Apache time zone logging bug

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

My Apache 2.0.40 server on Red Hat 9 is writing logs like this:

161.74.11.24 - - [10/Feb/2004:05:29:46 051800] "GET /pics/lj HTTP/1.1" 200 8122 "-" "Mozilla/3.01 (compatible;)"

Notice the weird time zone. This is a bug that was fixed in 1996, seven years ago. Why is it showing up now? Is anyone else seeing this?

Update: This bug has already been fixed (again). Now to find RH compatible packages of 2.0.48.

Update 2: I back-ported the fix to RH’s packages. Here is how you patch your copy:

Step 1: Install the httpd SRPM. I used apt-get source httpd.

Step 2: Create /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES/httpd-2.0.40-timezone.patch:

--- httpd-2.0.40/modules/loggers/mod_log_config.c-original      2004-02-11 12:23:05.000000000  0530
    httpd-2.0.40/modules/loggers/mod_log_config.c       2004-02-11 12:24:48.000000000  0530
@@ -533,7  533,7 @@
                          "[d/%s/%d:d:d:d %c%.2d%.2d]",
                          xt.tm_mday, apr_month_snames[xt.tm_mon],
                          xt.tm_year 1900, xt.tm_hour, xt.tm_min, xt.tm_sec,
-                         sign, timz / (60*60), timz % (60*60));
                          sign, timz / (60*60), (timz % (60*60))/60);
             cached_time->t_validate = t_seconds;
             memcpy(&(request_time_cache[i]), cached_time,
                    sizeof(*cached_time));

Step 3: Patch /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/httpd.spec:

--- httpd.spec-original 2004-02-11 12:32:03.000000000  0530
    httpd.spec  2004-02-11 12:43:13.000000000  0530
@@ -10,7  10,7 @@
 Summary: Apache HTTP Server
 Name: httpd
 Version: 2.0.40
-Release: 21.9
 Release: 21.9jck
 URL: http://httpd.apache.org/
 Source0: http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/httpd-%{version}.tar.gz
 Source1: index.html
@@ -142,6  142,7 @@
 %patch31 -p1 -b .include
 %patch32 -p1 -b .graceful
 %patch33 -p1 -b .rand
 %patch34 -p1 -b .timezone
 
 %patch40 -p0 -b .cnfdir
 %patch41 -p0 -b .redhat

Step 4: Rebuild Apache with rpmbuild -ba /usr/src/redhat/SPECS/httpd.spec and upgrade.

fatmuttony — Feb 11, 2004 4:17:01 AM — # ↩

I was listening to that exact same song just now!!!

Any trishuls on your shoulder? Bhaiyya?
- Kiran Jonnalagadda — Feb 11, 2004 5:06:09 AM — # ↩
  
  Re:
  No trishuls, but a couple of scratches on my left shoulder. You have them too?
  - fatmuttony — Feb 11, 2004 6:55:28 AM — # ↩
    
    Re:
    All I have are emabarrassing stretch marks, tertimony of my accelerated growth.
ashwinne — Feb 11, 2004 11:58:47 AM — # ↩

Reason?
Any idea why they did the same mistake again? Due to the major rewrite they did for Apache2?
- Kiran Jonnalagadda — Feb 11, 2004 1:52:00 PM — # ↩
  
  Re: Reason?
  I guess they're just not used to dealing with fractional time zones, because there are so few of them. The only places I can remember are India, Nepal and one zone in Australia.
  
  Zope did it wrong too for several years.

Kiran Jonnalagadda’s Blog