Ошибка forbidden you don t have permission to access on this server

Update October 2016

4 years ago, since this answer is used as a reference by many, and while I learned a lot from security perspective during these years,
I feel I am responsible to clarify some important notes, and I’ve update my answer accordingly.

The original answer is correct but not safe for some production environments,
in addition I would like to explain some issues that you might fall into while setting up your environment.

If you are looking for a quick solution and SECURITY IS NOT A MATTER, i.e development env, skip and read the original answer instead

Many scenarios can lead to 403 Forbidden:

A. Directory Indexes (from mod_autoindex.c)

When you access a directory and there is no default file found in this directory
AND Apache Options Indexes is not enabled for this directory.

A.1. DirectoryIndex option example

DirectoryIndex index.html default.php welcome.php

A.2. Options Indexes option

If set, Apache will list the directory content if no default file found (from the above 👆🏻 option)

If none of the conditions above is satisfied

You will receive a 403 Forbidden

Recommendations

• You should not allow directory listing unless REALLY needed.
• Restrict the default index DirectoryIndex to the minimum.
• If you want to modify, restrict the modification to the needed directory ONLY, for instance, use .htaccess files, or put your modification inside the <Directory /my/directory> directive

B. deny,allow directives (Apache 2.2)

Mentioned by @Radu, @Simon A. Eugster in the comments
You request is denied, blacklisted or whitelisted by those directives.

I will not post a full explanation, but I think some examples may help you understand,
in short remember this rule:

IF MATCHED BY BOTH, THE LAST DIRECTIVE IS THE ONE THAT WILL WIN

Order allow,deny

Deny will win if matched by both directives (even if an allow directive is written after the deny in the conf)

Order deny,allow

allow will win if matched by both directives

Example 1

Order allow,deny
Allow from localhost mydomain.example

Only localhost and *.mydomain.example can access this, all other hosts are denied

Example 2

Order allow,deny
Deny from evil.example
Allow from safe.evil.example # <-- has no effect since this will be evaluated first

All requests are denied, the last line may trick you, but remember that if matched by both the last win rule (here Deny is the last), same as written:

Order allow,deny
Allow from safe.evil.example
Deny from evil.example # <-- will override the previous one

Example 4

Order deny,allow
Allow from site.example
Deny from untrusted.site.example # <-- has no effect since this will be matched by the above `Allow` directive

Requests are accepted from all hosts

Example 4: typical for public sites (allow unless blacklisted)

Order allow,deny
Allow from all
Deny from hacker1.example
Deny from hacker2.example

Example 5: typical for intranet and secure sites (deny unless whitelisted)

Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from mypc.localdomain
Allow from managment.localdomain

C. Require directive (Apache 2.4)

Apache 2.4 use a new module called mod_authz_host

Require all granted => Allow all requests

Require all denied => Deny all requests

Require host safe.example => Only from safe.example are allowed

D. Files permissions

One thing that most people do it wrong is configuring files permissions,

The GOLDEN RULE is

STARTS WITH NO PERMISSION AND ADD AS PER YOUR NEED

In Linux:

• Directories should have the Execute permission

• Files should have the Read permission

• YES, you are right DO NOT ADD Execute permission for files

for instance, I use this script to setup the folders permissions

# setting permissions for /var/www/mysite.example

# read permission ONLY for the owner
chmod -R /var/www/mysite.example 400

# add execute for folders only
find /var/www/mysite.example -type d -exec chmod -R u+x {} ;

# allow file uploads
chmod -R /var/www/mysite.example/public/uploads u+w

# allow log writing to this folder
chmod -R /var/www/mysite.example/logs/

I posted this code as an example, setup may vary in other situations

Original Answer

I faced the same issue, but I solved it by setting the options directive either in the global directory setting in the httpd.conf or in the specific directory block in httpd-vhosts.conf:

Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI

By default, your global directory settings is (httpd.conf line ~188):

<Directory />
    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride All
    Order deny,allow
    Allow from all
</Directory>

set the options to:
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI

Finally, it should look like:

<Directory />
    #Options FollowSymLinks
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
    AllowOverride All
    Order deny,allow
    Allow from all
</Directory>

Also try changing Order deny,allow and Allow from all lines by Require all granted.

