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Email Attachment Bug

moriwenne 13 May, 2009
I think I found a bug! Here's the data i can give you see if it gives you any clue.

So I was testing a form with file uploads but wasn't getting an email. I started choosing different files and sizes and so I started to get the emails.
I got it down to a zip file I had, so whenever I added that the email would not be sent.
Note though, the file always get's sent to the upload directory.
Note also that debug always says the file has been uploaded successfully and the email sent.

So I then changed the extension to something else .jpg, .rar, etc and the Email is sent.
I then took a jpg and zipped it and sent that and no mail. Changed the extension, out goes the email.

So I reckoned something wrong with the zip extension. But then I noticed I had sent a different .zip file before that I had in the same directory and it had worked so I tried sending that file and...it worked. I then went inside the file and put in some extra jpgs and it sent. So then I put one of the zips that weren't sending and IT didn't send!!

It would b a simple problem with the extension if I wasn't able to send this one zip file but whenever i put the other zip files in it, no go. Do you have any ideas to what could be causing this? Remember, only the email isn't sent, the file is still uploaded.

This is one crazy situation and i think it's causing me problems with people thinking they have registered without a hitch but in reality no mail is received.

Tell me what you think.
Cheers
Mori
GreyHead 13 May, 2009
Hi Mori,

A bit bizarre, Max will know better than I do but I don't remember anything in the ChronoForms code that even looks at attachment file types let alone block some.

Bob
moriwenne 13 May, 2009
Hey Bob, nice to see you.

I did some tons of testing trying to figure out what could be happening, testing sizes, different extensions inside the zip, etc. I send this zip file and it works, I put another zip inside it and it doesn't go.

BUT

Some further testing, more explicitly, adding hotmail to my list of mails showed that it's gmail that is not accepting that particular 'file montage' for hotmail is getting the email.

So zip file A with jpg inside all is well
zip file A with a zip file B with a jpg, no go.
zip file B, no go.

Crazy weird and this might be preventing me from getting many emails that get lost because there's some weird situation going on.
Must dig further.

Mori
GreyHead 13 May, 2009
Hi Mori,

Just Googled a little and Gmail certainly checks zip files and blocks any with executables inside them. I guess that it may also view zipped zips and zipped jpgs as being potentially suspect??

Bob
moriwenne 13 May, 2009
It must be that what google is doing but for no good reason if you ask me. I emailed them to find out what is up. In any case, this is not a chronos problem cause that puppy is 'el perfecto' ^^

Mori
nml375 13 May, 2009
Just to add in,
This is pretty common with many email operators, and resides in their anti-virus softwares. Very common, is that if any of the files in the archive is password protected, the email is dropped instantly as a possible hit. It is also not uncommon to filter virus scans based on file extensions, as it is assumed any user aware enough to change the extension into something executable would also be aware of the dangers (and should scan them themselves).

Further, it is not uncommon that virus and other malware prey on the (IMHO most stupid ever) setting in windows to hide extensions on known filetypes, by pretending and appearing to be a trivial image (showing image icon and/or picture preview), yet having .exe or .msi extension making windows execute the file upon "open".

I also recall some jpeg-libraries having a memory overflow exploit, making a simple jpeg-file possible virus delivery systems.

All in all, I'd suggest you have your jpeg scanned and tested by various AV softwares. It could be a simple false hit, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

/Fredrik
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