PHP $_FILES array corrupt, when empty contains invalid characters

Question

I have a lot of forms contained within a CMS I created. They have all been working fine up until today. The issue I am having is related to files being uploaded and the $_FILES array containing odd characters.

Contained within a form I have:

<tr>
    <td>Related PDF File:</td>
    <td><input type="file" name="pdfFile" size=50" value="<? pv($frm["pdfFile"]) ?>"></td>
</tr>

On submit it returns back to my script and I validate if the field has a file submitted:

if($_FILES['pdfFile']['name'] != '' && $_FILES['pdfFile']['error'] == 0) {
    $up_file->save($CFG->dirroot . "/docs/services/", "pdfFile", 1);
    $frm['pdfFile'] = $up_file->getFilename('pdfFile');
}

The issue is if I display my $_FILES array when the field has nothing submitted I get the following:

Array
(
    [pdfFile] => Array
        (
            [name] => ò…
            [type] => 
            [tmp_name] => 
            [error] => 4
            [size] => 0
        )
)

The [name] has some funky special characters within. Has anyone ever seen this? It is only happening on one of my servers. And if the input field actually has a submitted file, there is no issue.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

What's in $frm["pdfFile"]? By the way you can't set it like that. Otherwise you could upload files from a user's computer without the user knowing it. — CodeCaster
– CodeCaster, Commented Nov 17, 2011 at 18:34
Why are you trying to set the value of the input to whatever that is? Browsers usually ignore this since it would be a security hazard to allow pages to specify which file is to be uploaded. — JAL
– JAL, Commented Nov 17, 2011 at 18:38
I've seen that funky special character ò (as you name it), it's just a character. What's your problem with it? — hakre
– hakre, Commented Nov 17, 2011 at 18:40
$frm is array of values used throughout the form loaded from a database. This form is contained within a CMS with account privileges. You require access just to view this form. — cosmoba
– cosmoba, Commented Nov 17, 2011 at 18:41
I have seen this character many times, used in various languages. My question is why is it in my $_FILES array. I have removed the setting of the input as it is not required. — cosmoba
– cosmoba, Commented Nov 17, 2011 at 18:43

cosmoba · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-18 02:38:19Z

2

Figured out what the issue was. PHP was recently updated by our hosting provider to 5.3.8. There is a bug in this release which removes the first character in an uploaded file. You can see the bug here: $_FILES 'name' missing first character after upload.

For some reason magic_quotes_gpc was set to on after the update. Turned it off, and all is good now.

Thanks for your comments.

answered Nov 18, 2011 at 2:38

cosmoba

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Comments

Peter · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-17 18:44:53Z

0

[error] => 4

Using documentation:

UPLOAD_ERR_NO_FILE

    Value: 4; No file was uploaded.

Make sure u have enctype="multipart/form-data" attribute in your <form> tag.

answered Nov 17, 2011 at 18:44

Peter

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1 Comment

cosmoba Over a year ago

Yes I have the correct enctype, and there was no file uploaded as the field was left blank. If I submit a file to be uploaded I have no issues.

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