PHP 7.2 or PHP 7.3 with mcrypt – manual build

Newer PHP versions do not include PHP mcrypt library. The mcrypt module was part of PHP 5 till 7.1, in which it was deprecated and removed in 7.2. If you open the php.net documentation for mcrypt PHP functions you will see:

This function has been DEPRECATED as of PHP 7.1.0 and REMOVED as of PHP 7.2.0. Relying on this function is highly discouraged.

The mcrypt module is now in PHP PECL (repository for PHP Extensions) in https://pecl.php.net/package/mcrypt. As you can see in the description, this is a legacy module, which

Provides bindings for the unmaintained libmcrypt.

, so it is strongly recommended to replace it with OpenSSL (for example).
Still, if you need this legacy module – mcrypt and :

You may want to manually build the mcrypt module for your current installed PHP. Of course, the generic dependencies are:

  1. libmcrypt and its headers (if the Linux distribution) splits the binary and the headers
  2. GNU GCC
  3. PHP 7.2+
  4. download the latest mcrypt module source from https://pecl.php.net/package/mcrypt. For example, now it is https://pecl.php.net/get/mcrypt-1.0.2.tgz
mkdir /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual
cd /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual
wget https://pecl.php.net/get/mcrypt-1.0.2.tgz
tar xzf mcrypt-1.0.2.tgz
cd mcrypt-1.0.2
phpize
aclocal
libtoolize --force
autoheader
autoconf
./configure
make
make install

Do not use “make -j N” (“make -j 8”, for example), because it may fail to compile.

And here is a log from one of our Linux servers:

srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual # tar xzf mcrypt-1.0.2.tgz 
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual # cd mcrypt-1.0.2
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # phpize 
Configuring for:
PHP Api Version:         20180731
Zend Module Api No:      20180731
Zend Extension Api No:   320180731
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # aclocal
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # libtoolize --force
libtoolize: putting auxiliary files in '.'.
libtoolize: linking file './ltmain.sh'
libtoolize: Consider adding 'AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIRS([m4])' to configure.ac,
libtoolize: and rerunning libtoolize and aclocal.
libtoolize: Consider adding '-I m4' to ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS in Makefile.am.
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # autoheader
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # autoconf
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # ./configure
checking for grep that handles long lines and -e... /bin/grep
checking for egrep... /bin/grep -E
checking for a sed that does not truncate output... /bin/sed
checking for cc... cc
checking whether the C compiler works... yes
checking for C compiler default output file name... a.out
checking for suffix of executables... 
checking whether we are cross compiling... no
checking for suffix of object files... o
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... yes
checking whether cc accepts -g... yes
checking for cc option to accept ISO C89... none needed
checking how to run the C preprocessor... cc -E
checking for icc... no
checking for suncc... no
checking whether cc understands -c and -o together... yes
checking for system library directory... lib
checking if compiler supports -R... no
checking if compiler supports -Wl,-rpath,... yes
checking build system type... x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
checking host system type... x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
checking target system type... x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
checking for PHP prefix... /usr/lib64/php7.3
checking for PHP includes... -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/main -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/TSRM -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/Zend -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext/date/lib
checking for PHP extension directory... /usr/lib64/php7.3/lib/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20180731
checking for PHP installed headers prefix... /usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php
checking if debug is enabled... no
checking if zts is enabled... no
checking for re2c... re2c
checking for re2c version... 1.1.1 (ok)
checking for gawk... gawk
checking for mcrypt support... yes, shared
checking for libmcrypt version... >= 2.5.6
checking for mcrypt_module_open in -lmcrypt... yes
checking how to print strings... printf
checking for a sed that does not truncate output... (cached) /bin/sed
checking for fgrep... /bin/grep -F
checking for ld used by cc... /usr/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/bin/ld
checking if the linker (/usr/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/bin/ld) is GNU ld... yes
checking for BSD- or MS-compatible name lister (nm)... /usr/bin/nm -B
checking the name lister (/usr/bin/nm -B) interface... BSD nm
checking whether ln -s works... yes
checking the maximum length of command line arguments... 1572864
checking how to convert x86_64-pc-linux-gnu file names to x86_64-pc-linux-gnu format... func_convert_file_noop
checking how to convert x86_64-pc-linux-gnu file names to toolchain format... func_convert_file_noop
checking for /usr/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/bin/ld option to reload object files... -r
checking for objdump... objdump
checking how to recognize dependent libraries... pass_all
checking for dlltool... no
checking how to associate runtime and link libraries... printf %s\n
checking for ar... ar
checking for archiver @FILE support... @
checking for strip... strip
checking for ranlib... ranlib
checking for gawk... (cached) gawk
checking command to parse /usr/bin/nm -B output from cc object... ok
checking for sysroot... no
checking for a working dd... /bin/dd
checking how to truncate binary pipes... /bin/dd bs=4096 count=1
checking for mt... no
checking if : is a manifest tool... no
checking for ANSI C header files... yes
checking for sys/types.h... yes
checking for sys/stat.h... yes
checking for stdlib.h... yes
checking for string.h... yes
checking for memory.h... yes
checking for strings.h... yes
checking for inttypes.h... yes
checking for stdint.h... yes
checking for unistd.h... yes
checking for dlfcn.h... yes
checking for objdir... .libs
checking if cc supports -fno-rtti -fno-exceptions... no
checking for cc option to produce PIC... -fPIC -DPIC
checking if cc PIC flag -fPIC -DPIC works... yes
checking if cc static flag -static works... yes
checking if cc supports -c -o file.o... yes
checking if cc supports -c -o file.o... (cached) yes
checking whether the cc linker (/usr/x86_64-pc-linux-gnu/bin/ld -m elf_x86_64) supports shared libraries... yes
checking whether -lc should be explicitly linked in... no
checking dynamic linker characteristics... GNU/Linux ld.so
checking how to hardcode library paths into programs... immediate
checking whether stripping libraries is possible... yes
checking if libtool supports shared libraries... yes
checking whether to build shared libraries... yes
checking whether to build static libraries... no
configure: creating ./config.status
config.status: creating config.h
config.status: executing libtool commands
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # make   
/bin/sh /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/libtool --mode=compile cc -DZEND_ENABLE_STATIC_TSRMLS_CACHE=1 -I. -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -DPHP_ATOM_INC -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/include -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/main -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/main -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/TSRM -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/Zend -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext/date/lib  -DHAVE_CONFIG_H  -g -O2   -c /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/mcrypt.c -o mcrypt.lo 
libtool: compile:  cc -DZEND_ENABLE_STATIC_TSRMLS_CACHE=1 -I. -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -DPHP_ATOM_INC -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/include -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/main -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/main -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/TSRM -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/Zend -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext/date/lib -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -g -O2 -c /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/mcrypt.c  -fPIC -DPIC -o .libs/mcrypt.o
/bin/sh /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/libtool --mode=compile cc -DZEND_ENABLE_STATIC_TSRMLS_CACHE=1 -I. -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -DPHP_ATOM_INC -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/include -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/main -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/main -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/TSRM -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/Zend -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext/date/lib  -DHAVE_CONFIG_H  -g -O2   -c /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/mcrypt_filter.c -o mcrypt_filter.lo 
libtool: compile:  cc -DZEND_ENABLE_STATIC_TSRMLS_CACHE=1 -I. -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -DPHP_ATOM_INC -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/include -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/main -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/main -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/TSRM -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/Zend -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext/date/lib -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -g -O2 -c /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/mcrypt_filter.c  -fPIC -DPIC -o .libs/mcrypt_filter.o
/bin/sh /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/libtool --mode=link cc -DPHP_ATOM_INC -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/include -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/main -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/main -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/TSRM -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/Zend -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext/date/lib  -DHAVE_CONFIG_H  -g -O2    -o mcrypt.la -export-dynamic -avoid-version -prefer-pic -module -rpath /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/modules  mcrypt.lo mcrypt_filter.lo -lmcrypt -lltdl
libtool: link: cc -shared  -fPIC -DPIC  .libs/mcrypt.o .libs/mcrypt_filter.o   /usr/lib64/libmcrypt.so /usr/lib64/libltdl.so -ldl  -g -O2   -Wl,-soname -Wl,mcrypt.so -o .libs/mcrypt.so
libtool: link: ( cd ".libs" && rm -f "mcrypt.la" && ln -s "../mcrypt.la" "mcrypt.la" )
/bin/sh /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/libtool --mode=install cp ./mcrypt.la /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/modules
libtool: install: cp ./.libs/mcrypt.so /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/modules/mcrypt.so
libtool: install: cp ./.libs/mcrypt.lai /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/modules/mcrypt.la
libtool: finish: PATH="/usr/lib/llvm/8/bin:/usr/lib/llvm/7/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/opt/bin:/sbin" ldconfig -n /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/modules
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Libraries have been installed in:
   /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/modules

