.ajax() fails in IE7 when using an absolute url without protocol

[skrings]

From jQuery 1.3.2 to 1.4 the detection of the XHR object has changed. In 1.3.2 every IE uses the ActiveXObject if available. In 1.4 every IE uses the ActiveXObject only if the location protocol is 'file:'.

This causes a problem in IE7, because in IE7 the implementation of XMLHttpRequest is a little bit buggy and in IE8 it seems ok. When you open a new XHR in IE7 with an absolute URL with a protocol and use the XMLHttpRequest object it fails with an error: 'Access is denied'.

IE7 with XMLHttpRequest: fails | IE7 with ActiveXObject : ok

IE8 with XMLHttpRequest: ok | IE8 with ActiveXObject : ok

Take a look at the attached test case, just upload it to any webserver.

Suggested fix #1:

Change the XHR handling so every IE uses the ActiveXObject if available.

Suggested fix #2:

Look for absolute URLs bevore opening the XHR and add a missing protocol.

Suggested fix #3:

Extend the XHR handling so that every IE uses the ActiveXObject if available and the protocol is missing or 'file:'.

Possibile solution:

I would prefer fix #3, so here is my fix which is also inlcuded in the test case. The file is named jquery-1.4.fix.js, just compare it with the 1.4 tag. One problem i have is that i cannot differentiate IE7 and IE8 by the used object. So if the protocol is missing or 'file:' the IE8 will use the ActiveXObject also.

Best regards,

Sören

Some code:

Extended XHR handling

xhr: window.XMLHttpRequest && !window.ActiveXObject ?

function() {

return new window.XMLHttpRequest();

} : function(protocol) {

if (window.XMLHttpRequest && protocol !== "file:" && protocol !== true) {

return new window.XMLHttpRequest();

} else {

try {

return new window.ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");

} catch(e) {};

}

},

Create the request object

var xhr = s.xhr(protocol);

[skrings]

Test case and possible fix included.

[dmethvin]

So do you mean that when it fails the url is something like "​http://something.com/test.htm" and the requesting page is at something.com? An example would help.

[skrings]

No i mean an url like

//something.com/test.htm

so the request handler (XMLHttpRequest or ActiveXObject) should add the current protocol like 'http:' or 'https:'.

Please take a look at the test case, i log the used url to the console.

The interest is the changed XHR handling from 1.3.2 to 1.4. At this point the api documentation is out of date. ​http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.ajax/ "Defaults to the ActiveXObject when available (IE)" In 1.4 the ActiveXObject is used only if the protocol is 'file:'.

[skrings]

Simple fix by ajaxSetup:

// Use the ActiveXObject everytime when it is available
$.ajaxSetup({           
                xhr: !!window.ActiveXObject 
                                ? function(){
                                        try {
                                                return new window.ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
                                        } catch(e){}
                                } 
                                : function(){ 
                                        return new XMLHttpRequest();
                                }
        });

[skrings]

Test case 1.4.3.-pre with fix

[skrings]

I have attched an updated test case and landed a fix for the problem. It would be glad if someone could review my commits.

See my version here:

​http://github.com/skrings/jquery/blob/master/src/ajax.js

Edit: Removed git links.

[skrings]

jsFiddle for easier review: ​http://jsfiddle.net/WuGZh/

[jitter]

3rd party ​pull request

[jaubourg]

Fixes #5866. Issue number in previous commit was wrong both in comments and commit message. See ​https://github.com/jquery/jquery/commit/0e5b341cc0f3f9bf0f6659e09704f2267cfdfdba for previous commit.

Changeset: d7d64713a72c67243b279b9dcb16ae9fbb825c17