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Admin Tools

#12084 JLIB_UPDATER_ERROR_COLLECTION_FOPEN

Posted in ‘Admin Tools for Joomla! 4 & 5’
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Environment Information

Joomla! version
n/a
PHP version
n/a
Admin Tools version
n/a

Latest post by nicholas on Wednesday, 25 April 2012 03:29 CDT

Wednesday, 25 April 2012 02:31 CDT

user61600
Mandatory information about my setup:

Have I read the related troubleshooter articles above before posting (which pages?)? I didn't find them
Have I searched the tickets before posting? Yes
Have I read the documentation before posting (which pages?)? No
Joomla! version: (unknown)
PHP version: (unknown)
MySQL version: (unknown)
Host: (optional, but it helps us help you)
Admin Tools version: Latest

Description of my issue:
I have installed the latest version of admin tools on two of my websites. Installation went ok. But from the moment I have inserted the Download ID , I get the following message on both websites: JLIB_UPDATER_ERROR_COLLECTION_FOPEN: The message is displayed in the administration part of the website (thus not on the front end luckily enough). There is a comment that allow_url_fopen should be activated. I have made some readings and it seems that this parameter could have adverse consequence on the security of the website.

Is there a way to get rid of this message?


Regards,


Thierry

Wednesday, 25 April 2012 03:29 CDT

nicholas
Hello Thierry,

This is an issue with Joomla!, not with my software. This error comes from Joomla!'s own extensions updater. Unfortunately, I can't help with it.

Regarding the security of URL fopen() wrappers, the misconception that this is insecure dates back in the pre-5.2.0 days of PHP. Back then (5 years ago) enabling the URL fopen() wrappers would implicitly allow PHP to include executable code stored on a different server. Since PHP 5.2.0 there is a PHP option called allow_url_include, By default it is set to Off, not allowing this insecure condition to occur. Therefore, it is absolutely safe to have something like: 
allow_url_fopen = On
allow_url_include = Off
in your php.ini. This will enable the URL fopen() wrappers but disable the URL include/require wrapper. For more information please consult http://www.php.net/manual/en/filesystem.configuration.php#ini.allow-url-include

The only reasons that the Joomla! wiki states URL fopen() wrappers are insecure are:
a. The last time someone took a look at that page was back in 2009 when the majority of servers were running on PHP 4, 5.0 and 5.1
b. Joomla! 1.5 can still run on PHP 4, 5.0 and 5.1 where that warning is still valid
IMHO, it should be stressed out very clearly that this security warning is not valid on servers running on PHP 5.2 and later. With the currently supported PHP versions by the PHP project being 5.3 and 5.4, this security warning does not apply to any currently supported PHP version. If your server is using PHP 5.1 or earlier, upgrade to PHP 5.3 a.s.a.p.

Nicholas K. Dionysopoulos

Lead Developer and Director

🇬🇷Greek: native 🇬🇧English: excellent 🇫🇷French: basic • 🕐 My time zone is Europe / Athens
Please keep in mind my timezone and cultural differences when reading my replies. Thank you!

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