PHP shell_exec uci not working but without errors

[stealthrt]

Hey all I am new at doing anything regarding PHP Shell_exec commands.

I have some UCI code that allows me to add a rule to my firewall. This works just fine in SSH but when I try running the same thing in the PHP page it does not seem to do anything and without any error lettings me know whats going on....

My code:

<?php 
try {
    $cmd = "uci add firewall rule ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].name='my iphone' ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].src='lan' ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].dest='wan' ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].src_mac='XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX' ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].proto='all' ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].target='REJECT' ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].enabled='1' ".
    "commit firewall ".
    "service firewall restart ";
    
    echo 'command: ',  $cmd;

    $output = shell_exec($cmd);
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo 'Caught exception: ',  $e->getMessage(), "\n";
}

echo "<pre>output: $output</pre>";
?>

I've even tried adding 2>&1 at the end:

<?php 
try {
    $cmd = "uci add firewall rule 2>&1".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].name='my iphone' 2>&1".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].src='lan' 2>&1".
    [more code here]

And I've tried using only 1 uci for the whole command:

<?php 
try {
    $cmd = "uci add firewall rule 2>&1".
    "set firewall.@rule[-1].name='my iphone' 2>&1".
    "set firewall.@rule[-1].src='lan' 2>&1".
    [more code here]

And I've tried using the same as above but without the 2>&1

<?php 
try {
    $cmd = "uci add firewall rule ".
    "set firewall.@rule[-1].name='my iphone' ".
    "set firewall.@rule[-1].src='lan' ".
    [more code here]

And lastly I've tried it with the 2>&1 just at the end of the command and with only 1 uci:

<?php 
try {
    $cmd = "uci add firewall rule ".
    "set firewall.@rule[-1].name='my iphone' ".
    "set firewall.@rule[-1].src='lan' ".
    [more code here]
    "service firewall restart 2>&1";
    [more code here]

and with each having uci:

<?php 
try {
    $cmd = "uci add firewall rule ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].name='my iphone' ".
    "uci set firewall.@rule[-1].src='lan' ".
    [more code here]
    "service firewall restart 2>&1";
    [more code here]

It first code block above outputs this on the page: 

But like I said, it doesn't give any errors.

I tested a simple ls command with it and it works as expected:

So, what am I missing?

[kicken]

You don't have any new lines in your command string, so when shell_exec pass it to the shell it'll be as if you'd typed it all out on a single line in your shell, e.g.:

blah@example:$: uci add firewall rule uci set firewall.@rule[-1].name='my iphone' ... service firewall restart

Presumably that'd just result in some error as it's not really valid.

Add some new lines or semi-colons to your command string to separate the commands and try again.  If it still doesn't work, make an array of individual commands and run them one by one in a loop.