mod_xsendfile and paths

[deanlaw Profile]

I have an app that calls a central getfile script which in turn passes a server file to the browser using mod_xsendfile. The file that is being sent to the browser is located in a subdirectory below the original request script, but is delivered as a 0k file. The only way that I could get it to work is to add the XSendFileAllowAbove option to my .htaccess file. Here is my directory structure.

/ getfile -- this is the calling script
/ userfiles / file / upload_directory / filename

I have tried passing both a relative path and an absolute path to the file into the X-SendFile header and they both return the 0k file. Once I add the XSendFileAllowAbove option, it then works properly. Is this by design? Am I missing something?