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CGI

Date: 2002/01/25 19:49

Q:
Hello!

I am very, very new to CGI and PERL. I am trying to install the nomodomo
script from bignosebird.com. Whenever I think I have done it correctly, I
try to test it. Instead of it working, a page comes up that says:

Execution is not permitted for the following reason:

Script is world writable.

I've chmod the script to 777, as I was told to do...is this the problem?

Thanks for your help!!!
A:
Actually I argued about some of the support personnel of BNB before on
this issue. They say yyou have to set the security 777. What does it mean?

The three octal numbers stand for the rights of the

user owning the file
group the user belongs to
other unix users.

Each octet is three bits: bit0 execute, bit1 write, bit2 read right. Thus
7 means: read, write, execute for all and any. The web server is
configured so that it does not allow a script to execute, which is set so
"open" and insecure. You have to start the other way around.

First try to set the script with the security value 500. This means, the
owner of the file has read and execute right. Try to execute the CGI
script calling the browser. If it work, be happy and use this value as
security setting for all the scripts you place on that server.

Second set the script with the security 550. This means that the user and
the group it belongs to has read and execute permission.

Finally try 555.

Read and execute permission is needed because the web Perl interpreter
needs to read the script in order to execute it, thus execute only is not
enough.

Regards,
Peter

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