HTTP 403 UNIX umask permission | Contribute

When you try to create an initial connection string in Contribute, you receive the following error message: 

 Additionally, this error message can translate into an HTTP 403 error in the web server logs.

Ask the Contribute administrator to configure the value of the umask in the user's login profile and FTP configuration file.

The following example shows illustrates this configuation by editing a file called ftpaccess used by WU-FTPD FTP server. If you are using a different FTP server application, contact the vendor for instructions.

To configure the ftpaccess file, add the following line if it is not listed. Or, remove the comment to make active:

defumask 022 all

In the line above, "all" means apply this permission to all Unix system groups.  "022" means that the owner has read, write, and execute permission while the group and others have read and execute permission only.

By implementing defumask on the FTP server, its value takes precedence over the umask value set in the user's profile. If multiple users are sharing the Contribute folder on the web server, change the umask to 002. Therefore, users within the same Unix system group can overwrite the files and directories. This step is important because Contribute specific folders, such as _notes, _baks and _mm, are modified frequently.

Note: Adobe does not provide support for third-party software configuration. Use this TechNote as an example only.

Additional information

This issue happens when the Unix or FTP permissions setting of the FTP server are improperly configured to work with Contribute. The Unix system uses a file named .profile to set the user's permissions and environment. The permissions of a file and directory are set by using the umask. A system administrator can use this setting in a script to set the default permissions assigned to each file a user creates.

In Unix, umask 0077 means that the owner has read, write, and execute permissions. However, the group and others (the rest of the world) do not have permission to read, write, or execute. The web server requires others to have read permission to serve web pages.

To test the connection, Contribute creates a temporary file on the web server that starts with the letters TMP and ends with an htm extension. (For example, the file is named TMP9hlf46kay9.htm). Contribute writes the file and then reads it, which lets Contribute know that the URL and the FTP information match. It's necessary that Contribute make a successful HTTP connection before it can create the connection. Once it's determined that the connection string can be made, Contribute deletes that temp file from the web server.



Note: Contribute doesn't change the permissions of a newly created file or existing files on the web server. Therefore, it is recommended that the FTP permissions are configured on the web server before using Contribute.