Appendix

Directory Indexes source code (some code remove for brevity)

if (allow_opts & OPT_INDEXES) {
     return index_directory(r, d);
} else {
        const char *index_names = apr_table_get(r->notes, "dir-index-names");

        ap_log_rerror(APLOG_MARK, APLOG_ERR, 0, r, APLOGNO(01276)
                      "Cannot serve directory %s: No matching DirectoryIndex (%s) found, and "
                      "server-generated directory index forbidden by "
                      "Options directive",
                       r->filename,
                       index_names ? index_names : "none");
        return HTTP_FORBIDDEN;
    }

Apache web server is one of the most popular and widely used open-source web servers thanks to its stability and reliability. The web server commands a huge market, especially in the web hosting platforms.

Be that as it may, you may get a “Forbidden – You don’t have permission to access / on this server” error on your browser after setting up your website. It’s quite a common error and a good chunk of users have experienced it while testing their site. So what is this error?

Demystifying the Forbidden Error

Also referred to as the 403 Forbidden error, Apache’s ‘Forbidden Error’ is an error that is displayed on a web page when you are attempting to access a website that’s restricted or forbidden. It’s usually splashed on the browser as shown.

Additionally, the error can manifest in several ways on the browser as indicated below:

• HTTP Error 403 – Forbidden
• Forbidden: You don’t have permission to access [directory] on this server
• 403 Forbidden
• Access Denied You don’t have permission to access
• 403 forbidden requests forbidden by administrative rules

So what causes such errors?

The ‘403 Forbidden Error‘ occurs due to the following main reasons:

1. Incorrect File / Directory Permissions

This error can be triggered due to incorrect file/folder permissions on the webroot directory. If the default file permissions are not adjusted to grant users access to the website files, then the chances of this error popping on a web browser are high.

2. Misconfiguration of the Apache Configuration Files

This error can also be attributed to a misconfiguration of one of the Apache configuration files. It could be an incorrect parameter that has been included or missing directives in the configuration file.

Fixing the ‘403 Forbidden Error’

If you have encountered this error, here are a few steps that you can take to remedy this.

1. Adjust file permissions & ownership of the webroot directory

Incorrect file permissions & directory ownership are known to restrict access to website files. So, firstly, be sure to assign the file permissions recursively to the webroot directory as shown.

The webroot directory should always have EXECUTE permissions and the index.html file should have READ permissions.

$ sudo chmod -R 775 /path/to/webroot/directory

Additionally, adjust the directory ownership as shown:

$ sudo chown -R user:group /path/to/webroot/directory

Where the user is the regular logged-in user and the group is www-data or apache.

Finally, reload or restart the Apache webserver for the changes to take effect.

$ sudo systemctl restart apache2
OR
$ sudo systemctl restart httpd

If this does not resolve the issue, proceed to the next step:

2. Adjust directives in Apache main configuration file

If you are on Debian-based Linux, in Apache’s main configuration file /etc/apache2/apache2.conf, ensure that you have this block of code:

<Directory />
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride None
        Require all denied
</Directory>

<Directory /usr/share>
        AllowOverride None
        Require all granted
</Directory>

<Directory /var/www/>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride None
        Require all granted
</Directory>

Save and exit and thereafter, restart the Apache.

If you are running Apache on RHEL-based distributions / CentOS systems, ensure that you relax access to the /var/www directory in the /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf main Apache configuration file.

<Directory "/var/www">
    AllowOverride None
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Then save all the changes and reload Apache.

If after trying all these steps you are still getting the error, then please check the configuration of your virtual host files. We have detailed articles on how you can configure the Apache Virtual host file on:

• How to Install Apache with Virtual Hosts on Debian
• How to Configure Apache Virtual Hosts on Rocky Linux
• How to Install Apache with Virtual Host on CentOS

I hope that the steps provided have helped you clear the 403 error.

If You Appreciate What We Do Here On TecMint, You Should Consider:

TecMint is the fastest growing and most trusted community site for any kind of Linux Articles, Guides and Books on the web. Millions of people visit TecMint! to search or browse the thousands of published articles available FREELY to all.

If you like what you are reading, please consider buying us a coffee ( or 2 ) as a token of appreciation.

We are thankful for your never ending support.

Введение

Если вы читаете это руководство, значит вы наткнулись на ошибку 403 Forbidden – you don’t have permission to access ‘/’ on this server’. И скорее всего, вы не знаете почему она появилась и что означает. Ну что же, не нужно волноваться, это весьма распространённая ошибка. Практически любой человек знакомый со сферой веб-разработки сталкивался с ошибкой 403 Fobidden.

В этом руководстве вы найдёте детальное объяснение причин появления ошибки 403 Forbidden, и возможные решения, которые помогут вам избавиться от неё. В качестве примера мы покажем, как исправить ошибку 403 на сайте WordPress. Однако все шаги и инструкции могут быть применены для любой другой CMS или статического сайта.

