Bug #41596
closed
Content of $TYPO3_CONF_VARS['SYS']['setDBinit'] is completely overruled / ignored
100%
Description
The Install tool of 4.7 still offers an option to enter a value for ['SYS']['setDBinit'] and the value entered here is written into localconf.php without any restriction or modification.
But that value is then completely ignored by the core and always internally overwritten with 'SET NAMES utf8;'.
While the intention behind this is clear (TYPO3 forces UTF-8 since 4.7) there is a severe flaw in this logic:
setDBinit is by far not only needed to set the character set of the DB communication.
setDBinit is used for ANY initial configuration of the MySQL DB and is very much needed beyond any "SET NAMES" clauses!
Example¶
One of the most important examples of usages of setDBinit would be to switch MySQL 5.1 from strict mode to compatibility mode using this setting:
$TYPO3_CONF_VARS['SYS']['setDBinit'] = "SET SESSION sql_mode='MYSQL40';";
Strict mode is recommended by MySQL 5.1 documentation so this should be the standard for any current MySQL installation. TYPO3 should not expect the whole webserver to be configured in a deprecated MySQL 4.0 compatibility mode. Using setDBinit is the ONLY way to configure MySQL in compatibility mode for TYPO3 while keeping strict mode as the standard for all other installations on the same server.
Without this possibility there is no way to get TYPO3 to run on a modern MySQL setup as the backend login will always fail in strict mode.
Background¶
In /t3lib/config_default.php the following block checks the ['SYS']['setDBinit'] config var:
if (isset($TYPO3_CONF_VARS['SYS']['setDBinit']) &&
$TYPO3_CONF_VARS['SYS']['setDBinit'] !== '-1' &&
preg_match('/SET NAMES utf8/', $TYPO3_CONF_VARS['SYS']['setDBinit']) === FALSE &&
TYPO3_enterInstallScript !== '1'
) {
// Only accept "SET NAMES utf8" for this setting, otherwise die with a nice error
die('This TYPO3 installation is using the $TYPO3_CONF_VARS[\'SYS\'][\'setDBinit\'] property with the following value:' . chr(10) .
$TYPO3_CONF_VARS['SYS']['setDBinit'] . chr(10) . chr(10) .
'It looks like UTF-8 is not used for this connection.' . chr(10) . chr(10) .
'Everything other than UTF-8 is unsupported since TYPO3 4.7.' . chr(10) .
'The DB, its connection and TYPO3 should be migrated to UTF-8 therefore. Please check your setup.');
} else {
$TYPO3_CONF_VARS['SYS']['setDBinit'] = 'SET NAMES utf8;';
}
As you can see, there are only two possible outcomes:
1. An error is thrown
2. The value of ['SYS']['setDBinit'] is overwritten with 'SET NAMES utf8;'
Solution¶
The code block above must be modified to check for "SET NAMES" clauses. Any such clauses can be rejected altogether (read: throw an error) as 'SET NAMES utf8;' is set by default and is the only option allowed.
After this test has passed successfully, the standard 'SET NAMES utf8;' clause must be added (NOT replace!!!) to any existing setDBinit content. This will allow to use commands like the above "SET SESSION sql_mode" while still forcing the UTF-8 setting of modern TYPO3 versions.
I will post a corresponding patch asap.
Files
Updated by 
Updated by 
Updated by 
Updated by 
Updated by 
Updated by