403 Access Denied Error on New WordPress Posts and Pages – Need Help

Hosting Support
1

https://rabindrapdl.me/

I’m experiencing a 403 Access Denied error on all new posts and pages published on my WordPress website hosted on InfinityFree. The homepage and older posts (published before the issue began) are working fine. This problem started recently and was not occurring until around two days ago.

My Setup and Recent Changes

  • Hosting: InfinityFree (Custom domain in use)
  • Website type: WordPress
  • Previously migrated my site from the default free InfinityFree domain to my custom domain using the WPvivid plugin (which I later deleted after the migration)
  • Switched from All in One SEO to Yoast SEO
  • Installed W3 Total Cache and Autoptimize recently, then uninstalled both after the error began
  • Using pretty permalinks (e.g., /sample-post/)

Troubleshooting I’ve Already Tried

  • :white_check_mark: Disabled all WordPress plugins
  • :white_check_mark: Switched to a default WordPress theme (Twenty Twenty-Four)
  • :white_check_mark: Deleted .htaccess, regenerated from Settings > Permalinks
  • :white_check_mark: Tried modifying .htaccess to a default safe version:
    Checked and corrected file and folder permissions (644 for files, 755 for folders)
  • :white_check_mark: Tried accessing from different browsers, incognito mode
  • :white_check_mark: Cleared Cloudflare cache and browser cache
  • :white_check_mark: Searched for and removed any extra .htaccess files in subfolders like /wp-content/ or /plugins/
  • :white_check_mark: Attempted to increase PHP memory limit and execution time
  • :white_check_mark: Confirmed I did not proceed with the Site.Pro website builder after seeing the warning:

Please help me figure out what’s triggering this 403 error on new content. I’ve done extensive troubleshooting and would appreciate it if you could check:

If ModSecurity is blocking certain requests or URLs

If server rules (e.g., .htaccess, index file conflicts) are affecting new pages

If any InfinityFree-level restrictions are involved (e.g., word filters in URLs or post content)

Let me know if you need access details or logs — I’m happy to provide whatever’s needed to solve this.

Thank you in advance!
Rabindra

2

Not sure how I can replicate this error as the home page has no functional links at all.

AFAIK the only word filter is “chat”. However, that only counts for the name of the file.

Maybe there are some files missing?

Edit: While deeply digging I found 2 blog posts, which are both working.

8 Likes
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Would you mind sharing an example of a post URL that does work and one which doesn’t work? The two posts I found I could access. It would be a lot easier if we could just see the problem for ourselves, instead of having to hunt for posts that may not work.

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Hi,

Thank you for your response.

I’m still new to WordPress and hosting, so I’m learning as I go. I’ve only published two posts so far, and both of them were working fine. However, when I recently published my third post, I noticed that trying to open the post URL gives a 403 Access Denied error.

Here are the links for reference:

The issue seems to happen only with newly published posts on my custom domain, while the older ones still open fine. I’ve tried deactivating all plugins, resetting .htaccess, and checking DNS, but the problem still persists.

Please let me know if you need any more info from my side.

Thank you for your help!

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The word “chat” is system blocked in file names. Unfortunately you are going to have to rename the article or change your permalink settings.

6 Likes
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Thank you so much for the suggestion!
Changing the slug from “chatgpt-vs-gemini” to “gpt-vs-gemini” instantly fixed the 403 error. I wouldn’t have figured out the issue without your help. I really appreciate the time you took to explain the problem and offer a clear solution.

Also, a big shoutout to the whole community here—this forum has been incredibly helpful for someone like me still learning the ropes. Thanks again for the support!

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