Также стоит упомянуть, что причины появления ошибки 403 могут различаться в зависимости от различных условий. Иногда она может появиться в результате нескольких изменений, которые сделала ваша хостинг компания или из-за обновлений на вашем сайте.

Как бы то ни было, давайте углубимся в детали самой ошибки и узнаем о ней немного больше. Далее мы перечислим причины появления и возможные решения ошибки.

Давайте начнём.

Что вам понадобится

Перед тем, как вы начнете это руководство, вам понадобится следующее:

• Доступ к панели управления вашим хостингом

Что такое ошибка 403 Forbidden Error?

Перед тем как мы попытаемся устранить ошибку, давайте для начала узнаем, что такое ошибка 403 на самом деле. 403 Forbidden Error — это код состояния HTTP. Зачастую она появляется, когда вы пытаетесь получить доступ к адресу или сайту, к которому запрещён доступ.

Вот примеры некоторых ошибок, которые встречаются наиболее часто:

Ошибка 403 (error 403 Forbidden) — это ответ сервера, который отправляется, когда доступ к странице запрещен или ограничен по ряду причин. 

Текстовое описание ошибки может варьироваться. Вот некоторые вариации:

• 403 Forbidden.
• Access denied.
• «В доступе отказано».
• Forbidden.
• You don’t have permission to access.
• Запрещено 403. 

Перепутать ошибку с другими сложно, так как на странице обязательно будет указан код ошибки 403.

Как исправить ошибку 403

Почему возникает ошибка? Самый частый вариант — у пользователя недостаточно прав для просмотра страницы или контента на ней. Запрет с кодом 403 может установить администратор сети, администратор сервера, провайдер или разработчик.

Чаще всего причины появления ошибки связаны с проблемами на стороне сайта. Ниже отметим самые распространенные причины ошибки и расскажем, как исправить ситуацию.

Не успел обновиться кэш DNS серверов

Эта проблема часто возникает при переносе домена между разными регистраторами, а также при попытках перенести домен на разные аккаунты у одного регистратора. 

Решение: подождать. Обновление DNS записей, как правило, может занимать от 4 до 24 часов.

Ошибку вызывает плагин

Вспомните, какие плагины вы устанавливали в последнюю неделю. Если найти виновника таким образом не удается, можно начать отключать каждый плагин по отдельности, поочередно проверяя доступность проблемной страницы.

Решение: найти проблемное расширение и отключить его.

Доступ к сайтам ограничен для пользователей из определенного местоположения

Одна из самых актуальных причин ошибки 403 в последние месяцы у россиян. Дело в том, что многие английские, украинские и европейские сайты начали блокировать доступ по географическому признаку. В итоге при попытке открыть любую страницу такого сайта вы увидите ошибку.

Решение: воспользоваться VPN-сервисом. 

Некорректный файл индекса сайта

Одна из самых частых причин ошибки на всех страницах сайта. Суть в том, что индексный файл располагается в некорректной директории, вовсе отсутствует или имеет неправильный формат. 

Решение: проверить индексный файл своего сайта. Для этого откройте файловый менеджер используемого хостинга и найдите файл со словом index. 

Если вы пользуетесь услугами REG.RU, там также есть встроенный файловый менеджер. Чтобы получить к нему доступ, выполните следующие действия:

1. В левом навигационном меню выберите пункт «Сайты».
2. Выберите проблемный домен.
3. Кликните по кнопке «Менеджер файлов» (в новой версии «Файлы сайта»).
4. Найдите индексный файл в корневой директории сайта.

Обязательно проверьте необходимый формат индексного файла: далеко не всегда он должен иметь расширение .HTML.

В зависимости от используемой системы управления контентом и конфигурации сайта индексный формат файла может отличаться: возможные варианты расширения — HTML, PHP, HTM.

В разных панелях управления проверка индексного файла происходит по-разному. Посмотрим, как проверить индексный файл в ISPmanager — однойиз самых популярных панелей управления сегодня.

1. В навигационном меню слева нажимаем кнопку «Сайты».
2. Выбираем проблемный домен, нажимаем кнопку «Изменить».
3. В самом низу находим строку «Индексная страница»:

Приостановлено обслуживание сайта на конкретном хостинге

Если вебмастер вовремя не оплатил услуги хостинга, возможно появление ошибки 403 при открытии любых страниц сайта. Сайт так и останется недоступным, пока не будет погашен долг в соответствии с договором обслуживания.

Решение: оплатить услуги хостинга.

