ERROR: Unable to verify $_POST vars

[mrstth]

Hi,
I'm using s2member Pro and am having a problem with payment to paypal. I'm getting the following message (and have read all the other threads with this message but not found a solution yet):

"ERROR: Unable to verify $_POST vars.
Please contact Support for assistance.

This is most likely related to an invalid configuration of s2Member, or a problem with server compatibility. If you are the site owner, and you're absolutely SURE that your configuration is valid, you may want to run some tests on your server, just to be sure $_POST variables are populated, and that your server is able to connect/communicate with your Payment Gateway over an HTTPS connection.

s2Member uses the WP_Http class for remote connections; which will try to use cURL first, and then fall back on the FOPEN method when cURL is not available. On a Windows® server, you may have to disable your cURL extension; and instead, set allow_url_fopen = yes in your php.ini file. The cURL extension (usually) does NOT support SSL connections on a Windows® server.

Please see this thread for details regarding the ideal server configuration for s2Member."

I have checked out the thread it mentions, uploaded the related files and got the following messages:
for - curl-test-https-paypal.php: "Test succeeded Lookin' good here. Your cURL extension is functioning properly, with SSL enabled too."
and for - fopen-test-https-paypal.php: "Test succeeded Lookin' good here."

What's odd is that I have been using s2member in an addon domain on the same server for over a year, with great success. Is there any other configuration I may have overlooked that could cause this error?
Or could it be something I need to configure at Paypal?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer
-sam

[mrstth]

I also have another script running on the same site that handles individual purchases via paypal (as opposed to the yearly subscription that s2member is handling) which appears to also be working ok.

Could there be anything apart from server configuration (which appears to be ok) that I should be looking at?
Thanks again for any help
-sam

[Cristián Lávaque]

Hi Sam.

Could you please post the shortcode you're using when you get that error? Also the latest log entries that have this error. WP Admin -> s2Member -> PayPal Options -> Account Details -> Enable Logging

[mrstth]

Hi Cristián, thanks for getting back to me.

I think I've traced the problem to the IPN url logged with Paypal; not read one of these logs before, but part of the paypal-ipn.log seems to confirm that:

0 => 'IPN received on: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:04:39 am UTC',
1 => 's2Member POST vars verified through a POST back to PayPal®.',
2 => 's2Member originating domain ( `$_SERVER["HTTP_HOST"]` ) validated.',
3 => 's2Member `txn_type` identified as ( `subscr_eot|recurring_payment_expired|recurring_payment_suspended_due_to_max_failed_payment` ) - or - `recurring_payment_profile_cancel` w/ `initial_payment_status` ( `failed` ).',
4 => 'Sleeping for 5 seconds. Waiting for a possible ( `subscr_signup|subscr_modify|recurring_payment_profile_created` ).',
5 => 'Awake. It\'s Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:04:44 am UTC. s2Member `txn_type` identified as ( `subscr_eot|recurring_payment_expired|recurring_payment_suspended_due_to_max_failed_payment` ) - or - `recurring_payment_profile_cancel` w/ `initial_payment_status` ( `failed` ).',
6 => 'Skipping this IPN response, for now. The Subscr. ID is not associated with a registered Member.',
7 => 'Re-generating. This IPN will go into a Transient Queue; and be re-processed during registration.',
),
'subscr_gateway' => 'paypal',
'period1' => '0 D',
'period3' => '1 D',
'ip' => '80.42.149.139',
)

We have 2 scripts (s2member & linklok) running on the site that both talk to Paypal. The addon domain on the same server I mentioned before (that works fine) talks to a different paypal account but works the same way. That one has the notification URL set to return to the s2member IPN URL, while this one is set to the Linklok IPN URL.

Another developer figured this out last time, ie, having paypal work with 2 scripts and I'm waiting to hear back from him now (he's in the US and I'm in the UK) but I'm fairly sure we can fix it.

The shortcode for that transaction is as follows, in case it's still relevant:

Code: Select all

[s2Member-PayPal-Button level="1" ccaps="" desc="Subscription to Stories of the Journey Home for 1 year" ps="paypal" lc="" cc="GBP" dg="0" ns="1" custom="storiesofthejourneyhome.com" ta="0" tp="0" tt="D" ra="0.01" rp="1" rt="Y" rr="0" rrt="" rra="1" image="default" output="button" /]

Thanks again Cristián, hadn't spotted those log files before, they helped!
-sam

[mrstth]

All sorted, was indeed the IPN and Auto-return configuration with paypal that was wrong.
Thanks again.

[Cristián Lávaque]

I'm very glad you were able to sort it out.