Sonarqube ui not working after upgrading 9.9.6 lta to 2025.4

SonarQube Server / Community Build
1

We recently attempted to upgrade our SonarQube instance and encountered issues that we need your assistance with. Below are the details:

Environment Details:

Current Stable Version: v9.9.6

Upgrade Versions Attempted: v2025.4, v2025.1, and v10.5

Issue Summary:

Upgrade process completed successfully on the server for all attempted versions.

However, UI was not accessible post-upgrade.

Observed “Connection refused” error on port 9000 (default SonarQube UI port).

Logs reviewed - The version of SonarQube you are trying to upgrade from is too old. Please upgrade to the 2025.1 Long-Term Active version first.

Downgraded to v2025.1 and then attempted v10.5, but the same issue persisted.

Finally, reverted to v9.9.6 using backup, and the application is now working fine.

Troubleshooting Performed:

Verified SonarQube logs for errors -The version of SonarQube you are trying to upgrade from is too old. Please upgrade to the 2025.1 Long-Term Active version first.

Checked system resources and configurations (all normal).

Confirmed IP and hostname remained unchanged during upgrade.

Firewall team validation pending (to rule out any network-level restrictions).

Questions for Support:

Are there any known compatibility issues with SonarQube versions 2025.x or 10.x on environments currently running v9.9.6?
And also need to verify whether 9.9.6 is LTA version and can we able to update toupgrade to 2025.4 lta version

Does the upgrade require additional configuration changes (e.g., JVM settings, database schema updates, or new plugins)?

Could the “Connection refused” on port 9000 be related to changes in the application’s internal networking or binding behavior in newer versions?

Are there any specific prerequisites or OS-level dependencies for versions 2025.x or 10.x that we should validate before retrying the upgrade?

Do you recommend performing an intermediate upgrade path (e.g., from 9.9.6 → 10.x → 2025.x) instead of a direct jump?

Please share any official upgrade guide or checklist for moving from v9.9.6 to the latest version.

We would appreciate your guidance on resolving this issue and ensuring a successful upgrade in the next attempt. Please let us know if you need logs or configuration files for further analysis.

Thanks,
Keerthana

2

Hi Keerthana,

The message is actually pretty clear:

I know 2025.4 is listed as an LTA. Unfortunately, you can’t update from 9.9.6 directly to 2025.4. Your update path is:

9.9.6 → 2025.1.4 → [any later version]

 
HTH,
Ann

3

We encountered an issue during our upgrade process. In our test SonarQube environment (PostgreSQL 11.7), the upgrade from version 10.7 to 2025.4 worked successfully. However, in our production SonarQube environment (also PostgreSQL 11.7), the upgrade from version 9.9.6 to 2025.4 failed. The service did not connect to port 9000, and the UI was inaccessible.

Could you please provide clarity on the upgrade path? Specifically:

  • Are there any additional prerequisites we need to check before upgrading from 9.9.6 to 2025.4?

  • should we follow stepwise upgrade path (e.g., upgrading to an intermediate version first) to avoid compatibility issues?

4

Hi,

Yes. As previously stated:

The “any later version” can be 2025.4, 2025.5, or the imminent 2025.6.

 
HTH,
Ann

5

Thanks for the prompt response.