problem with session_start PHP 8.1.27

[kewingJ]

Description

The following code:

index.php
<?php
    session_start();
    $_SESSION['user'] = 'juan';
    $_SESSION['status'] = true;
    header("location: home.php");
    exit();
?>

home.php
<?php
    session_start();
    $user = $_SESSION['user'];
    echo $user;
?>

In my home.php view no data is shown and in my session folder the sessions are duplicated for each call to the session_start() method.

Resulted in this output:

I am using the latest version of php 8.1 which is php 8.1.27 and Nginx server 1.14 and 1.24. Operating system debian 12

PHP Version

PHP 8.1.27

Operating System

debian 12

[SakiTakamachi]

It's hard to see, so I'll edit it a bit.
(edit) done

[damianwadley]

It's more likely that this is a configuration issue than it is a bug in PHP.

Are your session settings such that the two pages are actually able to share a session? Have you checked that the path used by the session cookie is correct - most likely /? Are there new sessions being created for every page load, or is it just that index.php and home.php have different ones? Is the session data being saved by index.php also readable by index.php?

[kewingJ]

Are your session settings such that the two pages are actually able to share a session?

As the script is programmed for index.php it has to create a session but it creates two with the data of $_SESSION and when I load home.php it also creates two new sessions but empty.

Have you checked that the path used by the session cookie is correct - most likely /?

Yes, I have checked the route and it is fine.

Are there new sessions being created for every page load, or is it just that index.php and home.php have different ones?

The logic is that the session that is created in index.php can be called in home.php to work with your data, but when you call index.php creates two sessions and when you call home.php to bring the data from the session of index.php new empty sessions are created.

Is the session data being saved by index.php also readable by index.php?

Yes the session data created in index.php can be seen in index.php but not in home.php

[damianwadley]

Are there new sessions being created for every page load, or is it just that index.php and home.php have different ones?

The logic is that the session that is created in index.php can be called in home.php to work with your data, but when you call index.php creates two sessions and when you call home.php to bring the data from the session of index.php new empty sessions are created.

My question is whether new sessions are created every time you visit index.php or home.php.

Go to home.php and refresh the page 5 times. How many session files are created?

Is the session data being saved by index.php also readable by index.php?

Yes the session data created in index.php can be seen in index.php but not in home.php

That code will always work for the same reason that this code

$variable = 123;
echo $variable; // 123

will always work.

Put the print_r before you assign the "user" and "status" values, visit the page once, then refresh. What do you see?

[kewingJ]

My question is whether new sessions are created every time you visit index.php or home.php.
Go to home.php and refresh the page 5 times. How many session files are created?

when I load index.php or home.php it creates new sessions, loading 5 times only home.php creates 10 sessions.

Put the print_r before you assign the "user" and "status" values, visit the page once, then refresh. What do you see?

changing the position of print_r($_SESSION); before the user and status variables shows me the array empty

This is the result I see in the browser

[lucasnetau]

Are you accessing your site via HTTPS? You have session.cookie_secure = on

Per https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Set-Cookie

Secure attribute
Indicates that the cookie is sent to the server only when a request is made with the https: scheme (except on localhost), and therefore, is more resistant to man-in-the-middle attacks.

Check from your browser side if the cookie value is being sent in the request

[kewingJ]

Are you accessing your site via HTTPS? You have session.cookie_secure = on

In the settings of my php.ini the option session.cookie_secure = on is active, In the browser the session is shown but not when I want to load it in the home.php view and also 2 sessions are created.

Check from your browser side if the cookie value is being sent in the request

[SakiTakamachi]

Could you please try with session.cookie_secure = off?