Skip to content

PHP Upload Large File Bug

Sponsor: Do you build complex software systems? See how NServiceBus makes it easier to design, build, and manage software systems that use message queues to achieve loose coupling. Get started for free.

Learn more about Software Architecture & Design.
Join thousands of developers getting weekly updates to increase your understanding of software architecture and design concepts.


After spending an hour trying to debug a strange issue with PHP & handling large (2GB+) file uploads, I figured I should post the resolution in case someone stumbles upon this post. Most people are aware that they need to set the the upload_max_filesize and post_max_size directives to handle large file uploads.  However, there is bug within PHP that does not handle files larger than 2GB, even when these directives are set to a higher value. Problem You have the PHP directives set properly to handle the a 2GB+ file size however the $_FILES[x][‘error’] will be set to 1 (UPLOAD_ERR_INI_SIZE), indicating that the file size exceeded the upload_max_size directive. Solution You must set the upload_max_filesize = 0 This will prevent the $_FILES[x][‘error’] from being set, however the $_FILES[x][‘size’] will now be an overflowed integer. Reference https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=44522 Notes This applies to PHP version 5.3.3.  Not tested with other/latest versions.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *