406-Not Acceptable Response - jQuery AJAX

Question

I am receiving the 406 error when I am sending a JSON data object through the jQuery AJAX function to a backend service so the data can be stored into the database.

AJAX FUNCTION

data = {
  questions: questions,
  test_id: test_id,
  action: 'update'
};

gmtjax({
    url: gmt.contextPath + 'tests/questions/process_form',
    type: 'POST',
    data: data,
    dataType: 'json',
    $spinner: gmt.$spinnerContainer,
    success: function(returnData) {
      console.log('success');
    },
    error: function(){
      //console.log('error');
    },
    $errorContainer: gmt.$mainContainer
});

JSON structure:

{
    "test_id": "1",
    "action": "update",
    "questions": [
        {
            "question": "Exploitation strategies seek to create value from unfamiliar resources and activities.",
            "options": [
                {
                    "name": "True"
                },
                {
                    "name": "False"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Process Form Function (Backend)

function process_form(){
  print_r($_POST);
}

When I submit the data the STATUS CODE on the XHR request is 406 Not Acceptable.

Request Header

Accept:application/json, text/javascript, */*; q=0.01
Accept-Encoding:gzip,deflate,sdch
Accept-Language:en-US,en;q=0.8,af;q=0.6,ms;q=0.4
Cache-Control:no-cache
Connection:keep-alive
Content-Length:1726
Content-Type:application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8
Cookie:ci_session=08c62699d06dfcf8ba853cacb350ab3b
Host:testingsite.com
Origin:https://testingsite.com
Pragma:no-cache
Referer:https://testingsite.com/tests/manage/id/194/goto/2
User-Agent:Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_9_1) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/31.0.1650.63 Safari/537.36
X-Requested-With:XMLHttpRequest

RESPONSE

false

When the request fails it does not even enter the process_form function to print out the POST array.

However, when I modify the 'create value' string in the question to something like 'create a value' the form submits successfully. The only thing I can think of is some SQL Injection prevention detection on the server layer (GoDaddy) but I am unsure on how to address this.

What could be causing the 406 error when Content-Type is obviously not the issue.

you have to first pinpoint what the problem is. Either your json is sometimes malformed or doesn't contain what the backend requires, or there's something wrong with the backend. — Kevin B, Aug 04 '14 at 17:47
Can you share the code that is firing the AJAX request and the code that is processing on the back end as well? — Jason Bell, Aug 04 '14 at 17:51
did you try to remove the dataType: 'json' and submit anything else just to check if it works? That way you can be sure if its the json or another thing. — pecci, Aug 22 '14 at 19:57
@guest271314 - That is web service so the process_form() is called based on the URL. — 12Bo, Aug 26 '14 at 18:02
@12Bo Does `data` get stored at db ? At Question , `success` callback appear to be `console.log("success")` ? Does `console` return `"success"` ? Is requirement to return results of `print_r()` to `console` at `success` callback ? Thanks — guest271314, Aug 27 '14 at 00:09

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 25 '14 at 16:05

4

It could be caused by a module called mod_security and it can cause this problem. Your code looks fine to me. So, check out your host, see if mod_security is installed and enabled, and if it is, try disabling it temporarily and then test this code again. If mod_security is not the culprit, don't forget to re-enable it.

answered Aug 25 '14 at 16:05

jay_t55

11,362
28
103
174

1

I am working with GoDaddy to see if they can disable this setting. More information to come. – 12Bo Aug 26 '14 at 18:00
what should i do if my server does not allow disabling of such mod? such as hostgator – shababhsiddique Jun 13 '19 at 07:58

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 25 '14 at 20:26

The problem is that you are sending post data as application/x-www-form-urlencoded, while your service probably requires application/json. Try sending actual JSON:

gmtjax({
    url: gmt.contextPath + 'tests/questions/process_form',
    type: 'POST',
    data: JSON.stringify(data),
    contentType: "application/json",
    dataType: 'json',
    $spinner: gmt.$spinnerContainer,
    success: function(returnData) {
      console.log('success');
    },
    error: function(){
      //console.log('error');
    },
    $errorContainer: gmt.$mainContainer
});

Are you using any particular frameworks on the PHP site? What's the call stack that should lead to `process_form()`? What are the new request headers and full response headers? (please update the question with this info) — Jonathan Amend, Aug 26 '14 at 18:06

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 27 '14 at 00:29

Try

at close of php at process form page

echo print_r($_POST);

at success callback

console.log(returnData);

if request , response successful , should return

Array
(
    [test_id] => 1
    [action] => update
    [questions] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [question] => Exploitation strategies seek to create value from unfamiliar resources and activities.
                    [options] => Array
                        (
                            [0] => Array
                                (
                                    [name] => True
                                )

                            [1] => Array
                                (
                                    [name] => False
                                )

                        )

                )

        )

)
1

at error callback

error : function(jqxhr, textStatus, errorThrown) {
  console.log(textStatus, jqxhr.getAllResponseHeaders()
             , errorThrown)
}

at ajaxSetup

$.ajaxSetup({
   statusCode : {
            200 : function (data, textStatus, jqxhr) {
                    console.log(data);
            },
            406 : function (jqxhr, textStatus, errorThrown) {
                    console.log(textStatus + "\n" + errorThrown);
            }
        }
 });

try log both 200 success , 406 statusCode error.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 24 '21 at 04:41

406 Not Acceptable error using jQuery AJAX It turned out the problem was that I was submitting the ajax request using the POST method but not actually sending any post data. For example:

  $.ajax({
   type: "POST",
   url: "index.php?action=foo",
   success: function(msg){
 
    }
  });

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 05 '14 at 03:44

0

The symptoms that you're describing are characteristic of a web application firewall put in place by your web host. Contact their support department.

answered Aug 05 '14 at 03:44

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 24 '14 at 19:00

0

Try changing the type of AJAX call to GET from POST type. It might help you.

answered Aug 24 '14 at 19:00

Somnath Paul

190
1
6
17

This wouldn't be possible because the number of questions could by dynamic and don't want to worry about hitting the URL character limit. – 12Bo Aug 26 '14 at 18:04

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 28 '16 at 06:16

0

May be a header issue. Try adding this to your $.ajax():

headers: { 
    Accept : "application/json"
}

answered Mar 28 '16 at 06:16

Zakaria

983
15
24

406-Not Acceptable Response - jQuery AJAX

7 Answers7