Некорректное месторасположение файлов сайта

Частая проблема, возникающая при ручном переносе файлов сайта. Здесь правило простое: файлы сайта располагаются в корневой директории.

Решение: убедиться, что папка с файлами сайта находится в правильной папке. Корневая папка сайта по управлением WordPress на хостинге Beget может выглядеть так:

Указаны некорректные права на файл или папку 

Существует три вида прав доступа к файлам: чтение, редактирование, выполнение. В свою очередь, всех пользователей также можно разделить на три категории: администраторы, модераторы и обычные пользователи. 

Для задания самих прав используются трехзначные коды:

• Для папок — код 755 или код 750;
• Для файлов — код 644 или код 640.

Вы можете установить любой из этих вариантов.

У разных CMS могут быть свои коды для указания прав папок и файлов. Например, в WordPress на системный файл wp-config.php должны быть настроены права с кодом 440 (или с кодом 400).

Решение: проанализировать права всех папок и изменить их при необходимости. Проверьте, какие файлы и папки загружаются при открытии страницы с 403-м ответом. Чтобы уточнить этот момент, вы можете обратиться в техподдержку хостинга.  

Некорректные указания в конфигурационном файле htaccess

.htaccess — это файл конфигурации для использования на веб-серверах с программным обеспечением Apache Web Server. Когда .htaccess помещается в каталог (который, в свою очередь, загружается через веб-сервер Apache), он обнаруживается и выполняется программным обеспечением веб-сервера Apache.

Рассмотрим пример директивы, которая запрещает доступ к сайту всем пользователям, кроме одного IP-адреса:

С такой директивой сайт будет недоступен для пользователей, так как просмотр разрешен только с одного IP-адреса.

Решение: найти файл .htaccess в папке сайта и проанализировать команды, которые были прописаны недавно.

Прежде чем редактировать файл, обязательно сделайте его резервную копию. Указанное ниже решение актуально только для хостингов на базе Linux.

Особое внимание обратите на команды со словами deny, redirect, require: 

Удалите все соответствующие строки (со словами deny, redirect, require) и сохраните файл. Отключите кэширование данных на сайте и проверьте доступность страницы, которая отдавала 403-й код. Если все работает, значит причина была именно в .htaccess. Снова включите кэширование данных. 

Если страница все равно не открывается, измените название файла htaccess на old_htaccess. Убедитесь, что кэширование данных на сайте отключено и снова откройте проблемную страницу. Если страница по-прежнему отдает код 403, дело точно не в htaccess и проверять нужно другие причины, которые мы описали выше.

Если ни один из вышеуказанных способов так и не помог оживить страницу, очистите кэш и удалите cookies-файлы в используемом браузере.

Иные причины 403 ошибки

• Работодатель ограничивает доступ ко всем публичным сайтам, кроме тех, которые нужны для работы.
• Доступ к сайту временно ограничен вебмастером по определенному признаку, например, по используемому браузеру.
• Допущена опечатка в URL страницы (при ручном вводе).
• Пользователь пытается открыть страницу сайта, предназначенную для служебного использования.
• Пользователь пытается открыть страницу сайта, предназначенную для использования только зарегистрированными пользователями.
• Пользователь был заблокирован по какому-либо параметру, например по IP-адресу (за нарушение правил пользования сайтом).
• Доступ к сайту временно приостановлен для всех пользователей, так как проводится его техническое обслуживание.

Резюме

Используйте чек-лист, который поможет исправить ошибку 403 вебмастеру и пользователю.

Вебмастеру

1. Убедитесь, что указан корректный адрес страницы.
2. Проверьте директивы в системном файле htaccess.
3. Убедитесь, что все файлы сайта находятся в корневом каталоге.
4. Проверьте наличие всех необходимых файлов, которые загружаются при обращении к проблемной странице.
5. Свяжитесь с хостингом и уточните, имеются ли какие-либо ограничения, наложенные на ваш сайт или домен.
6. Убедитесь, что выставлены корректные права доступа на папки и файлы.

Обязательно проверить логи сервера. Если 403 ответ в них упоминается, вы сможете узнать точную причину появления этой ошибки. Если же такой ошибки в логах нет, причину следует искать в скриптах, которые используются на сайте.

Пользователю

У пользователя возможности исправить ошибку гораздо меньше, так как причина, чаще всего, находится не на его стороне. Что вы можете сделать:

1. Дважды проверьте URL, если указываете его вручную.
2. Пройдите авторизацию, если такая возможность предусмотрена конфигурацией сайта.
3. Свяжитесь с администратором сайта и сообщите об ошибке.
4. Попробуйте открыть ссылку спустя 2-3 дня. Во многих случаях ошибка носит временный характер.  

