CGI scripts on Apache2 gives 403 forbidden when the CGI are in a linked folder

Question

I am running Ubuntu 16.04 as a virtual machine. I have Apache2 2.4.18 installed.

I have a folder with cgi scripts that I want to use. To do that I placed a symlink to that folder in /usr/lib/cgi-bin.

When I call the script from firefox localhost/cgi-bin/linkName/script.cgi I get 403 forbidden error.

When I copy the script.cgi to /usr/lib/cgi-bin and call it with localhost/cgi-bin/script.cgi, it runs but gives a software error since it lacks the surrounding files and folders.

I have chmod 777 both the link and the folder it links to but I still get the error.

What else can I do other than coping all the files and folders into /usr/lib/cgi-bin?

pa4080 · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-01T13:54:08.177

0

It is because the symbolic link points to a directory, which is located outside of directories listed in your "virtualhost".conf files. So you need to write down necessary directives in your /etc/apache2/apache2.conf (or /etc/apache2/sites-available/*.conf or /etc/apache2/conf-available/*.conf) file to access /usr/lib/cgi-bin. Something like:

Alias /cgi-bin/linkName /usr/lib/cgi-bin

<Directory /usr/lib/cgi-bin>
        Options +ExecCGI FollowSymLinks
        DirectoryIndex disabled
        AllowOverride None
        Require all granted
        # etc..   
</Directory>

And maybe (but I'm not sure that it's necessary): sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /usr/lib/cgi-bin.

If you make Alias /cgi-bin/linkName /usr/lib/cgi-bin you do not need to make a symbolic link.

edited Dec 01 '16 at 13:54

answered Dec 01 '16 at 08:28

pa4080

30,711

I have added what you suggested (without the etc...) to /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf. Now I see the content of the script but not what it should display – Gadi Armony Dec 01 '16 at 09:00
@GadiArmony, I have edit my post. Require all granted was dropped. Also you need to systemctl restart apache2.service. – pa4080 Dec 01 '16 at 09:02
So is it works? – pa4080 Dec 01 '16 at 09:03
I have all 4 lines and it still show the text of the script – Gadi Armony Dec 01 '16 at 09:04
@GadiArmony, please remove None from Options directive. – pa4080 Dec 01 '16 at 09:06
It still looks the same – Gadi Armony Dec 01 '16 at 09:08
Ok, I have found the true way. My answer is a half of it. You need to read this: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/howto/cgi.html Try to ad Options +ExecCGI. – pa4080 Dec 01 '16 at 09:14
1

Thank you, That almost did it. The cgi scripts might be written in a way that is not compatible with the new apache2. I ended up copying the whole folder into /usr/lib/cgi-bin – Gadi Armony Dec 01 '16 at 13:49

CGI scripts on Apache2 gives 403 forbidden when the CGI are in a linked folder

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