owasp-modsecurity / owasp-modsecurity/ModSecurity

ModSecurity 3.0.14 configure script fails to detect lib64-installed YAJL, LMDB, and PCRE2

Open
#3,404 2 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

3.x
Dominant language
C++
Stars
9.8k
Forks
1.8k
Avg merge
2h 46m
Merged PRs (30d)
1

Description

Describe the bug

The configure script in ModSecurity 3.0.14 fails to detect YAJL, LMDB, and PCRE2 libraries when they are installed in lib64 directories, causing compilation failures in container environments and various Linux distributions.

Logs and dumps

Configure script error output:

configure: error: YAJL was explicitly referenced but it was not found
configure: error: LMDB was explicitly referenced but it was not found  
configure: error: PCRE2 was explicitly referenced but it was not found

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

  1. Install YAJL, LMDB, or PCRE2 libraries in /usr/local/[library]/lib64/ directory
  2. Run ModSecurity 3.0.14 configure script:
    ./configure --with-yajl=/usr/local/yajl-2.1.0 \
                --with-lmdb=/usr/local/lmdb-0.9.33 \
                --with-pcre2=/usr/local/pcre2-10.45
    
  3. Configure script fails to detect libraries despite correct installation paths

Expected behavior

The configure script should successfully detect YAJL, LMDB, and PCRE2 libraries when they are installed in standard lib64 directories, similar to how MaxMind and other libraries are detected.

Root Cause
The configure script's library detection logic only checks lib/ and lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ directories but lacks support for the standard lib64/ directory where 64-bit libraries are commonly installed.

Affected Libraries

  • YAJL (Yet Another JSON Library) - Detection fails at configure script lines 7096, 7164
  • LMDB (Lightning Memory-Mapped Database) - Detection fails at lines 7870, 7945
  • PCRE2 (Perl Compatible Regular Expressions 2) - Detection fails at lines 9086, 9161

Current Library Detection Pattern
The configure script currently checks:

# 1. Standard lib directory
if test -e "${path}/lib/lib${z}.${y}"; then
    yajl_lib_path="${path}/lib/"
    # ...
fi
# 2. Debian/Ubuntu specific path  
if test -e "${path}/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/lib${z}.${y}"; then
    yajl_lib_path="${path}/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/"
    # ...
fi
# Missing: lib64 directory check

Proposed Solution
Add lib64 directory detection between existing checks, following the same pattern already implemented for MaxMind and other libraries:

# Add this check between lib/ and lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/
if test -e "${path}/lib64/lib${z}.${y}"; then
    yajl_lib_path="${path}/lib64/"
    yajl_lib_name="${z}"
    yajl_lib_file="${yajl_lib_path}/lib${z}.${y}"
    break
fi

Server (please complete the following information):

  • ModSecurity version (and connector): ModSecurity v3.0.14
  • WebServer: N/A (compilation issue)
  • OS (and distro): Multiple distributions affected:
    • Alma Linux 9, 10
    • CentOS Stream 9, 10
    • Oracle Linux 9, 10
    • Rocky Linux 9, 10
    • Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04
    • Debian 12, 13

Rule Set (please complete the following information):

  • Running any public or commercial rule set? N/A (compilation stage issue)
  • What is the version number? N/A

Additional context

Impact

  • High: Prevents ModSecurity compilation in affected environments
  • Widespread: Affects multiple Linux distributions and container builds
  • Blocking: No workaround available without source code modification

Related Issues

  • #3318 - Similar PCRE2 detection issue reported recently

Additional Information

  • Libraries with existing lib64 support (no changes needed): MaxMind, CURL, GeoIP
  • This issue is specific to ModSecurity 3.0.14; other versions not tested
  • All existing functionality would be preserved with this fix
  • Library Installation: Libraries correctly installed in /usr/local/[library]/lib64/ directories

Willingness to Contribute
I have developed and tested a complete patch for this issue across all affected distributions and am ready to submit a Pull Request if this approach is acceptable to the maintainers.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the configure script checks at lines 7096, 7164, 7870, 7945, 9086, and 9161, comparing their lib/ and lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ handling with the existing MaxMind checks. Reproduce the issue using the provided ./configure command and verify that YAJL, LMDB, and PCRE2 installed under lib64 are detected and compilation succeeds.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
shell
Domain
build-system
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.