Security is a major focus for Simple File List. Because by its very nature this plugin allows access to the file system, great care is taken to ensure hackers cannot easily abuse your website and web server.
A major threat to anyone allowing adding or editing files on the disk from a publicly accessible website is something called Directory Traversal. When this attempt is detected, Error 99 is thrown and all further script execution is stopped. This is not a PHP error, rather a custom error programmed into the plugin.
Directory Traversal is bad because hackers can read, upload or edit files in unexpected and possibly dangerous places on your disk, so denying this ability is critical.
So what happens when you see an Error 99 but you are the website manager and not the bad guy? Check the path…
If You See Error 99 Front and Back
- Go to the Simple File List Settings and look at the Fie List Directory entry. Remove any dots and double-slashes, or slashes at the beginning of the entry.
- Change the File List Directory to another location, such as the home folder.
Change wp-content/uploads/simple-file-list/ to simple-file-list/ - Go to the plugin’s Tools tab and review the log entries at the bottom of the page. Look for issues with folder paths or any other issues noted.
- On this same tab, reset both the file list and list settings. Be careful if resetting the file list, as this will destroy all associated file descriptions, uploader info and the “date added” will change to today.
If you Only See the Error on the Front-Side
- Check the shortcode’s “showfolder” attribute value and remove any dots, double slashes, and slashes at the beginning or end of the value.
/Folder-A./Folder-B/ should be Folder-A/Folder-B - Enter a different folder to test if the issue is with the folder itself.
If you are still seeing this error, please open a support ticket.
