Details
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Bug
-
Status: Open
-
Major
-
Resolution: Unresolved
-
3.2.10, 3.3.1
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None
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None
Description
The problem is that mod_python doesn't check whether LimitRequestBody would be triggered before actually calling the mod_python handler. Thus, that the post data exceeds the limit is only found when req.read() of mod_python request object is called and a Python exception is generated because of an unknown read error.
Now, because a read error of some sort is generated, mod_python handlers would normally see it as an unexpected exception and it would propagate back and result in a 500 Internal Server Error page rather than a 413 error back to the client. Thus a ErrorDocument handler for 413 errors would never be triggered.
FWIW, in mod_wsgi the following is done before the WSGI application is even triggered.
/*
- Setup policy to apply if request contains a body. Note
- that it is not possible to have chunked transfer encoding
- for the request content. This is actually a limitation in
- WSGI specification as it has no way of indicating that
- there is content of unknown length, nor a way to deal
- with trailers appearing after any chunked content.
*/
status = ap_setup_client_block(r, REQUEST_CHUNKED_ERROR);
if (status != OK)
return status;
/*
- Check to see if request content is too large and end
- request here. We do this as otherwise it will not be done
- until first time input data is read in application.
- Problem is that underlying HTTP output filter will
- also generate a 413 response and the error raised from
- the application will be appended to that. The call to
- ap_discard_request_body() is hopefully enough to trigger
- sending of the 413 response by the HTTP filter.
*/
limit = ap_get_limit_req_body(r);
if (limit && limit < r->remaining)
{ ap_discard_request_body(r); return OK; }Do note though that the size check can only be done after ap_setup_client_block() is called. At the moment this is done first time req.read() is called. If that is to remain there, then req.read() would need to do the equivalent of:
raise apache.SERVER_RETURN, apache.HTTP_REQUEST_ENTITY_TOO_LARGE
Problem is that by doing this in req.read() an application may still catch it and treat it like an unexpected exception and raise a 500 error response instead.
It is for this reason that mod_wsgi does the check even before the application is called. If a custom error page is required then ErrorDocument directive would be used to redirect to a handler.
If an application itself wants to check POST content size, it simply shouldn't be using LimitRequestBody directive.