Topic: Apache error log - can an image file be a referer?

[radioattic]

I am getting many errors in my log that appear to indicate that an image file is a referer.

[Mon Aug 18 23:11:37 2014] [error] [client 50.33.52.160] File does not exist: /home/radioat/public_html/old/sold_radios_2013/graphics, referer: http://radioattic.com/old/sold_radios_2013/Hayes_Philco_Hippo_(1948).jpg

I am running Apache ver 2.2.27 on a Linux server with PHP ver 5.3.28 and mySQL ver 5.5.37

There is no code in either /home/radioat/public_html/old/sold_radios_2013/graphics or /home/radioat/public_html/old/sold_radios_2013, only images.

The only page that calls the image is in the public_html directory.

My questions are: how can an image be a referer? Exactly what is the error log telling me?

Thank you.

Steve Adams
Springville, Alabama, USA

[AdrianK_IT]

I've no idea if an image can be a referer, but there might be something inconsistent in your configuration.

If I visit http://radioattic.com/old/sold_radios_2013 I get a directory listing of .jpgs. If I click on one, I get the image; the back button takes me back to the listing. (Does that make the image the referer? If it does, it's not referring to 'graphics'.)

If I visit http://radioattic.com/old/sold_radios_2013/graphics I get an error page 'Ooops! How ...'.

Something to do with your DirectoryIndex setting? Or <Directory> permissions? Or Alias settings?

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Edit: Actually, I get different results from the first link, depending on whether I click the link, or type it into my browser address bar. The former takes me to a sub-directory listing (parent, more, small, thumbs); in either, clicking on the parent link takes me to a blank page ie a script is running which echoes nothing. Very odd!

[CamaroSS]

AFAIK, refere can be anything, because it's in a header sent by the User Agent, thus can be forged.
Did 50.33.52.160 behave like a visitor or a bot?

[James Blond]