Access Issue with MP3 Files from S3 Bucket After Plugin Update

Hello, I am reaching out to report a critical issue I’ve encountered with your plugin, specifically after a recent update (Version 1.9.12), which affects accessing MP3 files stored on an Amazon S3 bucket. The issue seems to stem from the plugin’s inability to comply with S3 bucket policies that restrict file access to specific domains, leading to a 403 Forbidden error (“An HTTP error occurred during file retrieval. Error Code: 403”).

Issue Description: After the plugin update, attempting to access MP3 files via the plugin’s shortcode results in an HTTP 403 Forbidden error.

Key Details:

• The S3 bucket is configured with a policy that limits access to files to requests originating from my website domains only. This setup was operational without issues before the plugin update.
• A preliminary investigation suggests that the scap_verify_file_url_accessible() function, which performs a wp_remote_get() call with the HEAD method to check file accessibility, might be at the heart of the problem. It appears that due to this method and the bucket’s restrictive policy, the plugin can no longer access the MP3 files.

Suggested Solution:

A potentially easy-to-implement solution that would offer more flexibility to users facing similar issues would be to add an option within the WordPress dashboard, specifically on the plugin configuration page, that allows for the disabling of file URL validation ($fileurl = scap_validate_url($fileurl);). This feature would enable users to bypass the URL validation step if their setup does not require it, or if it causes compatibility issues with their storage solutions, like in my case.

Thank you very much for your attention and support on this matter.

Best Regards.