• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Dominate Marketing

Why Dabble When You Can DOMINATE

  • Blog
  • Contact

Formidable Forms & Mod Security

March 4, 2018 by Dominate Marketing

Why do I see a 404 page when i save my form settings?

Why do I see a 404 page when i save my form settings?

Last Updated: December 12, 2017

Knowledge Base → Installation & Getting Started → Frequently Asked Questions → Why do I see a 404 page when i save my form settings?

The Mod Security rules recently changed on some servers. As a result, some of the customizable HTML is getting flagged as a false positive. When this happens, you’ll either see a 403 (permission denied) or 404 (page not found) when you hit save on the settings page for each form.

You have two options to solve the problem, while we wait for the issue to be resolved with mod security.

  1. Contact your web host and ask them to disable rule 941320 or 218500 in mod security.
  2. Go to your Customize HTML tab for your form. Remove [if error] and [/if error] from each field in your form.

403 errors

Stephen Lee
October 30, 2017 at 3:19 pm

Hello,

I’m suddenly getting unexpected 403 errors when previously all was working well. Oddly its not on every form on my website which has left me scratching my head.

This one has the 403 errors  on next or save draft: https://www.stephenleecelebrancy.com.au/kiss-me-quick-weddings/online-ceremony-creator/

Can you help me track down what may be causing it? Many thanks.

 

Laura Moderator
October 30, 2017 at 6:04 pm

Hi —

To rule out conflicts, does this happen when you do these things?

  1. switch to the default 2017 theme
  2. disable all plugins but Formmidable and its Add Ons
  3. disable all custom code, including Javascript and PHP

If so, you can add each thing in, one by one, and test after each one to see who the culprit is.

Laura Moderator
October 30, 2017 at 6:05 pm

If you don’t want to do the test on your live site, you can make a copy of the site and do the testing there.

You can copy using free plugins like Duplicator or All in One Migration, or any plugin or system you like.

Stephen Lee
October 30, 2017 at 10:43 pm

Done – but same result.

I notice that when I preview the form from the form builder page, it doesn’t give a 403 page.

What can I check with my hosting provider? Or should I check my CHMOD settings – what should they be?

 

Laura Moderator
October 30, 2017 at 11:06 pm

Hi —

Good to know the problem doesn’t exist with preview.  I’m wondering why it exists when you have the 2017 theme, no plugins activated, and custom code disabled.

One thing you can ask your host about is ModSecurity.  We’ve had users suddenly not be able to access things on their sites because ModSecurity rules were enabled.  Users have had success with asking their hosting providers to disable rule 218500 in ModSecurity on a global level.

It may be helpful to look at the Apache error logs.

You could also ask your host if they can help you determine what’s going on.

Stephen Lee
October 30, 2017 at 11:08 pm

I think I may have just fixed this by inserting

SecFilterEngine Off

into my .htaccess file. Is that the same thing as your suggestion on ModSecurity?

Laura Moderator
October 30, 2017 at 11:13 pm

Great find!  That looks like it’s accomplishing the same thing, but it’s much easier because you can do it yourself rather than going through the host.

Wonderful!  You’ve expanded my knowledge.  Thank you!

 

Stephen Lee
October 30, 2017 at 11:16 pm

Well, it was a lucky bit of Googling, and absolutely nothing to do with any knowledge of my own!

Thanks for all your help and advice. Your support is as awesome as ever.

403 errors

Filed Under: Errors, Formidable Forms

Categories

  • css tricks
  • Errors
  • Fixes & F**ups
  • Formidable Forms
  • Genesis
  • Google Apps Mail
  • How To's & Tips n Tricks
  • MailChimp
  • Media
  • Plugins
  • Scam Alert
  • Shipping
  • Shopping Cart Modules
  • Videos
  • Widgets
  • Woocommerce

Recent Posts

  • font gradient
  • Horizontal Genesis eNews E-Mail Opt In Subscribe Box Inline
  • Hide shipping rates when free shipping is available
  • How to Create a WooCommerce Wholesale System
  • Imagify vs EWWW vs Kraken vs WP Smush vs ShortPixel: The 5 Best WordPress Image Optimization Plugins Compared
  • Formidable Forms & Mod Security
  • Genesis Slide-in Widget
  • Genesis Plugins
  • Genesis overlay widget
  • Add refined CTA & Announcement widget areas etc
  • Migrate Weebly to WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • Sparkle
  • Remove WordPress Default Widgets
  • Some great css tricks on this website
  • Border Around A Button
  • Adding support for the new WooCommerce 3.0 gallery features
  • 100 WooCommerce Tips and Tricks
  • Woocommerce – Change number of products displayed
  • Genesis Footer Widgets
  • 3 Ways to integrate WooCommerce with Genesis
  • Emails fail on multisite setup
  • Video Embed & Thumbnail Generator
  • WP MS User Roles
  • Setup Gmail for Domain – Google Apps Mail
  • Remove default WordPress widgets
  • Re-Order Single Product Template
  • Change SKU Text
  • Don’t Get Caught by an Invitation To Register Domain – Fake Domain Renewal Letters Can Cost You
  • WooCommerce MailChimp Integration
  • Hide the shipping methods if the cart does not have the specific shipping class

Handcrafted with by Dominate Marketing
Web Design & Development, SEO & Ultra Nerdyness!
Sitemap | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Delivery Policy | Refund Policy | Owner Login