FileUtils copy not working when invoked by webserver

I have image manipulation routines in one of my controllers, and in an
attempt to “undo” bad image edits, I want to copy the original image
file
over the “working” image file.

FileUtils::Verbose.cp(@registrant.image(‘original’), @registrant.image)

Works great when invoked with a valid @registrant object in
script/console,
but it does not work when invoked on Lighttpd.

My Lighttpd process is running under the same user as script/console, eg
me.

Any insight would of course be appreciated.

doppler