CGIenabled

CGIenabled is a designation used in software and hosting environments to indicate that the system is configured to run CGI scripts, or Common Gateway Interface programs. CGI is a specification that allows external scripts or executables to generate web content in response to client requests. When a system is CGIenabled, the web server recognizes certain requests as CGI invocations and passes control to the appropriate interpreter or executable, which returns the content to be served.

In practical terms, enabling CGI involves configuring the server to locate and execute script files, typically in a designated directory such as a cgi-bin, and to treat files with certain extensions (for example .cgi or sometimes language-specific extensions) as executable programs. The script or program must be executed by an interpreter specified by the script’s shebang line or server configuration. CGIenabled environments often require appropriate file permissions and safety measures to prevent unauthorized access or execution of arbitrary code.

Security and performance considerations are central to CGIenabled configurations. CGI scripts run with the server’s privileges and can access server resources, so input validation, isolation, and resource limits are important. CGI has largely been supplanted in many deployments by more modern mechanisms such as FastCGI, mod_php, or language-specific gateways, which offer improved performance and security models. Nevertheless, CGIenabled setups remain in use in legacy systems, shared hosting, and educational contexts.

See also: CGI, FastCGI, web server configuration, scripting.