I have a fresh Debian installation (if that's not an oxymoron), with Apache 2.2.x which I am migrating to after using Ubuntu Saucy and Apache 2.4.x, and I'm pulling my hair out about why http://dev.JonathansCorner.com/index.cgi<http://dev.jonathanscorner.com/index.cgi> (used to serve the homepage) is giving a 403. An old, static http://dev.JonathansCorner.com/index.html<http://dev.jonathanscorner.com/index.html> is working just fine, as well as other static pages within the site.
What I had remembered to do was add mod_cgi: root@ps306627:/etc/apache2/mods-enabled# ls *cgi* cgi.load cgid.conf cgid.load proxy_scgi.load And after a bit of searching, I confirmed that I needed ExecCGI and AddHandler directives: <Directory /home/cjsh/> Options +ExecCGI Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews AddHandler cgi-script .cgi AllowOverride None Order allow,deny allow from all </Directory> I thought it might be that I hadn't explicitly said an index.cgi could serve the DirectoryIndex, but I have: DirectoryIndex index.cgi index.html And furthermore, another CGI script at http://dev.JonathansCorner.com/sidebar_index.cgi<http://dev.jonathanscorner.com/sidebar_index.cgi> is behaving exactly like the homepage and gives a 403. I've also restarted the server every time I made a chance I wanted to test. I checked directory permissions; the static content wouldn't be served if the Apache processes couldn't access the static content, and I double-checked and have confirmed that when I run the index.cgi from a shell as nobody it gives the output I want without a Linux permissions error. What else can I give to let someone explain why I'm not plugging in all the things I need to plug in to get index.cgi to work the way it does executed from a shell as nobody? Here is a concatenation of my apache2.conf and 000-default.conf (I deleted 000-default; the configuration files are imported from an Apache 2). Still a little puzzled at what's going wrong: # # Based upon the NCSA server configuration files originally by Rob McCool. # # This is the main Apache server configuration file. It contains the # configuration directives that give the server its instructions. # See http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/ for detailed information about # the directives. # # Do NOT simply read the instructions in here without understanding # what they do. They're here only as hints or reminders. If you are unsure # consult the online docs. You have been warned. # # The configuration directives are grouped into three basic sections: # 1. Directives that control the operation of the Apache server process as a # whole (the 'global environment'). # 2. Directives that define the parameters of the 'main' or 'default' server, # which responds to requests that aren't handled by a virtual host. # These directives also provide default values for the settings # of all virtual hosts. # 3. Settings for virtual hosts, which allow Web requests to be sent to # different IP addresses or hostnames and have them handled by the # same Apache server process. # # Configuration and logfile names: If the filenames you specify for many # of the server's control files begin with "/" (or "drive:/" for Win32), the # server will use that explicit path. If the filenames do *not* begin # with "/", the value of ServerRoot is prepended -- so "foo.log" # with ServerRoot set to "/etc/apache2" will be interpreted by the # server as "/etc/apache2/foo.log". # ### Section 1: Global Environment # # The directives in this section affect the overall operation of Apache, # such as the number of concurrent requests it can handle or where it # can find its configuration files. # # # ServerRoot: The top of the directory tree under which the server's # configuration, error, and log files are kept. # # NOTE! If you intend to place this on an NFS (or otherwise network) # mounted filesystem then please read the LockFile documentation (available # at <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mpm_common.html#lockfile>); # you will save yourself a lot of trouble. # # Do NOT add a slash at the end of the directory path. # #ServerRoot "/etc/apache2" # # The accept serialization lock file MUST BE STORED ON A LOCAL DISK. # LockFile ${APACHE_LOCK_DIR}/accept.lock # # PidFile: The file in which the server should record its process # identification number when it starts. # This needs to be set in /etc/apache2/envvars # PidFile ${APACHE_PID_FILE} # # Timeout: The number of seconds before receives and sends time out. # Timeout 300 # # KeepAlive: Whether or not to allow persistent connections (more than # one request per connection). Set to "Off" to deactivate. # KeepAlive On # # MaxKeepAliveRequests: The maximum number of requests to allow # during a persistent connection. Set to 0 to allow an unlimited amount. # We recommend you leave this number high, for maximum performance. # MaxKeepAliveRequests 100 # # KeepAliveTimeout: Number of seconds to wait for the next request from the # same client on the same connection. # KeepAliveTimeout 15 ## ## Server-Pool Size Regulation (MPM specific) ## # prefork MPM # StartServers: number of server processes to start # MinSpareServers: minimum number of server processes which are kept spare # MaxSpareServers: maximum number of server processes which are kept spare # MaxClients: maximum number of server processes allowed to start # MaxRequestsPerChild: maximum number of requests a server process serves <IfModule mpm_prefork_module> StartServers 5 MinSpareServers 5 MaxSpareServers 10 MaxClients 150 MaxRequestsPerChild 0 </IfModule> # worker MPM # StartServers: initial number of server processes to start # MaxClients: maximum number of simultaneous client connections # MinSpareThreads: minimum number of worker threads which are kept spare # MaxSpareThreads: maximum number of worker threads which are kept spare # ThreadLimit: ThreadsPerChild can be changed to this maximum value during a # graceful restart. ThreadLimit can only be changed by stopping # and starting Apache. # ThreadsPerChild: constant number of worker threads in each server process # MaxRequestsPerChild: maximum number of requests a server process serves <IfModule mpm_worker_module> StartServers 2 MinSpareThreads 25 MaxSpareThreads 75 ThreadLimit 64 ThreadsPerChild 25 MaxClients 150 MaxRequestsPerChild 0 </IfModule> # event MPM # StartServers: initial number of server processes to start # MaxClients: maximum number of simultaneous client connections # MinSpareThreads: minimum number of worker threads which are kept spare # MaxSpareThreads: maximum number of worker threads which are kept spare # ThreadsPerChild: constant number of worker threads in each server process # MaxRequestsPerChild: maximum number of requests a server process serves <IfModule mpm_event_module> StartServers 2 MaxClients 150 MinSpareThreads 25 MaxSpareThreads 75 ThreadLimit 64 ThreadsPerChild 25 MaxRequestsPerChild 0 </IfModule> # These need to be set in /etc/apache2/envvars User ${APACHE_RUN_USER} Group ${APACHE_RUN_GROUP} # # AccessFileName: The name of the file to look for in each directory # for additional configuration directives. See also the AllowOverride # directive. # AccessFileName .htaccess # # The following lines prevent .htaccess and .htpasswd files from being # viewed by Web clients. # <Files ~ "^\.ht"> Order allow,deny Deny from all Satisfy all </Files> # # DefaultType is the default MIME type the server will use for a document # if it cannot otherwise determine one, such as from filename extensions. # If your server contains mostly text or HTML documents, "text/plain" is # a good value. If most of your content is binary, such as applications # or images, you may want to use "application/octet-stream" instead to # keep browsers from trying to display binary files as though they are # text. # DefaultType text/plain # # HostnameLookups: Log the names of clients or just their IP addresses # e.g., www.apache.org (on) or 204.62.129.132 (off). # The default is off because it'd be overall better for the net if people # had to knowingly turn this feature on, since enabling it means that # each client request will result in AT LEAST one lookup request to the # nameserver. # HostnameLookups Off # ErrorLog: The location of the error log file. # If you do not specify an ErrorLog directive within a <VirtualHost> # container, error messages relating to that virtual host will be # logged here. If you *do* define an error logfile for a <VirtualHost> # container, that host's errors will be logged there and not here. # ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log # # LogLevel: Control the number of messages logged to the error_log. # Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit, # alert, emerg. # LogLevel warn # Include module configuration: Include mods-enabled/*.load Include mods-enabled/*.conf # Include all the user configurations: Include httpd.conf # Include ports listing Include ports.conf # Include ports listing Include ports.conf # # The following directives define some format nicknames for use with # a CustomLog directive (see below). # If you are behind a reverse proxy, you might want to change %h into %{X-Forwarded-For}i # LogFormat "%v:%p %h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %O \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\"" vhost_combined LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %O \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\"" combined LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %O" common LogFormat "%{Referer}i -> %U" referer LogFormat "%{User-agent}i" agent # Include of directories ignores editors' and dpkg's backup files, # see README.Debian for details. # Include generic snippets of statements Include conf.d/ # Include the virtual host configurations: Include sites-enabled/ AddHandler cgi-script .cgi # End apache2.conf; begin sites-enabled/000-default.conf: #<VirtualHost *:80> #ServerName media.pragmatometer.com #ServerAlias media.ccachicago.pragmatometer.com #DocumentRoot /home/cjsh/ccachicago/media #<Directory "/home/cjsh/ccachicago/media/"> #Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks #AllowOverride None ##Order deny,allow ##Deny from all ##Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128 #</Directory> #ServerAdmin cjshayw...@pobox.com #</VirtualHost> <VirtualHost *:80> ServerAdmin cjshayw...@pobox.com ServerName default.jonathanscorner.com DocumentRoot /home/cjsh/mirror RewriteEngine On RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://jonathanscorner.com$1 [R=301,L] </VirtualHost> <VirtualHost *:80> ServerAdmin cjshayw...@pobox.com ServerName jonathanscorner.com ServerAlias dev.jonathanscorner.com DocumentRoot /home/cjsh/mirror RewriteEngine On RewriteRule ^[SANITIZED]$ / [R=301,L] RewriteRule ^[SANITIZED]$ / [R=301,L] <Directory /> Options FollowSymLinks AllowOverride None </Directory> <Directory /home/cjsh/> Options +ExecCGI Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews AddHandler cgi-script .cgi AllowOverride None Order allow,deny allow from all </Directory> DirectoryIndex index.cgi index.html ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/ <Directory "/usr/lib/cgi-bin"> AllowOverride None Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch Order allow,deny Allow from all </Directory> ErrorDocument 404 /missing.html ErrorDocument 500 /servererror.html ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log # Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit, # alert, emerg. LogLevel warn CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined Alias /doc/ "/usr/share/doc/" <Directory "/usr/share/doc/"> Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks AllowOverride None Order deny,allow Deny from all Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128 </Directory> </VirtualHost> <VirtualHost *:80> ServerAdmin cjshayw...@pobox.com ServerName www.jonathanscorner.com ServerAlias jonathonscorner.com www.jonathonscorner.com johnathanscorner.com www.johnathanscorner.com johnathonscorner.com www.johnathonscorner.com jonathanscorner.biz www.jonathanscorner.com jonathanscorner.org www.jonathanscorner.org jonathanscorner.info www.jonathanscorner.info jonathanscorner.net www.jonathanscorner.net DocumentRoot /home/cjsh/mirror RewriteEngine On RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://jonathanscorner.com$1 [R=301,L] </VirtualHost> -- [image: Christos Jonathan Seth Hayward] <http://jonathanscorner.com/> Jonathan Hayward, Web Developer and Unix/Linux Guru Amazon / Kindle <http://amazon.com/author/cjshayward> • *Author <http://cjshayward.com/> *• Author Bio <http://jonathanscorner.com/author/> • *The Classic Orthodox Bible* <http://classicorthodoxbible.com> • *Email <christos.jonathan.hayw...@gmail.com> *• Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/christos.jonathan.hayward> • Fan Page <http://fan.cjshayward.com/> • Google Plus<http://google.com/+ChristosJonathanSethHayward> • LinkedIn <http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanhayward> • Pragmatometer<https://pragmatometer.com> • *Professional <http://jonathanhayward.com/> *• Twitter<http://twitter.com/JonathansCorner> • *Web <http://jonathanscorner.com/> *• What's New?<http://jonathanscorner.com/> If you read just *one* of my books, you'll want *The Best of Jonathan's Corner <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1478219912/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1478219912&linkCode=as2&tag=jonascorn-20>* .