php-lsapi compiles .user.ini support in but leaves it DISABLED by default.
sapi/litespeed/lsapi_main.c has `static int parse_user_ini = 0;` and only
sets it when the process environment contains LSPHP_ENABLE_USER_INI=on.
WHP never set it, so lsphp never entered the user-ini chain at all.
The failure was silent: phpinfo() still reports user_ini.filename=.user.ini
and user_ini.cache_ttl=300, because those are core INI defaults that are
simply inert under this SAPI. Every other WHP PHP tier (cac, cac-fpm,
cac-litespeed) honors .user.ini, so shared_ols was quietly inconsistent.
Impact found in production (whp01/whp02/sdbees/TrueSelfCA, 29 sites):
- Per-site memory_limit / max_input_vars overrides were ignored. A Divi
site's max_input_vars stayed at the 2000 default while its .user.ini
asked for 20000.
- Wordfence's auto_prepend_file WAF never loaded on ANY shared_ols site.
11 sites had the plugin installed and reporting "Extended Protection"
enabled while the prepend was never executed.
Verified on a live sidecar (shadowdao.com, whp01) before this commit by
injecting the env var via whp.container_types.startup_env and recreating:
before: auto_prepend_file=/scripts/cac-lsphp-normalize.php (WAF absent)
after: auto_prepend_file=/home/shadowdao/public_html/wordfence-waf.php
wordfence-waf.php present in get_included_files()
class_exists('wfWAF') === true
The platform normalize prepend still chains in behind Wordfence's bootstrap,
so DOCUMENT_ROOT canonicalisation is not lost.
Set in two places on purpose: the Dockerfile ENV makes the value visible in
`docker inspect` and survives an entrypoint override, and the entrypoint
re-exports it with the same default because the runuser fallback exec path
resets the environment. Still overridable per-container
(LSPHP_ENABLE_USER_INI=off) as an escape hatch for a site whose legacy
cPanel-generated .user.ini has not been remediated yet.
NOTE: enabling this activates every previously-inert .user.ini at once.
Audit the fleet for stale cPanel directives before rolling this image —
session.save_path values under /var/cpanel/ that do not exist in the
container, memory_limit above the cgroup cap, and upload_max_filesize
values below the platform default were all found and remediated first.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Cloud Apache Container
This is a base container for running PHP-based applications, supporting multiple PHP versions (7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4). The default is PHP 8.3. The container is based on AlmaLinux 9 and uses Apache with mod_ssl. It is designed for both development and production use.
You must have Docker or compatible containerization software running.
What's New?
- Optimized Image: The Dockerfile has been refactored for smaller size, faster builds, and improved security. Unnecessary files and caches are removed during build.
- Pre-built Images for Each PHP Version: On every push, images for all supported PHP versions are built and pushed to the registry. You can pull the exact version you need (e.g.,
cac:php74,cac:php84, orcac:latest). - .dockerignore Added: The build context is now minimized, making builds faster and more secure.
Quick Start: Local Development with local-dev.sh
The easiest way to start a local development environment is with the provided local-dev.sh script. This script automates container setup, volume creation, log directories, and WordPress installation.
Usage Example
./local-dev.sh -n local-dev
Flags:
-nName of the container (required)-pHTTP port (default: 80)-sHTTPS port (default: 443)-rRoot path for files and database (default: current directory)-aPHP version (default: 8.3; options: 74, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)-vEnable verbose mode-hShow help
The script will:
- Create a user directory and log folders
- Create a Docker volume for MySQL
- Start the container with the correct environment variables
- Generate helper scripts in your root path:
instance_start– Start the containerinstance_stop– Stop the containerinstance_logs– Tail Apache logsinstance_db_info– Show MySQL credentials
- Install WordPress in your web root
- Print MySQL credentials
Manual Docker Usage
You can also run the container manually:
mkdir -p local-development/domain.tld
cd local-development/domain.tld
mkdir user
mkdir -p user/logs/{apache,system}
docker run -d -it -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -e PHPVER=84 -e environment=DEV --mount type=bind,source="$(pwd)"/user,target=/home/myuser -v"$name-mysql":/var/lib/mysql -e uid=30001 -e user=myuser -e domain=localhost --name local-dev repo.anhonesthost.net/cloud-hosting-platform/cac:latest
Accessing the Container
docker exec -it local-dev /bin/bash
WordPress Installation
If using local-dev.sh, WordPress is installed automatically. For manual setup:
cat /home/myuser/mysql_creds
su - myuser
cd ~/public_html
wp core download
Then visit https://localhost (accept the SSL warning) to complete setup.
Features
- Multiple PHP Versions: 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 (set with
PHPVERor-aflag) - Pre-built Images: Pull the image for your desired PHP version directly from the registry. No need to build locally unless customizing.
- Optimized Build: Smaller, faster, and more secure images thanks to the improved Dockerfile and
.dockerignore. - Automatic Database Setup: MariaDB is started in DEV mode, credentials are auto-generated and stored in
/home/$user/mysql_creds. - Database Backups: Cron job backs up the database every 15 minutes to
/home/$user/_db_backups. - Log Management: Log rotation compresses logs older than 3 days and deletes those older than 7 days.
- Memcached: Started automatically in DEV mode.
- SSL: Self-signed certificate enabled by default.
- Default Web Content:
/home/$user/public_htmlis the web root./pingendpoint andphpinfo.phpare available for diagnostics. - Helper Scripts:
instance_start,instance_stop,instance_logs,instance_db_info(created bylocal-dev.sh).
Environment Variables
Required:
uid– User ID for file permissionsuser– Username for file permissionsdomain– Primary domain for configuration
Optional:
environment– Set toDEVto start memcached and MySQL locally for developmentserveralias– Comma-separated list of alternative hostnamesPHPVER– PHP version (see above)
Helpful Notes
- To restart the instance:
./instance_startordocker start {container-name} - To stop:
./instance_stopordocker stop {container-name} - To view logs:
./instance_logsordocker logs -f {container-name} - To get DB credentials:
./instance_db_infoorcat /home/$user/mysql_creds - To delete a container:
docker rm {container-name}(does not delete user files or DB volume) - To view running containers:
docker ps - To view all containers:
docker ps --all - To view images:
docker images
Troubleshooting
- The first run may take several minutes as dependencies are installed.
- If you need to change PHP version, stop and remove the container, then recreate with the desired version.
- For advanced configuration, see the scripts in the
scripts/directory. - The image is optimized for size and speed, but local development in DEV mode may install additional packages (MariaDB, memcached) at runtime using microdnf.
- The build context is minimized by the included
.dockerignorefile.