[SOLVED] using restricted link, some users see CB login and some users are sent to front

I have a registered-only link I'm sending to users in an email. When some of them click on it, they get the CB login prompt and then are correctly taken to the restricted page. Other users however are instead taken to the front page and upon logging in, they see "you are not authorized to view this page".

It seems that if a user has visited the site lately, even if not logged in, they get the CB login prompt, but someone who has not been on the page lately, (I'm assuming cookie is expired) they are taken to the front page.

Is this a CB issue? I've seen it a lot and never understood it until now.

Any help is appreciated on how to fix this! Thanks

If they were on the site and their session expired then they came back and tried to navigate then their next page load will be as logged out. This is all normal behavior and is not CB specific, but is how Joomla and sessions in general work.

I seem to have fixed my problem by creating a Joomla login page menu item. I've always avoided that to prevent conflicts with CB, but doing that no longer redirects people with no cookie to the front page when they click a restricted link. I read online that it will cause a loop in Joomla so you go to front page if you don't do that. see it here: github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/issues/15730