Proxy Firewall issues

  • I updated WordFence yesterday, after updating WordPress core.
    The site I manage runs behind a url-masking proxy, which up until the WF update worked without any problems.

    When I was suggested to implement the firewall feature, I thought it sounded like a good idea.However, after enabling it I found I couldn’t connect to the main site (backend was still accessible – thank goodness!).

    The browser shows redirection errors / loops. (chrome throws the error message: “ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS”).

    I have tried to disable the firewall from within wordfence options, as well as removing the additions to the .htaccess file, and deleting ‘wordfence-waf.php’ and ‘.user.ini’ from the directory of the wordpress install.

    The site is still throwing the same errors, and i cannot access the main site. Could you please advise how I might be able to reinstate the site?

    Thank you.

    https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/wordfence/

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • Plugin Author WFMattR

    (@wfmattr)

    Hi,

    Did your site originally have a .user.ini file? (You would have been prompted to download it during the installation, if so.) If it did, can you replace that file?

    In the .htaccess file, on many setups, there can also be some code related to the firewall — if you can upload the backup copy of .htaccess, that may help as well.

    If the .htaccess and .user.ini were restored to the originals, there shouldn’t be anything else causing a redirect loop, but you could try disabling the plugin itself — do you know if the front end of the site was working after the WordPress 4.5 update, but before the Wordfence update?

    -Matt R

    Thread Starter rendal101

    (@rendal101)

    I was only prompted to download a copy of the .htaccess file.

    I’ve reinstated the original .htaccess (stripped out reference to wordfence stuff, now it only has the original wordpress code in there).

    I removed the .user.ini file, as well as the wordfence-waf.php file from that root directory. I have also disabled the wordfence plugin.

    The site was working perfectly after WordPress 4.5 update, prior to wordfence update. in fact, it was working after wordfence update too — it was only after attempting to setup the firewall that it stopped working…

    It still refuses to load.
    Adding /index.php to the end of the tld makes it load; other pages will load too (from navigation / direct url) however, images aren’t loading.

    Thoughts?
    Would WF have touched php.ini at all?

    Plugin Author WFMattR

    (@wfmattr)

    Hi,

    Wordfence doesn’t automatically change php.ini. If other pages won’t load, it sounds like WordPress’s permalinks are not working. If the admin pages are working fine, just go to the Settings > Permalinks menu, note the current option (just in case you have further trouble), and save the settings. I don’t think you even have to change them, but Wordfence should update any missing settings internally. I haven’t seen this happen from installing or removing the firewall, so I’m not sure what would cause it.

    -Matt R

    Thread Starter rendal101

    (@rendal101)

    Interesting… so what does this line in ‘wordfence-waf.php’ actually mean:

    // Before removing this file, please verify the PHP ini settingauto_prepend_filedoes not point to this.

    ?

    However, you were right… it is something to do with the permalinks; setting it back to ‘plain’ (where it uses id’s) seems to be working. Unfortunately, switching back to a custom permalink structure renders the site inaccessible again.

    Any thoughts on that one? ?? ??

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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