Часто адрес страницы меняется дважды после публикации и поисковые системы просто не успевают обработать новую версию адреса. Следует подождать хотя бы один день. Страница с некорректным URL покинет индекс, исчезнет из результатов поиска, а на ее место придет страница с правильным адресом.

Being barred from your own site can be very frustrating, especially when you have no idea what is causing the problem. The 403 Forbidden error typically occurs when you’re trying to log in to WordPress or visit a specific page on your site.

Fortunately, there are a few simple fixes for this common WordPress error. Depending on your hosting plan, you may even be able to resolve the issue with help from your web host.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the 403 Forbidden error and its main causes. We’ll then show you five ways to fix it. Let’s get started!

What the 403 Forbidden Error Is (And What Causes It)

The 403 Forbidden error is one of several HTTP status codes used by servers to communicate with your browser. When the 403 status code shows up on your screen, it means that your server thinks you do not have the required permission to access that particular page.

The 403 Forbidden error typically appears when you’re trying to log in to your WordPress admin area or when you visit a specific page on your site. You may also encounter it while installing WordPress.

The error is usually accompanied by one of the following messages (or similar variations):

• “403 Forbidden – Access to this resource on the server is denied.”
• “Forbidden – You don’t have permission to access [directory name] on this server.”
• “You are not authorized to view this page.”
• “It appears you don’t have permission to access this page.”
• “403. That’s an error. Your client does not have permission to get URL [address] from this server.”

Instead of the “403 Forbidden” status, you might come across a simple notification that says “Access Denied.” It is also possible that you will get the following message: “Access to [domain name] was denied. You don’t have authorization to view this page.”

There are several possible causes of this 403 Forbidden error. The most likely one is an incorrect file permission on your server. However, this error can also be triggered by a faulty plugin or a corrupt .htaccess file:

In most cases, you should be able to resolve the issue on your own. However, you might also need to get in touch with your hosting provider to access or change some settings on your site.

How to Fix the 403 Forbidden Error in WordPress (5 Methods)

Now, let’s go through a few ways you can fix the 403 Forbidden error in WordPress. First, we recommend that you make a backup of your site just in case something goes wrong and you need to restore it to an earlier version.

1. Change Your File Permissions

Every WordPress file on your site’s server has its own permissions. These settings control who can access and modify its contents. If these files have incorrect permissions, your server will stop you from accessing them.

If you want to check your file permissions, you can simply contact your hosting provider, and a technical expert should be able to take care of it. You can also do this yourself by connecting to your site with a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) client such as FileZilla.

Alternatively, you can also access your site through the file manager in your hosting account. If you have a DreamHost account, you can navigate to WordPress > Managed WordPress in the sidebar. Then, find your domain and select Manage.

On the next page, click on the Manage Files button in the Details section.

You’re now in the file manager. Next, open the folder labeled with your domain name to access your site’s directory.

Inside your root directory, select the folder that contains all of your WordPress files. If you’re using FileZilla, this is the public_html folder. Then, right-click on it and choose File Attributes.

In the popup window, locate the Numeric field and enter “755” or “750” in the value box. Then select the Recurse into subdirectories and Apply to directories only options, and click on OK.

So far, you’ve applied the correct file permissions for your directories. You’ll now do the same thing for your files.

To start, right-click on your public_html folder and select File Attributes. This time, you’ll need to type “644” in the Numeric value field. Then choose Recurse into subdirectories, select Apply to files only, and click on OK.

Note that your wp-config.php file requires a different numeric value than the ones stated above. This unique value prevents other users on your servers from accessing the file. Therefore, you’ll need to manually change its file permission.

In your root directory, find the wp-config.php file, right-click on it, and select File permissions. Next, set the numeric value to “440”, and click on OK.

Now, every one of your WordPress files and folders should have the correct permissions. Once you’ve completed the above steps, go back to your site and try to reproduce the 403 Forbidden error. If your site is working fine, you don’t need to do anything else.

However, don’t worry if you’re still facing the same problem. There are still a few more fixes to try, and some of them are very simple.

2. Deactivate Your Plugins

As we mentioned earlier, the 403 Forbidden error can also be caused by a faulty plugin. To find out if this is the case, you’ll need to deactivate your plugins and then reactivate them one by one.

To start, connect to your site via FileZilla or the file manager in your hosting account. Then, in your site’s root directory, open the wp-content folder and locate the plugins folder. Then right-click on the plugins folder and select Rename.

