Blank screen after upgrading Ninja Firewall

Hi,

If you are running Apache, can you try to delete the .htaccess in the main NinjaFirewall plugin folder and the one in its “/lib/” subfolder ?

/plugins/ninjafirewall/.htaccess
/plugins/ninjafirewall/lib/.htaccess

Ignore my previous message if you are using PHP 5.3, and see my second message posted in this thread:

https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/problem-installing-on-fastcgi-plesk-domain?replies=5

We will fix this issue today, but you can patch it yourself in the meantime if you want.

Thanks. I’ll try again tomorrow.

Greetings.

Two of my sites which use Ninja Firewall have also gone blank.

https://missionbeach.filmclub.org.au/

https://barossalibraryfriends.org.au/

My cPanel uses PHP Version 5.3.28

I read the post where you write:

In the meantime you can try to comment out (or delete) lines 82 to 86:

(script)

Then try to install it again and use Plesk UI to add the directives.

… but I don’t know how to do this.

Is it possible to temporarily uninstall Ninja Firewall by simply deleting the plugin from within my FTP program? Or would that cause further complications?

Thanks.

Best Wishes,

PRODOS

Hi,

To temporarily disable the firewall, simply rename the PHP INI file.
Deleting the plugin files or renaming its folder would keep crashing the site.

To fix the blank screen issue:
1. rename the PHP *.ini file to *.bak.
2. log in to WordPress admin dashboard (you will see a red warning about the firewall not being loaded. You can ignore it).
3. go to the plugins page and upgrade NinjaFirewall to the latest 1.3.9.
4. rename the PHP INI file to its original name.

Thanks for you reply.

Pardon my ignorance.

Can you tell me where is the PHP INI file is located, please?

Thanks.

Best Wishes,

PRODOS

Hi,

It is located in your WordPress root folder, that is, where your WordPress index.php and wp-config.php are located.
It is either called php.ini or .user.ini.

Greetings.

Sorry, but I don’t see either php.ini or .user.ini at that location.

Here is a screenshot of what I can see

Your further advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Best Wishes,

PRODOS

Hi,

Maybe you are using the .htaccess instead ?
Can you open it and look for similar lines:

# BEGIN NinjaFirewall
php_value auto_prepend_file /xxxxxxxxxx/ninjafirewall/lib/firewall.php
# END NinjaFirewall

If you see that, comment out the auto_prepend_file line (add a “#” character at the beginning of the line) to disable the firewall.
Then, proceed to steps 2 and 3 to upgrade NF.
For step 4, simply uncomment the auto_prepend_file line to re-enable the firewall.

Greetings,

Good news! That worked perfectly.

For others reading this thread …

Within my Wodpress installation I located the .htaccess file

This is in the same places as files such as index.php and wp-config.php are located.

I downloaded the .htaccess file and then opened it (using NoteTab Light)

Found this bit:

# BEGIN NinjaFirewall
php_value auto_prepend_file /xxxxxxxxxx/ninjafirewall/lib/firewall.php
# END NinjaFirewall

… and changed it to this:

# BEGIN NinjaFirewall
# php_value auto_prepend_file /xxxxxxxxxx/ninjafirewall/lib/firewall.php
# END NinjaFirewall

Saved and uploaded this to overwrite the existing .htaccess file.

Went to my site. It was no longer blank/white.

Updated Ninja Firewall.

Went back to the .htaccess file and removed the #
Saved that.
Uploaded.

Done.

Thanks nintechnet for your assistance.

Best Wishes,

PRODOS

Thanks for the update. Although the main screen was still blank, the login screen worked and I was able to update the plugin. After a now-standard message appeared:-
“You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ‘TYPE=MyISAM’ at line 9 on line: 1471”
the plugin is now updated.

The next step is to confgure the firewall. Accepting the default Apache + CGI/Fast CGI and php.ini, here goes…
<hold breath>
“Firewall Enabled
PHP SAPI CGI-FCGI
Version 1.3.9 (2015-02-23)”
<breathe again>
Hurrah! Two cheers for technology…

@tonyhir, the reason webroot/wp-admin works is because the loading of Ninjafirewall is done at the /webroot/.htaccess, and webroot/wp-admin/.htaccess will not have the load instructions. I just figured this one out myself with this bug, I think…

If I claimed to understand what goes on beneath the hood I should be exaggerating. As the Cat says in Red Dwarf, “I was with you right up to the word ‘simply’.”