[RESOLVED] Moving Files with PHP ??

Mad_T

Hi
I'm trying to move a file using PHP..

I tried:

echo copy($_file,"/downloads/box/newwav.wav");

But that failed due to permissions.. I can't write into that folder as the web server user.

If I telnet in I can use:

cp filename.wav /downloads/box/newwav.wav

and that works.

So I tried:

$output = shell_exec("cp /filename.wav /downloads/box/newwav.wav");	
echo $output;

This seems to complete without error.. but no file appears.

Can anyone help ??

Thanks

sneakyimp

Sometimes servers are configured by your ISP so that all files in your folder belong to you AND the web server also runs as though it were you too. To find out what user the webserver is, you can run this:

passthru('whoami');

That second approach you use is going to suffer from the same problem as copy because it is still the web server using that is running. Try using [man]exec[/man] instead and be sure to check not just $output but also $result.

The best way to solve this is to change the permissions on the target directory so that the web server has permission to write files there. Failing that, you might look into using exec('sudo -u username cp filename1 filename2'); or something like that.

Mad_T

Thanks

passthru('whoami');

returns : web

How do I use exec and check $output & $result ?
Thanks

sneakyimp

[man]exec[/man]. RTFM.

exec('whoami', $output, $result);
echo "output\n";
print_r($output);
echo "result\n";
print_r($result);

Mad_T

error_reporting(E_ALL);
exec('su root cp /filename.wav /downloads/box/newwav.wav', $output, $result);
echo "output\n";
print_r($output);
echo "result\n";
print_r($result);

This outputs:

output Array ( ) result 1

sneakyimp

As I recall, anything other than zero represents failure in the $result value. Try running something that you know will work...like 'whoami'. It should have a $result of zero. What's surprising to me is that $output would be empty. Is it?

Mad_T

The output is empty..

If I run:

php /Web/file.php from a telnet session it works !
I've also tried toing a similar thing with

ln - f -s /file1.wav /file2.wav

That also failes.. but works at the command line.

If I add:

su root in -f -s /file1.wav /file2.wav

su: cannot run /file1.wav: Permission denied

If it's easier to do ln, then I can work with that !!

sneakyimp

The bottom line is that when you access a PHP file from the web server, the user is 'web' and 'web' does not have permission to copy those files like you want to. This is for your protection -- otherwise, a web server on a shared host might be totally abused by one malicious user. In order to write those directories with your web server, you are going to have to change the permissions. If you have root access, it's a piece of cake.

bradgrafelman

First of all, where is the file located before you move it? Is it really in the root of the drive (hint: I doubt it, unless you deliberately put it there for some strange reason).

It sounds like you need to get your paths straight before you can get anything accomplished. For example, in the code in your first post, where is $_file ever defined?

As for the rest, remember the saying "If exec() is the answer, then you must be asking the wrong question." In other words: don't use exec(). :p

Mad_T

Thanks.. I've decided to re think this for now !!