Next, give the folder a new name, for example, “plugins_test”. This will automatically deactivate all of your plugins.

If you can access your site after renaming the folder, then the 403 Forbidden error was caused by a glitchy plugin. Your next step is to find out which one it is.

First, return to your site’s root directory and rename the plugins folder back to “plugins”. Then navigate to the Plugins page in your WordPress dashboard and activate the plugins one at a time. Keep doing this until you are able to reproduce the error. Once you’ve identified the faulty plugin, you can either remove it or contact its developer for support.

3. Delete and Restore the .htaccess File

A corrupt .htaccess file can also trigger the 403 Forbidden error. This file is located in your site’s root directory and enables WordPress to interact with your server.

Inside your site’s root directory, locate the .htaccess file, right-click on it, and choose Delete.

Now, try accessing your site again. If the 403 Forbidden error has disappeared, then your .htaccess file may have been corrupted. This means you’ll need to create a new one.

To do this, navigate to Settings in your WordPress dashboard and select Permalinks. Then click on the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page, and a new .htaccess file will be generated. You can look for the file in your site’s directory to ensure that it has been restored.

4. Deactivate Your CDN

If you’re still getting the 403 Forbidden error after completing the above steps, you may have a problem with your Content Delivery Network (CDN). This is a network of servers located in different parts of the world, with each server hosting a copy of your website. Many hosting plans come with a CDN to help boost your site’s performance.

To see if your CDN is the cause of the error, you’ll need to temporarily disable it. You can do this by logging into your hosting account and locating your CDN settings. If you’re unable to access your CDN, we recommend getting in touch with your hosting provider.

5. Check Your Hotlink Protection

Finally, you might want to check your site’s hotlink protection. Hotlinking is when someone embeds media files on their site by linking them directly from another site. Some individuals may do this to use another site owner’s bandwidth (rather than their own), which is effectively theft.

Some hosts and CDN providers offer hotlink protection. However, if this is not set up properly, it can trigger a 403 Forbidden error on your site. Therefore, you may want to contact your web host about this issue. While you may want to look into this yourself, it’s best to get help from a technical expert to ensure that your hotlink protection is configured correctly.

Additional WordPress Resources

If you’re new to WordPress, you’re bound to run into some technical issues while setting up your site. To help you fix some of the most common WordPress errors, we’ve put together several how-to guides:

• How to Fix Common WordPress Errors
• How to Troubleshoot the WordPress White Screen of Death
• How to Fix the 500 Internal Server Error in WordPress
• How to Fix Syntax Errors in WordPress
• How to Fix the WordPress Not Sending Email Issue
• How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress
• How to Fix WordPress Error 404 Not Found
• How to Fix White Text and Missing Buttons in the WordPress Visual Editor
• How to Fix the Sidebar Below Content Error in WordPress
• What to Do When You’re Locked Out of the WordPress Admin Area
• How to Fix the WordPress Memory Exhausted Error By Increasing Your Site’s PHP Memory Limit
• How to Fix the “Upload: Failed to Write File to Disk” Error in WordPress

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for more WordPress tips and hacks, check out our WordPress Tutorials. This collection of guides will help you set up and design your first WordPress site like a professional.

Bye, WordPress 403 Error

The 403 Forbidden error appears when your server denies you permission to access a page on your site. This is mainly caused by a faulty security plugin, a corrupt .htaccess file, or incorrect file permissions on your server.

In this post, we looked at five main ways you can fix the 403 Forbidden error using an SFTP client like FileZilla or the file manager in your hosting account:

1. Change your file permissions.
2. Deactivate your plugins.
3. Delete and restore the .htaccess file.
4. Deactivate your CDN.
5. Check your hotlink protection.

If you want to receive expert help when encountering WordPress errors, you may want to consider a managed WordPress hosting plan. Our DreamPress plans come with 24/7 technical support for WordPress site owners, so you can spend less time troubleshooting and focus your efforts on growing your business.

Did you just try to access your WordPress site only to be hit by some message telling you something is “Forbidden” or that you don’t have permission to access something on your site? If so, you’ve likely run into the 403 Forbidden error on WordPress.

Seeing an error on your WordPress site can be frustrating and deflating, which is why we’ve created this detailed guide to help you fix the 403 Forbidden Error on WordPress and get your site functioning again as quickly as possible.

Let’s get started without any further introduction because we’re sure you just want to fix your site!

Prefer the video version?

What is the 403 Forbidden Error?

