[domeboys]

I have the same problem (variable mismatch message when trying to merge forum topics) and would appreciate resolution advice. Thanks.

This problem is relatively new for me, as the function had worked fine for several years until the last few months.

WP 5.3.2
PHP 7.3.14
bbPress 2.6.4

[domeboys]

A quick update. After days of struggling in quicksand, I made the call to restore the system back to the 11/10 backup level. Now reloading a week of content. So far, so good.

[domeboys]

Thank you for removing the security exposure and for the practical advice. I believe going the backup route will be the best move forward. I will need all of your good wishes!

[domeboys]

Following is the note I received from HostGator Level 4 support (aka Admins). They are calling my problem a “script malfunction” attributed to bbPress.

Please advise on what you recommend as next step.

Thank you,
Brian Walton

Thank you for contacting Hostgator Support. I’ve dug through this issue a good deal. I found that the 500 error on thecardinalnation.com definitely appears to be the result of bbpress. I traced the loading of the site with system calls, and found a number of database queries, and then a segfault.

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After disabling bbpress, this behavior stops. I’ve tried a number of PHP versions and reviewed server settings but found no obvious configuration-level cause. While we are happy to help where we can, we are not developers, so our ability to assist with script malfunctions like these is limited. I would recommend working with a developer or the plugin developers more specifically. If you receive any information you believe we can assist with, please let us know and we will be happy to investigate further.

Sincerely,
David F.
Systems Administrator II

[domeboys]

Update: After 2 1/2 more hours on the phone with HostGator, I got up to level 3. They ran different traces but could not solve the problem yet. They have turned it over to their “advanced administrators”.

[domeboys]

I tried several other tests.

Test 1: I deactivated WP Super Cache and activated bbPress. I cleared cache. The white screen with 500 error occurred immediately.

Test 2: I deactivated both WP Super Cache and bbPress. The home page comes up and articles can be viewed. The root page for the forums can be viewed, but the individual forums are not displayed.

At this point, I reverted back to WP Super Cache active and bbPress not active.

[domeboys]

In WP Super Cache settings on the Advanced Tab, the area called “Accepted Filenames & Rejected URLs” includes a list of page types to exclude. However, forums is not an option. There is also an area called “Add here strings (not a filename) that forces a page not to be cached.”.

In that area, I entered the path to the forums, which is “/forums/”. Based on help items I read on the WP forums, this appears to be the proper syntax.

I saved the change in WP Super Cache, then activated bbPress. I cleared my browser cache and attempted to access my site’s home page. I got the white screen with the 500 server error, same as first thing this morning. At that point, I deactivated bbPress, cleared my cache and that restored access to the base site (without forums, of course).

What do you advise from here, please?

[domeboys]

Robin, I did not explain well.

Last week’s problem was high CPU usage. Installing WP SuperCache was part of the recommended fix. The site seemed stable since.

Today’s problem was 500 errors keeping anyone from being unable to access the site. Upgrading PHP and disabling bbPress were two of the actions taken. The site is stable except for the forums.

All I am trying to achieve right now is to get my forums running again. If off the top of your head, you know how to exclude bbPress from WP SuperCache, that information would be helpful. If not, I will try to figure it out and test it.

I appreciate your help.

[domeboys]

I do not think that Zend Guard is running on my machine. I think it was being used by HostGator support for their diagnostics. They provided me the error information I pasted above via an email. But I get that ZG is not supported on PHP 7.0. I will pass that on to them, but it appears it will not fix my problem.

Yes, there was a caching change made last Wednesday. Because of a high CPU usage situation caused by an Updraft Plus backup being uploaded to Google Drive during mid-morning, HostGator shut down my entire site.

As part of the process for them to bring my site back up, they had me install WP SuperCache, with settings specified by HostGator. (I can find a link to that article if it would be helpful.)

However, today the cookies error disappeared once bbPress was disabled. WP SuperCache is enabled currently and the log on errors are not present. In fact, all other plugins on my WP installation are active and the site seems to be operating normally – except for the forums, of course. Log ins are being processed normally.

Is there some potential issue between WP SuperCache and bbPress?

[domeboys]

Regarding Zend Guard, I do not fully understand what you are suggesting. However, please be aware that my site was on PHP 5.4 when the problems began this morning. It was only upgraded to PHP 5.6, then 7.0 as part of their problem diagnosis process today. However, the problem remained the same on all three PHP levels.

[domeboys]

Thank you, Robin. I am new here, and wanted to ensure I was at the right place. I’ve had bbPress installed for the last 16 months with no problems until now.

To answer your question directly, that earlier error description is all HostGator gave me when I asked them for documentation to provide you.

Here is further background on the problem.

Today’s issue began with all users presented with “500 Error. Internal Server Error.” when accessing the site, which is a mix of free and subscriber content and has both free and subscriber forums.

By clearing browser cache, one could get on the site (both articles and forums) for about a 10 minute period before the 500 errors returned. However, during that window, one could only view the free forum, but could not enter replies, because being logged in first is a site requirement. For that same reason, one could not view subscriber articles or the subscriber forum.

During that approximate 10 minutes, when trying to log in, one was presented with a message that said “Error: Cookies are blocked or not supported by your browser. You must enable cookies to use WordPress.” This seemed to make no sense, since cookies were in fact enabled.

I tested the problem with three different browsers and it was the same – MS Edge, Firefox and Chrome. I can get into my backend WP Dashboard to administer the site with no issue.

HostGator support determined that by disabling all plugins, the problem would go away. Then the process of going through the plug-ins one by one led them to identify bbPress as the culprit. When bbPress is enabled, the 500 errors return. With it disabled, logins and both free and premium article access work normally. But both forums are down.

If there is other information I can gather, please let me know what and how to get it. Or if you need backend access to my WP installation, I am happy to grant that.

[domeboys]

I’d appreciate some advice, please. Is this the correct place to request bbPress support? My forums are down and I am hoping to get some help to get them back up without impacting my WP installation. Thanks!