Source code of scripts in my cgi-bin directory: Can it be seen?

*songdog* · 03-10-2002, 02:37 AM

I have a sub-directory called SmartScripts in my cgi-bin directory.
I plan to have some Perl scripts in cgi-bin/SmartScripts for processing forms on my web site. Will a clever Internet user be able to view the source code of these scripts?

Of course, security best practices dictate that I don't have passwords or any other highly sensitive data in the scripts. I just want to know if someone can see what's in the scripts.

If so, is there a way I can modify permissions to prevent this, while still allowing the scripts to be executed from my HTML forms?

Thanks for any light you can shed, Scott

**Arthur** · 03-10-2002, 03:13 AM

The short answer: no. You will not be able to view the source.

Files in your cgi-bin are considered special by Apache. It'll always try to execute the file and will only show the output of the script/program. Just like you're not able to view the source of PHP scripts, for example.