Unable to Update to 5.2.2

What version of WordPress is the site that apparently needs PHP 5.3?

It is currently version 5.0.4

There is definitely no issue with WordPress 5.0.x under PHP 5.6.x.

Are you absolutely sure you tried with all plugins off and the Twenty Nineteen theme in use?

Yes. I did a “Bulk Action” Deactivate on all the plug-ins and Activated Twenty Nineteen. I removed the “SetEnv PHP_Version 53” from the .htaccess and the following error is still appearing when I try to get to the /wp-admin login page.

Server error!

The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request.

Error message:
mod_fcgid: error reading data from FastCGI server

If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 500

My host says that the only stable version is 5.3 because the whole blog is not compatible with any other version. I just can’t figure out what part is unstable to correct it.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by concertkatie.

If resetting the plugins and theme didn’t make a difference, it’s possible that a .htaccess rule could be the source of the problem. To check for this, access your server via SFTP or FTP, or a file manager in your hosting account’s control panel, and rename the .htaccess file. If you can’t find a .htaccess file, make sure that you have set your SFTP or FTP client to view invisible files.

If you weren’t able to resolve the issue by either resetting your plugins and theme or renaming your .htaccess file, we may be able to help, but we’ll need a more detailed error message. Internal server errors (error 500) are usually described in more detail in the server error log. If you have access to your server error log, generate the error again, note the date and time, then immediately check your server error log for any errors that occurred during that specific time period. If you don’t have access to your server error log, ask your hosting provider to look for you.

Renaming the .htaccess file didn’t make a difference. (I also copied in the .htaccess from the working blog for laughs but that didn’t change anything either.) The .htaccess file has code for a HTTPS Redirection Plugin (which I removed to see if that might be the cause but it didn’t make a difference) and the WordPress code and that is all (until I add SetEnv PHP_Version 53)

I am working with the host now to set up / access error logs to try and get more details on what is going on.

Most of the errors from the time when I was getting the error are the same:
mod_fcgid: error reading data from FastCGI server

This one also appears to be from my IP but not around the time I was trying things out:
ModSecurity: Warning. Match of "eq 0" against "MULTIPART_UNMATCHED_BOUNDARY" required. [file "/services/mod_security-rules/00_asl_zz_strict.conf"] [line "36"] [id "330792"] [rev "2"] [msg "Multipart parser detected a possible unmatched boundary. This may be an impedence mismatch attack, a broken application or a broken connection. This is not a false positive. Check your application or client for errors."] [severity "NOTICE"] [tag "no_ar"] [hostname "blog.hansonstage.com"] [uri "/wp-admin/update.php"]

And then a few from not my IP
ModSecurity: Access denied with code 412 (phase 2). Pattern match "MJ12bot" at REQUEST_HEADERS:User-Agent. [file "/services/mod_security-rules/20_asl_useragents.conf"] [line "368"] [id "333515"] [rev "4"] [msg "Atomicorp.com WAF Rules: MJ12 Distributed bot detected (Disable this rule if you want to allow this bot)"] [severity "WARNING"] [tag "no_ar"] [hostname "blog.hansonstage.com"] [uri "/2014/05/09/what-your-favorite-boy-bandmember-says-about-you/"]

ModSecurity: Access denied with code 412 (phase 2). Pattern match "xmlrpc.php" at REQUEST_URI. [file "/services/config/apache.conf.d/mod_security_custom.conf"] [line "1"] [id "1234123588"] [msg "xmlrpc"] [hostname "blog.hansonstage.com"] [uri "/xmlrpc.php"]

ModSecurity: Access denied with code 412 (phase 2). Pattern match "Datanyze" at REQUEST_HEADERS:user-agent. [file "/services/mod_security-rules/20_asl_useragents.conf"] [line "68"] [id "337749"] [rev "2"] [msg "Atomicorp.com WAF Rules: Datanyze bot blocked"] [severity "ERROR"] [hostname "blog.hansonstage.com"] [uri "/"]

ModSecurity: Access denied with code 412 (phase 2). Pattern match "xmlrpc.php" at REQUEST_URI. [file "/services/config/apache.conf.d/mod_security_custom.conf"] [line "1"] [id "1234123588"] [msg "xmlrpc"] [hostname "blog.hansonstage.com"] [uri "/xmlrpc.php"]

The ModSecurity error on your IP could result in the FastCGI error. Have you mentioned that to your hosting provider?

Perhaps there’s a rogue ModSecurity rule under the server’s PHP 5.6 configuration. If they allow it, a good way to check would be to try PHP 5.6 again with ModSecurity disabled.

I brought this to my host’s attention and they said the ModSecurity firewall was already disabled for the blog and also gave me code to add to the .htaccess file. “SecRuleRemoveByID 330792” Adding this to the .htacess and removing the force to “SetEnv PHP_Version 53” I am still getting the FastCGI error.

Ok, try downloading WordPress again, access your server via SFTP or FTP, or a file manager in your hosting account’s control panel (consult your hosting provider’s documentation for specifics on these), and delete then replace your copies of everything on the server except the wp-config.php file and the /wp-content/ directory with fresh copies from the download. This will effectively replace all of your core files without damaging your content and settings.

Some uploaders tend to be unreliable when overwriting files, so don’t forget to delete the original files before replacing them.

If that doesn’t work, I’d think then that something is wrong with the FastCGI config, because you’ve got one instance of WordPress with no plugins and the default theme working fine under PHP 5.6, but this other one doesn’t.

I missed these earlier:

My host says that the only stable version is 5.3 because the whole blog is not compatible with any other version.

That’s definitely a lie. PHP is up to 7.3.8 now, and the PHP 5.3 branch alctually stopped receiving security fixes several years ago: https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php

Additionally, WordPress now requires PHP 5.6.20 or higher, and recommends PHP 7.3 or higher: https://www.ads-software.com/about/requirements/

If the problem winds up being your hosting provider, we do have some recommendations: https://www.ads-software.com/hosting/

Should I replace with the WordPress 5.2.2 files?

You have 2 options in this case:

1. I’d recommend replacing it with the WordPress 5.2.2 files _and_ upgrading that server to PHP 5.6.20 or higher, since WordPress 5.2.x requires PHP 5.6.20 or higher: https://www.ads-software.com/download/

2. Or, leave the server on PHP 5.3, and replace with the files of WordPress 4.9.10: https://www.ads-software.com/download/releases/

Thanks! I have upgraded to PHP 5.6 for the server but was just “forcing” the 5.3 through .htaccess for this blog. I’ll give the 5.2.2 files a try tonight and see what happens.

And make sure it’s specifically PHP 5.6.20. Even if it’s the 5.6 PHP branch, WordPress 5.2.x won’t work on anything below 5.6.20.

It looks like it is PHP 5.6.40 which should be good since the other blog on my same hosting plan is working with the 5.2.2 upgrade.