Administrative and Maintenance Tools - Fix-it: Template Edition

A common method of defacing vBulletin sites is to edit the parsed template html directly via the database. It makes it harder for administrators to find the issue, and can be a pain in the ass to cleanup if you're not familiar with working with the database.

This tool will make it easier to clean your defaced site.

What it does:
Checks all of the templates in the database:
- Makes a new compiled version from the uncompiled template.
- Compares the current compiled template to the new compiled template
- If they differ, it updates the template, then rebuilds all of the styles.

How do you use it?
- Upload to your admincp, modcp, install, or root forums folder
- Browse to it
- Let it run
- Delete tool_recompiler.php after you are done using it.

This tool now works on vB3 and vB4.

vB3 Thread

[ptceuro]

thank you GeekyDesigns

[Krusty1231]

So, just to be clear - I only need this AFTER something bad happens? So if I install it right now while everything is good - and say a few months from now my forum gets hacked, I just have to run it?

Or, I do not install it now - my forum gets hacked in a few months - then come back here and install it?

I'm not entirely clear on that part.

[Zachery]

There is no reason to have the file on your server, unless something bad has happened.

It will only fix the template system, if they only modified the parsed templates.

It they replaced everything, I don't believe it will get fixed.
If they messed with the plugin system, it will also not be fixed.

[Link14716]

Originally Posted by Krusty1231

So, just to be clear - I only need this AFTER something bad happens? So if I install it right now while everything is good - and say a few months from now my forum gets hacked, I just have to run it?

Or, I do not install it now - my forum gets hacked in a few months - then come back here and install it?

I'm not entirely clear on that part.

Yeah, don't install it now. Download it, or bookmark this page if you want, but you shouldn't leave it on your server when you aren't using it (it's not a security risk, but you don't really want a file that fetches all the templates and re-compiles them just laying around - if someone happened to find it and hammered it, it could impact your server load).

It's a tool that can help clean up defaced forums if the templates are hacked a certain way, so it can be very useful if that happens. Just remember that that is all it does, it won't magically fix everything else or prevent you from being compromised again - it's a tool, not a cure.

[BirdOPrey5]

Any additional info on what these errors may mean?

Uncompiled template could not be compiled due to error: blog_sidebar_user_block_visitors (id: 4187, styleid: -10)
Uncompiled template could not be compiled due to error: vbcms_widget_recentarticle_page (id: 4301, styleid: -10)
Uncompiled template could not be compiled due to error: vbcms_widget_recentcontent_page (id: 4312, styleid: -10)

Besides the obvious that an error occurred?

[Zachery]

Templates with a styleid of -10 i dont think should be in the database at all.

[BirdOPrey5]

I have 956 templates in the database with a styleid of -10. It looks like it is the MASTER style.

There were a number of other templates with id of -10 that were rebuilt just fine.

[Zachery]

Weird styleid -1 always used to be the master style (must be all the new stuff).

Check those styles and make sure they're okay?

[BirdOPrey5]

I looked at them in the database, I didn't see anything obviously wrong with them. Everything seems to be working so I'm not going to worry about it, just wasn't sure if you knew off-hand if that error was common or meant something other than what is said.

Still a great tool. :up: