Overview
Maintained and secured Archon, a legacy archival management application, after its official support ended.
Extended the application’s PHP compatibility from PHP 5.6 to PHP 7.1 and addressed security vulnerabilities to keep the system operational during the library’s migration to ArchivesSpace.
The Challenge
Archon had reached end-of-life and was no longer supported by its original developer, the University of Illinois.
The application supported PHP versions only through PHP 5.6, creating compatibility and security concerns as the library continued relying on the system.
Because the migration to ArchivesSpace was still underway, Archon needed to remain functional and secure until the library’s collection data could be successfully transferred.
The Solution
Investigated community efforts to modernize Archon and discovered a GitHub repository containing preliminary work toward PHP 7 compatibility.
Although the community maintaining the repository had disbanded, its existing modifications provided a starting point.
Continued debugging and resolving application errors until a functional Archon instance was established on PHP 7.1.
Alongside the compatibility work, applied security patches to address cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities and maintain the application’s security during the migration period.
Technical Implementation
The maintenance effort involved five primary areas:
- Legacy code assessment: Investigated compatibility limitations associated with Archon’s PHP 5.6 codebase.
- Community code evaluation: Reviewed an abandoned GitHub repository containing preliminary PHP 7 compatibility modifications.
- PHP compatibility updates: Continued modifying and debugging the application until it operated successfully under PHP 7.1.
- Security remediation: Patched identified cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the application.
- Ongoing maintenance: Continued applying patches and supporting Archon while coordinating the transition to ArchivesSpace.
Outcome
Successfully established a working Archon instance on PHP 7.1, extending the useful life of an application that had reached end-of-life.
Addressed XSS vulnerabilities and maintained the application’s security and functionality throughout the library’s migration to ArchivesSpace.
Following the successful migration, Archon was retired and ArchivesSpace assumed its role as the library’s archival management system.