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) defines the error 403 Forbidden as:

The 403 (Forbidden) status code indicates that the server understood the request but refuses to authorize it. A server that wishes to make public why the request has been forbidden can describe that reason in the response payload (if any).

Like many other common WordPress errors, the 403 Forbidden error is an HTTP status code that a web server uses to communicate with your web browser.

Quick background on HTTP status codes – whenever you connect to a website with your browser, the web server responds with something called an HTTP header. Usually, this all happens behind the scenes because everything is working normally (that’s a 200 status code, in case you were wondering).

However, if something goes wrong, the server will respond back with a different numbered HTTP status code. While these numbers are frustrating to encounter, they’re actually quite important because they help you diagnose exactly what’s going wrong on your site.

The 403 Forbidden error means that your web server understands the request that the client (i.e. your browser) is making, but the server will not fulfill it.

In more human-friendly terms, it basically means that your server knows exactly what you want to do, it just won’t let you do it because you don’t have the proper permissions for some reason. It’s kind of like you’re trying to get into a private event, but your name got accidentally removed from the guestlist for some reason.

Other HTTP status codes mean different things. We’ve written guides on fixing issues with 404 not found errors, 500 internal server errors, 502 bad gateway errors, and 504 gateway timeout errors.

What Causes the 403 Forbidden Error on WordPress?

The two most likely causes of the 403 Forbidden Error on WordPress are:

1. Corrupt .htaccess file
2. Incorrect file permissions

It’s also possible that you’re seeing the error because of an issue with a plugin that you’re using at your site. In this article, we’ll show you how to troubleshoot all of these potential issues.

403 Forbidden Error Variations

Like many other HTTP status codes, there are a lot of different variations for how this error code presents itself.

Here are some common variations that you might come across:

• “Forbidden – You don’t have permission to access / on this server”
• “403 – Forbidden: Access is denied”
• “Error 403 – Forbidden”
• “403 – Forbidden Error – You are not allowed to access this address”
• “403 Forbidden – nginx”
• “HTTP Error 403 – Forbidden – You do not have permission to access the document or program you requested”
• “403 Forbidden – Access to this resource on the server is denied”
• “403. That’s an error. Your client does not have permission to get URL / from this server”
• “You are not authorized to view this page”
• “It appears you don’t have permission to access this page.”

If you’re on an Nginx server, it will look like this below. Basically, if you see any mention of “forbidden” or “not allowed to access”, you’re probably dealing with a 403 Forbidden error.

How to Fix 403 Forbidden Error on WordPress

To help you fix the 403 Forbidden Error on your WordPress site, we’ll cover five separate troubleshooting steps in detail:

• File permissions
• .htaccess file
• Plugin issues
• CDN issues
• Hotlink protection

1. Modify Your File Permissions

Each folder and file on your WordPress site’s server has its own unique file permissions that control who can:

• Read – see the data in the file/view the contents of a folder.
• Write – modify the file/add or delete files inside a folder
• Execute – run the file and/or execute it as a script/access a folder and perform functions and commands.

These permissions are indicated by a 3-digit number, with each digit indicating the level of permission for each of the 3 categories above.

Normally, these permissions just “work” for your WordPress site. However, if something gets messed up with the file permissions at your WordPress site, it can cause the 403 Forbidden error.

To view and modify your site’s file permissions, you’ll need to connect via FTP/SFTP. Here’s how to use SFTP if you’re hosting at Kinsta.

For the screenshots in the tutorial below, we’ll be using the free FileZilla FTP program. The basic principles will apply to any FTP program, though – you’ll just need to apply them to a different interface.

Once you’re connected to your server, you can view a file or folder’s permissions by right-clicking on it:

Of course, manually checking the permissions for each file or folder isn’t really an option. Instead, you can automatically apply file permissions to all the files or folders inside of a folder.

According to the WordPress Codex, the ideal file permissions for WordPress are:

• Files  – 644 or 640
• Directories – 755 or 750

One exception is that your wp-config.php file should be 440 or 400.

To set these permissions, right-click on the folder that contains your WordPress site (the folder name is public at Kinsta). Then, choose File Attributes:

Enter 755 or 750 in the Numeric value box. Then, choose Recurse into subdirectories and Apply to directories only:

Once you’ve applied the correct permissions for directories, you’ll repeat the process for files. Only this time:

• Enter 644 or 640 in the Numeric value box
• Choose Recurse into subdirectories
• Choose Apply to files only

To finish the process, you just need to manually adjust the permissions for your wp-config.php file to make them 440 or 400:

If file permissions issues were causing the 403 Forbidden Error, your site should now start working again.

