Title: Open_basedir Error
Last modified: March 22, 2022

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# Open_basedir Error

 *  Resolved [bobjgarrett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bobjgarrett/)
 * (@bobjgarrett)
 * [4 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/open_basedir-error-7/)
 * I have a web site with about 15 plugins but this plugin and two other plugins
   are producing a particular error whenever the admin menu is displayed. The error
   is
    [21-Mar-2022 06:34:10 UTC] PHP Warning: file_exists(): open_basedir restriction
   in effect. File(C:\Inetpub\vhosts\xxx\httpdocs/wp-content/plugins/https://www.
   monsterinsights.com/lite/) is not within the allowed path(s): (C:/Inetpub/vhosts/
   xxx\;C:\Windows\Temp\;C:\Inetpub\vhosts\xxx\httpdocs) in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\xxx\
   httpdocs\wp-admin\menu-header.php on line 256
 * This line of code is
    file_exists( WP_PLUGIN_DIR . “/$sub_file” ) and having 
   checked this it appears “/$sub_file” contains a url rather than a file path. 
   As I say this happens for MonsterInsights and two other plugins (who I am also
   asking about it). Are you able to suggest what might be causing this error which
   I assume must relate to how the plugins menus have been stored.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  Plugin Support [Michelle D.](https://wordpress.org/support/users/devmich/)
 * (@devmich)
 * [4 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/open_basedir-error-7/#post-15615727)
 * Hi [@bobjgarrett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bobjgarrett/),
 * I’m sorry about the trouble here.
 * If you haven’t resolved this yet, would you be able to reach out to us at [https://www.monsterinsights.com/lite-support/](https://www.monsterinsights.com/lite-support/)?
 * Thanks so much!
 *  Thread Starter [bobjgarrett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bobjgarrett/)
 * (@bobjgarrett)
 * [4 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/open_basedir-error-7/#post-15615741)
 * Sorry, uninstalled it now and using another plugin.
 *  Plugin Support [Michelle D.](https://wordpress.org/support/users/devmich/)
 * (@devmich)
 * [4 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/open_basedir-error-7/#post-15629965)
 * Hi [@bobjgarrett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bobjgarrett/),
 * I understand, no problem.
 * In case it helps in the future, I consulted with our developer team and they 
   let me know that this is a common issue with Windows server hosted WordPress 
   sites.
 * The _open\_basedir restriction_ is because Windows can’t handle submenus in the
   WordPress admin area whose links are URLs as opposed to a file path. Since we
   use an external URL for the “Upgrade to Pro” submenu link, Windows tries to interpret
   that as a file, assumes it’s outside the directories it’s able to access, and
   throws the warning.
 * I hope this helps, but if you have further questions please let me know.
 * Thank you!
 *  Thread Starter [bobjgarrett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bobjgarrett/)
 * (@bobjgarrett)
 * [4 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/open_basedir-error-7/#post-15630906)
 * I think other plugins handle this by not having such links within the menu system
   of the dashboard but on the pages of plugin. If you imagine the number of warnings
   this would produce on a site with multiple users with admin or similar rights
   you can imagine the error file becoming unmanageable.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

The topic ‘Open_basedir Error’ is closed to new replies.

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 * 4 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [bobjgarrett](https://wordpress.org/support/users/bobjgarrett/)
 * Last activity: [4 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/open_basedir-error-7/#post-15630906)
 * Status: resolved