PHP Fatal error: 1366:Incorrect string value:

[mvstudio]

Hello everyone. I hope someone could help me shed some light on this error log that popped out of nowhere

[26-Mar-2022 17:27:28 America/Detroit] Request URI: /н¨Îļþ¼Ð.rar, IP address: 112.114.105.200
#1 trigger_error() called at [/includes/classes/db/mysql/query_factory.php:171]
#2 queryFactory->show_error() called at [/includes/classes/db/mysql/query_factory.php:143]
#3 queryFactory->set_error() called at [/includes/classes/db/mysql/query_factory.php:270]
#4 queryFactory->Execute() called at [/includes/functions/whos_online.php:92]
#5 zen_update_whos_online() called at [/includes/init_includes/init_special_funcs.php:18]
#6 require_once(/includes/init_includes/init_special_funcs.php) called at [/includes/autoload_func.php:37]
#7 require(/includes/autoload_func.php) called at [/includes/application_top.php:222]
#8 require(/includes/application_top.php) called at [/index.php:25]
--> PHP Fatal error: 1366:Incorrect string value: '\xD0\xC2\xBD\xA8\xCE\xC4...' for column 'last_page_url' at row 1 :: INSERT INTO whos_online
(customer_id, full_name, session_id, ip_address, time_entry,
time_last_click, last_page_url, host_address, user_agent)
VALUES ('0', '¥Guest',
'e4ffb2f64b2b76d7bc8408edd51fc24c', '112.114.105.200',
'1648330048', '1648330048',
'/н¨Îļþ¼Ð.rar',
'112.114.105.200',
'Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/4.0)') ==> (as called by) /includes/functions/whos_online.php on line 92 <== in /includes/classes/db/mysql/query_factory.php on line 171.

Is this someone trying to hack my website or an actual error?

Thank you.

[lat9]

It's both.

[mvstudio]

It's both.

Oh boy! How could I protect the site and fix the error? Has this error being reported before? Thanks.

[lat9]

What 'collation' is being used in the database? Is it a variant of utf8_ or one of utf8mb4_?

Update: You could start by blocking the associated IP address via the site's root .htaccess file.

[mvstudio]

What 'collation' is being used in the database? Is it a variant of utf8_ or one of utf8mb4_?

Update: You could start by blocking the associated IP address via the site's root .htaccess file.

I've already blocked the IP. This is a new install 1.5.7b so whatever was by default (utf8mb4_general_ci). I didn't change anything during the install.

[mvstudio]

Commission and referrer have latin1_swedish_ci, login_as_customers uses utf8_unicode_ci, everything else seem to be using use utf8mb4_general_ci

What am I looking for so I can change it.

Thank you so much!

[lat9]

Commission and referrer have latin1_swedish_ci, login_as_customers uses utf8_unicode_ci, everything else seem to be using use utf8mb4_general_ci

What am I looking for so I can change it.

Thank you so much!

Ugh. Mixed collations are going to give you a "world of hurts" when/if your webhost updates your MySQL to a more strict form. I'll need some time to give you an appropriate way to get everything re-aligned.

[dbltoe]

The docs may get you to the right spot.

https://docs.zen-cart.com/user/upgra...nvert_to_utf8/

[mvstudio]

The docs may get you to the right spot.

https://docs.zen-cart.com/user/upgra...nvert_to_utf8/

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!

[lat9]

The docs may get you to the right spot.

https://docs.zen-cart.com/user/upgra...nvert_to_utf8/

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!

With those 'mixed' collations, you need to start based on what DB_CHARSET is currently indicated in the site's configure.php files. Given that the majority of the tables are utf8mb4_general_ci, the DB_CHARSET should indicate utf8mb4.

Since it's only a few 'outlying' tables, here's my suggestion:

1. Put the site into maintenance mode.
2. Make (and verify) a database backup via phpMyAdmin.
3. Using your webhost's phpMyAdmin, select the current live database and
a. Click the Operations tab at the top.
b. Towards the bottom of the screen, you should see a "Collation" sub-tab. Choose utf8mb4_general_ci, tick the "Change all tables collations" and, once that's clicked, also click the "Change all tables columns collations" and click the "Go" button.
4. Visually verify the validity of the fields present in those (what were) latin1_/utf8_ tables/fields. If they look OK, make yet another DB backup and then take the site out of maintenance mode.