improve? Please select all that apply.

What are we doing well? Please select all that apply.

Tell us more

*

Do you expect a response from this feedback?

  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy statement
  • GDPR
  • Cookie policy
  • © 2025 ServiceNow. All rights reserved.