start_session( ) problem

[Anon]

Whenever I try to use the start_session( ) function as seen here:

<?
session_start();

session_destroy();
?>

I am recieving errors such as this:

Warning: open(/var/state/php/sess_5520e9932dbed1e03c20511f9e5cc976, O_RDWR) failed: Permission denied (13) in /home/httpd/74fullerton/lab/dev/page3.php on line 2

I have various other .php pages running smoothly on my server, but anytime I try to start_session( ) I run into that. Is there any way to rid myself of this problem?

I have consulted my server support team and they said that it was likely an error in the code, but as seen above, there is little room for error.

[Anon]

Fire your server "support" team.

That error indicates that the directory supplied to session.save_path in php.ini (i.e. /var/state/php) is not accessable by the user Apache is running as (usually nobody or www or httpd).

If this is a shared server you'd be best served by setting the directory to store your sessions to an alternate directory in your path using session_save_path() function in each script that utilizes sessions. This will help prevent other users on the server from accessing your session files AND bypass this problem you are experiencing.