[imp] Strange authentication/cookie problem

[Chuck Hagenbuch]

Quoting James Noyes <jnoyes-horde@retrogeeks.com>:

> Warning: unserialize() failed at offset 0 of 35 bytes in
> /root/of/horde/install/lib/Auth.php on line 227

These are silenced in CVS.

> The ultimate question I NEED an answer to is:  How do I fix this?

I'm not sure if it made it into RELENG_ yet, but it will before the next 
release. You can add an @ before the unserialize() call if you want to do it 
yourself.

> More specific questions I would LIKE answers to include:
>   Can someone explain to me why is this happening?

Unfortunately, no. It doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever, and isn't always 
reproducible.

>   Is this a result of a misconfiguration on my part?

I don't think so.

>   I know it's unlikely, but is this possibly a bug in Horde/IMP?

Possibly. I'm starting to suspect php's serializer, since I'm currently having 
some other issues with it, but that could be off base, too.

>   Can someone explain the purpose and operation of the <whatever>_key
> cookies?

They are for encrypting sensitive information that shouldn't be plaintext in 
the session.

>   Why does setting an additional <whatever>_key cookie generate an error?
>   How do I (or can I?) prevent that second cookie being set?

If someone can shed light on this, I'd appreciate it; I don't have time to dig 
too deeply into it now, especially since silencing the messages seems to make 
it work.

-chuck

--
Charles Hagenbuch, <chuck@horde.org>
"What was and what may be, lie, like children whose faces we cannot see, in the
arms of silence. All we ever have is here, now." - Ursula K. Le Guin