Persistent 403 Error Won’t Clear

  • Resolved ehbowen

    (@ehbowen)


    6 years, 7 months ago

    On Thursday last week I was demonstrating our church website to some of the members; it had been up for about three months. I updated some of the plugins and it was working properly afterwards. The next day, though, I tried to log in and got an “Access Forbidden” 403 error.

    I performed some online searches and tried removing the .htaccess file. The 403 error stopped, but all I could get was a WSOD on all URLs. I still had access to the server (the site is self-hosted on a Synology RackStation running DSM 6.2, PHP 7.0, and Apache 2.4; all current updates) through the management interface but no success reaching the WordPress site.

    I copied the original WordPress directory to an archival folder and then started fresh with a new WP installation and restored from the most recent backup of my site (from an external FTP location). It looks as though all of my content is in the directories, but I still can’t access the WordPress site whether I’m logged in or not. I can access the dashboard and admin pages (I couldn’t before), but whenever I try to view the site I get the 403 error again.

    I’ve tried removing and recreating the .htaccess file as well as replacing it with a copy of the old file. No success. I’ve tried disabling all of the plugins (which, BTW, are now reverted to their pre-upgrade versions when the site was working properly), no change. I have ensured that all of the file and folder permissions are correct. I still can’t see the WordPress site. I would appreciate assistance with this problem.

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Moderator t-p

    (@t-p)

    403 forbidden means that your browser isn’t able to load the scripts up because your server isn’t allowing it. This is a hard one to solve. Because anything could be blocking the server.
    – Most likely this is a server permissions/ownership issue, so ask your host what’s going on.
    – Another possible cause could be a corrupt .htaccess file. Also check your .htaccess files for anything strange.
    – make sure your server settings are not overriding the .htaccess file.
    – Another possible cause could be accidental changes to the server settings. Check with your hosting provider.

    Thread Starter ehbowen

    (@ehbowen)

    Well, I feel like a complete moron. After puzzling over the problem for more than a week, I tried comparing my installation to another WordPress install (on another server) which was working properly. And I found…my index.php file in the root WordPress directory was missing. Duh! Restored the file from the WordPress install archive and now everything is working.

    Marking solved and perhaps I’ll go back now to something which is more my speed…like trying to keep the crayons between the lines!

    Moderator t-p

    (@t-p)

    Glad you got it sorted:)

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • The topic ‘Persistent 403 Error Won’t Clear’ is closed to new replies.

Tags