2. Delete and Restore the .htaccess File

Kinsta uses the NGINX web server, so this potential issue doesn’t apply if you’re hosting your site at Kinsta because Kinsta sites do not have a .htaccess file.

However, if you’re hosting elsewhere and your host uses the Apache web server, one common cause of the 403 Forbidden error is a problem in your site’s .htaccess file.

The .htaccess file is a basic configuration file used by the Apache web server. You can use it to set up redirects, restrict access to all or some of your site, etc.

Because it’s so powerful, even if a little mistake can cause a big issue, like the 403 Forbidden error.

Rather than trying to troubleshoot the .htaccess file itself, a simpler solution is to just force WordPress to generate a new, clean .htaccess file.

To do that:

• Connect to your server via FTP
• Find the .htaccess file in your root folder
• Download a copy of the file to your computer (it’s always a good idea to have a backup just in case)
• Delete the .htaccess file from your server after you have a safe backup copy on your local computer

Now, you should be able to access your WordPress site if your .htaccess file was the issue.

To force WordPress to generate a new, clean .htaccess file:

• Go to Settings → Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard
• Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page (you do not need to make any changes – just click the button)

And that’s it – WordPress will now generate a new .htaccess file for you.

3. Deactivate and then Reactivate Your Plugins

If neither your site’s file permissions nor .htaccess file are the problems, the next place to look is your plugins. It could be a bug in a plugin or a compatibility issue between different plugins.

No matter what the issue is, the easiest way to find the problematic plugin is with a little trial and error. Specifically, you’ll need to deactivate all of your plugins and then reactivate them one by one until you find the culprit.

If you can still access your WordPress dashboard, you can perform this process from the normal Plugins area.

If you cannot access your WordPress dashboard, you’ll instead need to connect to your WordPress site’s server via FTP/SFTP (here’s how to connect via SFTP at Kinsta).

Once you’re connected to your server via FTP:

1. Browse to the wp-content folder
2. Find the plugins folder inside of the wp-content folder
3. Right-click on the plugins folder and choose Rename
4. Change the name of the folder. You can name it anything different, but we recommend something like plugins-disabled to make it easy to remember.

By renaming the folder, you’ve effectively disabled all the plugins at your site.

Now, try accessing your site again. If your site is working, you know that one of your plugins is causing the 403 Forbidden error.

To find the culprit, reactivate your plugins one-by-one until you find which plugin is causing the issue.

After changing the file name of the plugins folder, you should see a number of errors that say plugin file does not exist when you go to the Plugins area on your site:

To fix this issue and regain the ability to manage your plugins, use your FTP program to change the name of the folder back to plugins. So, if you renamed it to plugins-disabled, just change it back to plugins.

Once you do that, you’ll see the full list of all your plugins again. Only now, they’ll all be deactivated:

Use the Activate button to reactivate them one-by-one.

Once you find the plugin that’s causing the issue, you can either reach out to the plugin’s developer for help or choose an alternate plugin that accomplishes the same thing (we’ve collected the best WordPress plugins here).

4. Deactivate CDN Temporarily

If you’re getting 403 forbidden errors on your assets (images, JavaScript, CSS), it could be a problem with your content delivery network (CDN). In this case, we recommend temporarily disabling your CDN and then checking your site to see if it works. If you’re a Kinsta client, click into your site and then on the “Kinsta CDN” tab. Once there, toggle the “Kinsta CDN” button off.

5. Check to See If Hotlink Protection Is Misconfigured

Hotlinking is when someone adds an image to their site, but the hosted link is still pointed to someone else’s site. To prevent this, some will set up what is called “hotlink protection” with their WordPress host or CDN provider.

When hotlink protection is enabled, it will typically return a 403 forbidden error. This is normal. However, if you’re seeing a 403 forbidden error on something you shouldn’t be, check to make sure hotlink protection is configured properly.

Still Having Issues? Reach Out to Your Hosting Provider

If none of the above solutions worked for you, then we recommend reaching out to your hosting provider. They can most likely help you pinpoint the issue and get you back up and running. If you’re a Kinsta client, open up a support ticket with our team. We are available 24/7.

Summary

The 403 Forbidden error means that your server is working, but you no longer have permission to view all or some of your site for some reason.

The two most likely causes of this error are issues with your WordPress site’s file permissions or .htaccess file. Beyond that, some plugin issues might also cause the 403 Forbidden error. Or it could be that something is misconfigured with hotlink protection or your CDN.

By following the troubleshooting steps in this guide, you should be able to get your site back to working in no time.