I’m running a PHP script on my cloud server to configure domains with Apache and SSL certificates. The script verifies the domain’s A record, creates the necessary webroot directory, generates an Apache virtual host configuration, and sets up SSL using Certbot.

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<?php
$domain = $_POST['domain'] ?? '';
$public_ip = getServerPublicIP();
$webroot = '/var/www/html/' . $domain;
$hosting_id = uniqid(); // Generate a unique ID for each hosting instance

// Function to get the server's public IP address
function getServerPublicIP() {
    $ip = file_get_contents('http://checkip.amazonaws.com/');
    return trim($ip);
}

// Function to verify if the domain's A record points to the server's IP
function verifyDomain($domain, $public_ip) {
    $dns_records = dns_get_record($domain, DNS_A);
    if (!empty($dns_records)) {
        foreach ($dns_records as $record) {
            if ($record['ip'] == $public_ip) {
                return true;
            }
        }
    }
    return false;
}

// Function to handle SSL certificate generation and renewal using Certbot
function setupSSL($domain) {
    $output = shell_exec("sudo certbot --apache -d $domain 2>&1");
    if (strpos($output, "Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved") !== false) {
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

// Function to create Apache virtual host configuration
function createVirtualHostConfig($domain, $webroot, $hosting_id) {
    $conf = "
    <VirtualHost *:80>
        ServerName $domain
        Redirect permanent / https://$domain/
        
        # Redirect IP address access to vinsanjay.me
        RewriteEngine On
        RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^" . getServerPublicIP() . "$
        RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://vinsanjay.me$1 [R=301,L]
    </VirtualHost>

    <VirtualHost *:443>
        ServerName $domain
        DocumentRoot $webroot

        <Directory $webroot>
            Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
            AllowOverride All
            Require all granted
        </Directory>

        ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/$domain_error.log
        CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/$domain_access.log combined
        SetEnv hosting_id $hosting_id

        SSLEngine on
        SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$domain/fullchain.pem
        SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/$domain/privkey.pem
        Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf

        # Enforce HTTPS with HSTS
        Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

        # Disable server signature
        ServerSignature Off
        ServerTokens Prod

        # Prevent clickjacking
        Header always append X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN

        # Prevent MIME type sniffing
        Header always set X-Content-Type-Options nosniff

        # Prevent XSS attacks
        Header always set X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block"

        # Disable directory listing
        Options -Indexes
    </VirtualHost>
    ";

    // Save the configuration file using sudo
    $conf_file = "/etc/apache2/sites-available/{$domain}.conf";
    $command = "echo '$conf' | sudo tee $conf_file > /dev/null";
    $output = shell_exec($command);

    // Check if file creation was successful
    if (!file_exists($conf_file)) {
        error_log("Failed to save Apache configuration for $domain");
        return false;
    }

    // Enable the site and reload Apache with sudo
    $output = shell_exec("sudo -S a2ensite {$domain}.conf 2>&1");
    if (strpos($output, "Enabling site $domain") !== false) {
        exec("sudo -S systemctl reload apache2");
        return true;
    }
    error_log("Failed to enable Apache site for $domain");
    return false;
}

// Function to ensure secure permissions on webroot
function secureWebroot($webroot) {
    // Set permissions to prevent directory listing and ensure security
    chmod($webroot, 0755); // Set directory permissions to 0755
    chmod($webroot . '/index.html', 0644); // Set file permissions to 0644
}

// Function to check if Apache configuration file exists
function apacheConfigExists($domain) {
    $conf_file = "/etc/apache2/sites-available/{$domain}.conf";
    return file_exists($conf_file);
}

// Function to handle errors and log them
function handleErrors($message) {
    // Log errors to a file
    error_log($message);
    
    echo "Error occurred: $message";
}

if ($_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST' && !empty($domain)) {
    try {
        
        if (!filter_var($domain, FILTER_VALIDATE_DOMAIN, FILTER_FLAG_HOSTNAME)) {
            throw new Exception("Invalid domain name format.");
        }

        // Verify domain A record points to the server's IP
        if (!verifyDomain($domain, $public_ip)) {
            throw new Exception("Domain verification failed. Ensure the A record points to $public_ip.");
        }

        
        if (!file_exists($webroot)) {
            mkdir($webroot, 0775, true); 
            secureWebroot($webroot); 
        } else {
            // Optionally handle existing directory scenario
            // Log the event or notify the user
            error_log("Web root directory $webroot already exists.");
        }

        
        if (apacheConfigExists($domain)) {
            echo "Domain $domain is already configured.";
            
        } else {
            
            if (createVirtualHostConfig($domain, $webroot, $hosting_id)) {
                echo "Domain $domain has been configured successfully!";
            } else {
                throw new Exception("Failed to configure domain $domain.");
            }

            // Setup SSL certificate
            if (setupSSL($domain)) {
                echo " SSL has been configured successfully!";
            } else {
                throw new Exception("SSL setup failed for domain $domain.");
            }

            // Check if index.html exists in the webroot to confirm successful hosting
            if (file_exists($webroot . '/index.html')) {
                echo " Your website hosted successfully at <a href='https://$domain' target='_blank'>https://$domain</a>";
            } else {
                throw new Exception("Website hosting failed.");
            }

      
            exec("sudo systemctl start apache2");
        }
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        handleErrors($e->getMessage());
    }
} else {
    echo "Please enter a valid domain.";
}
?>

<!-- HTML form -->
<form method="POST">
    <label for="domain">Enter Domain Name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="domain" name="domain" required>
    <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

<p>POINT YOUR DOMAIN NAME TO THIS IP ADDRESS IN AN A RECORD: <?php echo $public_ip; ?></p>

Problem:
When I run this script, I encounter the following message:
Domain verification is successful but failed to create an Apache configuration.

I’ve ensured that:

The A record points to the server’s public IP.
The required permissions are set correctly.
Apache and Certbot are installed and configured properly.
Steps to Reproduce:

Set up a cloud server with Apache and Certbot installed.
Place the PHP script on the server.
Enter the domain name (e.g., ls.vinsanjay.me) in the form and submit.
What I’ve Tried:

Verified that the domain’s A record points to the server’s IP.
Checked the permissions for the directories and files involved.
Manually tested Certbot and Apache configuration commands, which worked fine outside the script.
Additional Information:

OS: Ubuntu 20.04
PHP Version: 7.4
Apache Version: 2.4.41

Question:

How can I resolve this issue? Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.