Tell me more ×
WordPress Answers is a question and answer site for WordPress developers and administrators. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 0 down vote favorite

WordPress seems to be filtering Pastebin URLs.

When attempting to include pastebin links into either new or pre-existing posts, the following error is returned:

“Not Found”

It seems most — if not all — pastebin URLs kill my posts. If a pastebin URL is included in a new post, it is deleted altogether and even the draft is sent into the abyss. If a pastebin URL is included into a pre-existing post, new changes are deleted and the post reverts to the previous draft.

I contacted my hosting company and they claimed to have no idea how or why this is occurring. Their only suggestion was that it must be WordPress.

So this has me wondering; what is causing this? I can’t think of any plug-ins that would be responsible, and beyond that, I can’t think of much else without seeming paranoid.

Whatever the cause, I thought it strange enough to document.

If it is a restriction, it is supremely stupid.

If only a bug, I’d sure like to know more about it.

share|improve this question

migrated from security.stackexchange.com Aug 30 '12 at 8:31

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

Short answer: No, WordPress doesn't care about pastebin in particular and doesn't do any sort of filtering like you're describing.

Long answer: Your host is doing it.

Step 1: Ask your host if they have mod_security enabled and what their filtering rules are.

Step 2: Try pasting the same link via a comment or something. If it's being blocked on any POST attempt (which is what it looks like to me), then it's due to your server doing the filtering, not WordPress.

Also, next time, instead of posting a three and a half minute long video with useless music instead of a voiceover describing the problem, perhaps just saying something like "anytime I post a link to pastebin that looks like a working link, my site shows me a 404 error on /wp-admin/post.php" would be a bit more useful and more likely to receive answers. It's kinda spammy behavior to post videos like this.

Just a tip for the future.

share|improve this answer
The video was at the bottom and optional after the description, so I will not confess to spam. The video is informative of the process and the volume is also optional. But your point is taken, despite that I already mentioned contacting my host and being told that it was not them. I thought maybe it was some sort of protection against sql injection -- but I am not knowledgeable enough to know. You might have also noticed that you encountered no advertisement anywhere and won't, ever. I am sure there are friendlier alternatives to StackExchange, so I'll go and try to find them. So long. – EIA Aug 30 '12 at 17:55
Sounds more like they're trying to protect you against an XSS attack than a SQLi. There was an attack not to long ago that used pastie.org. So I guess it's possible that a similar attack could be done using pastebin. You need to check your error/server logs. – MickeyRoush Aug 31 '12 at 6:54
@EIA, for future information, your comment comes off as a bit defensive and ungrateful. Otto has been careful to help you out with debugging, point out a likely cause, and give you constructive feedback. Please remember there is a person on the other end, and they have volunteered their time to help you, out of the goodness of their heart (they're not getting paid and not under any obligation to respond; they're just trying to help you). Any answer you get is a gift from a generous soul and should be celebrated. – D.W. Aug 31 '12 at 14:40
up vote 0 down vote

Step 1. Disable all plugins. See if you can still reproduce this problem. If you can, proceed to step 2. Comment: Unlike you, I find it entirely possible that a plugin could be causing this behavior. Debugging is a process of elimination. Start by ruling out some simple stuff.

Step 2. Try Wordpress support.

share|improve this answer
How do I ask for migration? Just repost there? – EIA Aug 30 '12 at 8:31

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.