os-linux/4014: User directories not accessible (gets 403 error messages)

[Darren Larson <dk...@byu.edu>]

>Number:         4014
>Category:       os-linux
>Synopsis:       User directories not accessible (gets 403 error messages)
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       serious
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    apache
>State:          open
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   apache
>Arrival-Date:   Sat Mar  6 22:30:01 PST 1999
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     dkl@byu.edu
>Organization:
apache
>Release:        1.3.3 and 1.3.4
>Environment:
RedHat 5.2 and Linux Mandrake 5.3
Linux kernels 2.2.1 and 2.2.2
gcc 2.7.2.3
>Description:
I am running a few flavors of the Linux distribution (Linux Mandrake, RedHat,
TurboLinux) and find that Apache 1.3.3 and 1.3.4 will not allow a browser
(in this case, Netscape Communicator 4.5 for i386 Windows98)to view the content
of the user's (~username) www directory or index.html file (or any other files in 
the directory).

This problem happens on default configured Apache running on RedHat 5.2 or 
LinuxMandrake 5.3 but it doesn't happen on TurboLinux 1.2.  Each system runs
the 2.2.2 Linux kernel however.

>How-To-Repeat:
Set up a RedHat 5.2 Linux box with Apache 1.3.3 or 1.3.4 (it may be in other
versions of 1.3 as well, but I haven't checked them) and then try to access
a user's public_html directory from the web.
>Fix:
Maybe make a configure/compile option for Apache that will address the
different libraries (?) used by RedHat-based Linuses?

I honestly don't have much of a helpful suggestion other than the possibility
that the problem may be specific to RedHat Linux.
>Audit-Trail:
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