errors referencing a deleted mod

[brynn]

Hi Friends,
We have a very small forum, version 2.1.4, with 6 mods installed, which I can list, if you need it. (see the forum address below, in the error data)

I installed a mod, httpBL, briefly, a few months ago. I don't remember why, but in short time decided not to use it. So I uninstalled and deleted it. But we keep getting errors in the Error Log that reference it.

Can you all tell me, without getting too technical, what this error means, and why it's referencing the mod which is no longer installed? Do we need to worry about it?

At the moment, I'm not sure specifically what I did that triggered it. But I did tweak some permissions around the time of the errors.

https://www.inkscapefriends.com/smf/index.php?action=admin;area=permissions;sa=modify;group=0
/home/deb97310n2/domains/inkscapefriends.com/public_html/smf/Sources/ManagePermissions.php (Line 1682)
Backtrace information

Type of error: Undefined
Error message Select
2: Undefined array key "permissionname_httpBL_free_pass"

Thanks for any info you can share 

[Doug Heffernan]

It looks like the aforementioned custom mod hasn't been uninstalled properly.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Either that or it left a hook.

[brynn]

I uninstalled it using the Package Manager.

I don't know exactly what a hook is. Is it something I can find and remove?

Or is it safe to just leave it alone?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Look for 'permissionname_httpBL_free_pass' in settings table.

[brynn]

I'm not sure what you mean with "settings table".

Edit
Using the error message as a clue, I looked in Sources, and there are 2 php files with httpBL in the name. They look pretty small though.

[Kindred]

It's almost certainly a hook

[brynn]

Sure, that's fine. I have no reason to doubt you all. I just noticed the 2 files in Sources and thought I would mention it.

Where is the settings table?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Not on my computer, here's the short answer.  You can look in the database settings table using phpmyadmin in your host control panel.  Search the table for 'httpBL' and delete what you find.

Back up the database first.

[live627]

It's almost certainly a hook

With that filename?

I installed a mod, httpBL, briefly, a few months ago. I don't remember why, but in short time decided not to use it. So I uninstalled and deleted it. But we keep getting errors in the Error Log that reference it.

Can you all tell me, without getting too technical, what this error means, and why it's referencing the mod which is no longer installed? Do we need to worry about it?

It may have missed a file edit.

[shawnb61]

httpBL isn't compatible with 2.1.x, which might explain why bad things happened...

I don't think this is a hook issue.  The line of code is deep in the Manage Permissions logic.  It's trying to lookup a name, a $txt field, for a permission:
https://github.com/SimpleMachines/SMF/blob/19a9de63d8b895c6f931137bba09c3d5a79caf52/Sources/ManagePermissions.php#L1681

It looks to me like some files were deleted properly when the mod was removed, eg, $txt language files.  But the permissions were left in the db.  Now it's trying to lookup names/descriptions for those mod-specific permissions and failing because the language file is gone.

You should probably ask for help in the mod support thread.  I believe @Diego Andrés supports that.  He may be able to help you figure out what permissions & settings to remove & how to do so.

[brynn]

Hhhmmmm.... Is there another way to fix this?

I'm not asking because I doubt your knowledge or skill. I'm perfectly ready and willing to do this. In fact, I think I've done something like this in the past. (several years past)

The problem is logistics. My co-admin has the server, but she does not like to even look at the control panel. So giving her instructions will not be very easy. She gave me access to the forum files through Filezilla, so I can fix things if necessary. But she did not give me databases. I would guess she has never looked at them.

If there is no other way to fix this, maybe she could give me access to the server via temporary password. I'm not sure. But anyway, that's why I'm asking (not because I want to discuss technical details).

Thanks for your patience. 

Edit
Oops, I missed a couple of messages. Let me catch up.....

You should probably ask for help in the mod support thread.  I believe @Diego Andrés supports that.  He may be able to help you figure out what permissions & settings to remove & how to do so.

Ok, will do. Thank you very much.

Msg #1398 -- https://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?msg=4189755

[Diego Andrés]

It looks to me like some files were deleted properly when the mod was removed, eg, $txt language files.  But the permissions were left in the db.  Now it's trying to lookup names/descriptions for those mod-specific permissions and failing because the language file is gone.

I could be wrong but afaik SMF doesn't check or store language strings in the db for that information it pulls the names of the strings from the permissions array.

[shawnb61]

I could be wrong but afaik SMF doesn't check or store language strings in the db for that information it pulls the names of the strings from the permissions array.

No, you're correct there.  But what I think is happening is that the permissions are still in the DB, so it's attempting to pull the description for those permissions from $txt, but those entries aren't there anymore.  The mod was deinstalled so the language files were removed.

If I'm correct, he'll keep getting those errors until the permissions are removed as well.  If so, he'll need help figuring out which permissions to remove.

It's also possible the changes to ManagePermissions.php need to be removed by hand?

[Diego Andrés]

It's also possible the changes to ManagePermissions.php need to be removed by hand?

Yes I provided those instructions in the support topic. The MOD is still as the original author left it, so it didn't claim to be compatible with 2.1.x, so probably a botched uninstall/install.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

If httpBL was the last mod installed, restoring the package backup should fix the problem.