The website and forum will be intermittently unavailable while we're making some security updates.
File uploads to the download hangar are also disabled until further notice.

Intermittent security issues

Technical support for the MAIW website and forums.
Post Reply
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »

Hi,
I'm having weird intermittent issues where I write a post or a PM and go to submit. I am then told I don't have rights to do whatever it is I'm trying to do.
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »

Just did it here and I had to hit the back button and retry because the first time I was told I didn't have the right to submit a post

Any thoughts?

Gavin
User avatar
Greg
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 4043
Joined: 12 Aug 2006, 19:56
Version: MSFS
Location: Belgium

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Greg »

Does it only happen with a new post or PM, or also with replies?

Could you take a screenshot of the error message for me next time it occurs?
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »

Will do Greg - having reported the issue it will probably never happen again :-)
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »

Having said that, it just happened when I tried to reply to a thread.

the error message wasn't very descriptive

Gavin
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »


This time with error message
User avatar
Firebird
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 12112
Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 21:04
Version: FS9
Location: EGLL

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Firebird »

Isn't that similar to what I had, Greg?
Steve
_______________________________________________________
Image
Quid Si Coelum Ruat
_______________________________________________________
User avatar
Greg
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 4043
Joined: 12 Aug 2006, 19:56
Version: MSFS
Location: Belgium

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Greg »

Sorry Gavin I can't find anything wrong with your permissions. I'll have a look at our database to see if I can find anything there. In the meantime please collect all occurrences with a short description of what you were trying to do where and send it to me.

Also if anyone else has the same issue, please let me know.
Firebird wrote: 28 Apr 2018, 19:00 Isn't that similar to what I had, Greg?
I don't recall... :?
User avatar
Firebird
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 12112
Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 21:04
Version: FS9
Location: EGLL

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Firebird »

Where I was trying to post somethings and we thought that it construed some part of the post as a database command so it refused to allow the post. My post was using quotes.
Steve
_______________________________________________________
Image
Quid Si Coelum Ruat
_______________________________________________________
User avatar
Greg
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 4043
Joined: 12 Aug 2006, 19:56
Version: MSFS
Location: Belgium

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Greg »

Ah no. Yours was a compilation error when phpBB tried to write your text to the database but found what it thought was an SQL statement in your text.

This looks like a permissions or session problem which is in a totally different part of phpBB.
User avatar
Firebird
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 12112
Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 21:04
Version: FS9
Location: EGLL

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Firebird »

Fair enough, I shall be quiet then.
Steve
_______________________________________________________
Image
Quid Si Coelum Ruat
_______________________________________________________
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »

Greg,
It has happened about a dozen times so far.
Try to read a post - get "you are not authorized to read posts". This has happened in multiple forums
Try to reply to a post - get "you are not authorized to reply to posts" - also in multiple forums
Try to read a PM - get " you are not authorized to read PMs"
Try to reply to a pm - get "you are not authorized to reply to PMs"
Try to create a PM - get " you are not authorized to create PMs"
Click on the top level forum - get "you are not authorized to view forums"

99 times out of a hundred I hit the back button and then it works when I try again. The hundredth time I have to try another action (IE go into a different forum, or view a different PM to get access) and then it is fine.

The weird thing is that it appears totally random.
Gavin
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »

IE I just posted that with no issue
User avatar
John Young
MAIW Developer
MAIW Developer
Posts: 4206
Joined: 12 Jul 2008, 15:15

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by John Young »

Gavin, have you got 100 PM's stored? If I get into that situation, I get the same message, but it doesn't tell me that. As soon as I delete to say, the recent most 50, I can post again.

John
User avatar
Greg
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 4043
Joined: 12 Aug 2006, 19:56
Version: MSFS
Location: Belgium

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Greg »

Have you tried the forums on another device, like another computer, smartphone or tablet?

If the forums work okay on other devices, try deleting your browser cookies on the bad one.
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »

Thanks Greg, John,

Just checked my PMs and I was at 101 (I hadn't cleared out my sent folder). Cleaned out a bunch of old messages so lets see if that helps.

It is happening on 2 PCs but I am using Chrome on both of them. i wll try a different browser and see if that helps.

Gavin
User avatar
gavinc
MAIW Conversion Team
MAIW Conversion Team
Posts: 556
Joined: 25 Aug 2013, 09:26
Version: FSX

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by gavinc »

Update - it appears that clearing out my PMs has resolved the issue. I haven't had it happen once in the last 2 days.

Gavin
User avatar
Greg
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 4043
Joined: 12 Aug 2006, 19:56
Version: MSFS
Location: Belgium

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Greg »

Normally, the oldest message is removed when your mailbox is full and you send/receive a new PM. I guess you have changed that setting?

I still don't understand why that would deny you from opening certain forums, but it's another one for the phpBB bug tracker...
User avatar
Firebird
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 12112
Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 21:04
Version: FS9
Location: EGLL

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Firebird »

OK this is weird, and I don't know if this is connected but ...

Firstly, my inbox is always full as I never tidy it up and old stuff just drops off the end.

However, last week I sent Martin a pm and a large note via pm for him to pass onto Sergey.
Anyway, the long and the short of it was that he never received it, I found out today, when I send him a pm this a.m.

He replied and so I replied back and then resent a version of this masterpiece. When I checked one of those two pms are in my outbox and in the sent box but there is no trace of the other.

I have sent a couple of others since last week end and they went OK.

So it seems we have an issue here that may or may not be linked with the mail problem that you announced yesterday, Greg.

This is different to my original sending issue and Gavin's in the respect that there were no errors at all. It just seemed to accept them both no problem but directed them to a blackhole.
Steve
_______________________________________________________
Image
Quid Si Coelum Ruat
_______________________________________________________
User avatar
Firebird
MAIW Admin
MAIW Admin
Posts: 12112
Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 21:04
Version: FS9
Location: EGLL

Re: Intermittent security issues

Post by Firebird »

I think I need to summarize here. The new post disappeared and the reply went OK. I hope this helps.
Steve
_______________________________________________________
Image
Quid Si Coelum Ruat
_______________________________________________________
Post Reply