If you ever happen to want to link against installed libraries
in a given directory, LIBDIR, you must either use libtool, and
specify the full pathname of the library, or use the '-LLIBDIR'
flag during linking and do at least one of the following:
   - add LIBDIR to the 'LD_LIBRARY_PATH' environment variable
     during execution
   - add LIBDIR to the 'LD_RUN_PATH' environment variable
     during linking
   - use the '-Wl,-rpath -Wl,LIBDIR' linker flag
   - have your system administrator add LIBDIR to '/etc/ld.so.conf'

See any operating system documentation about shared libraries for
more information, such as the ld(1) and ld.so(8) manual pages.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Build complete.
Don't forget to run 'make test'.

srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # make install
Installing shared extensions:     /usr/lib64/php7.3/lib/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20180731/
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # ls -altr /usr/lib64/php7.3/lib/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20180731/mcrypt.so
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 216848 Jun 18 06:32 /usr/lib64/php7.3/lib/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20180731/mcrypt.so

And as you can see your PHP mcrypt module extension is in “/usr/lib64/php7.3/lib/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20180731/mcrypt.so”. Do not forget to load it in your php.ini with something like:

extension=mcrypt.so

Error compiling

If you get such error, you probably initiated “make” with “-j” or missed some of the above commands after “phpize” – the order is important! Just delete the source and unpack and follow the instructions above in the order they are shown:

srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 # make
/bin/sh /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/libtool --mode=compile cc -DZEND_ENABLE_STATIC_TSRMLS_CACHE=1 -I. -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -DPHP_ATOM_INC -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/include -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/main -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/main -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/TSRM -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/Zend -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext/date/lib  -DHAVE_CONFIG_H  -g -O2   -c /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/mcrypt.c -o mcrypt.lo 
/bin/sh /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/libtool --mode=compile cc -DZEND_ENABLE_STATIC_TSRMLS_CACHE=1 -I. -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -DPHP_ATOM_INC -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/include -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/main -I/root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/main -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/TSRM -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/Zend -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext -I/usr/lib64/php7.3/include/php/ext/date/lib  -DHAVE_CONFIG_H  -g -O2   -c /root/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2/mcrypt_filter.c -o mcrypt_filter.lo 
libtool: Version mismatch error.  This is libtool 2.4.6, but the
libtool: definition of this LT_INIT comes from an older release.
libtool: You should recreate aclocal.m4 with macros from libtool 2.4.6
libtool: and run autoconf again.
make: *** [Makefile:194: mcrypt.lo] Error 63
make: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....
libtool: Version mismatch error.  This is libtool 2.4.6, but the
libtool: definition of this LT_INIT comes from an older release.
libtool: You should recreate aclocal.m4 with macros from libtool 2.4.6
libtool: and run autoconf again.
make: *** [Makefile:196: mcrypt_filter.lo] Error 63
srv-web ~/mcrypt-php-module-manual/mcrypt-1.0.2 #

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