Strange code error WoCommerce pages

  • Resolved loosefast

    (@loosefast)


    6 months ago

    Suddenly, front of site WooCommerce product is displaying only strange code like the following. Product edit page appears as normal. Received no “problem with your website” emails. Any ideas welcome.

    sehtboseelbis_ kst-2{_ee>sehtbose6tluthdie0oaf="httpssefoantbaxtbose1ete7stps"ele,lrhte7stpse1lsmt-hsrps ifn{{_ k{tte5_ee>sehtboseelbhi""0 =500"et-bttbais_srnt{{_ k{tte5_ee>sehtboseaa6tdbiecaelreas3 8osha{tbosefo{ttpaxt-bte7stpsmosh {tbosefo{ttpaxt-bte7stpsmosh {tbo3laa6tdbiecaelrehe nhtb" =oshaat{_tciecaelreas3 8os0l5_ee>sehtboseriecaeirc{{stpaxt-bte7stpsmosh {tbosefir'3lrpe mee 1hsefh {l 7;-xt-bte7stpsmosh {tbo3laaboseaa6tdbiecaelrdsr0ir'3i-mstdbiecaelrehe nhtb" =tl0ir1tl0ihot {totholeetpsmosh {tbo3laaboseaa6tdbiecaelrdsr0ir'3i-mstdbiecaelrehe nhtb" =tl0ir1tl0ihot {totholeetpsmoh50""2aLlnv4vm-2{totholeetpsmosh h5

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 33 total)
1 2 3
  • Thread Starter loosefast

    (@loosefast)

    5 months, 4 weeks ago

    In Troubleshooting mode, with only WooCommerce Plugin enabled, I don’t see the link to the one product in the menu. When I paste the link into the url field, I see “503 Service Unavailable” error.

    Thanks

    Moses M. (woo-hc)

    (@mosesmedh)

    5 months, 4 weeks ago

    Hi @loosefast,

    Thank you for the update and for the explanation. I just want to clarify the details: Do you mean that a product exists in the admin area but is not visible on the front end, and when you try to access it directly via its link, you get a 503 Service Unavailable error?

    If so, this usually indicates a temporary server issue, such as downtime, resource limitations, or restrictions like a firewall or hosting limits due to high CPU or memory usage.

    I’ve checked your setup, and your memory limit and resources appear sufficient, with minimal plugins and no backlog of actions.

    When you last contacted your hosting provider, did you get any insights into what might be causing this issue, and did you inform them about the 503 error for this product?

    As a quick test, please navigate to Settings → Permalinks in WordPress, click Save Changes without modifying anything, and check if the product now appears or if the link works.

    If the issue persists, please double-check that the product is not in draft or pending review status.

    Thread Starter loosefast

    (@loosefast)

    5 months, 4 weeks ago

    Thanks for reply. I’ll try to simplify the current status of the issue.

    My host did the update permalinks, and I just did it again.

    When I’m logged into the Dashboard in Firefox, with the only active Plugin as Version 10.4.2 WooCommerce, and I try to add the single product to the WooCommerce cart it leads to a 503 Service Unavailable page. This single product was working fine before I began adding two more products 2 days ago and updating to WordPress 6.9 and the 2 new updates of WooCommerce. The 2 products I added 2 days ago were deleted when I thought they were causing the error.

    When I view the site in Chrome or Firefox NOT logged in to the site Dashboard. The process of adding the single WooCommerce product to the cart and proceeding through to checkout appears to work normally.

    I just tried logging in to the Dashboard in Chrome, opened front of site in new tab, added the Woo product to cart, clicked on cart and the 503 Service Unavailable page loaded

    • This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by loosefast.
    • This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by loosefast.
    Moses M. (woo-hc)

    (@mosesmedh)

    5 months, 4 weeks ago

    Hi @loosefast,

    Thank you for getting back to us and for the additional clarification. Based on your explanation, it appears that the issue only occurs when you are logged into your website dashboard on both Chrome and Firefox. When you are not logged in, the issue does not occur.

    Issues like this are commonly related to authentication or session expiration, or a conflict with a must-use (MU) plugin.

    From your system status report, I can see that the Health Check Troubleshooting Mode plugin is present in your MU plugins folder. You are also using the Kadence theme, which means the issue could potentially be originating from the theme as well.

    To troubleshoot this, please temporarily switch your theme to the Storefront theme (this step is very important). Then, log in to your hosting control panel, locate your site’s root directory, and navigate to:

    wp-content/mu-plugins/

    Delete the Health Check Troubleshooting Mode plugin. After that, clear your browser cache and cookies, and check whether the issue persists.

    If you prefer not to perform this test on your live site, you may use a staging environment instead. You can clone your site to a subdomain or a separate directory and carry out the test there.

    I look forward to hearing back from you with the results.

    Thread Starter loosefast

    (@loosefast)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Thanks for reply. When logged into Dashboard. With Health Check MU deleted, Storefront Theme active, other Plugins active, the Cart page loads light grey text on a blank screen.

    /d6"rua-//>/d6"rua-//>/d6"abse8rssplay2�urobslm6"n /ce'h-/r{ cRlux6"' wip7vnufv igu9631130538079nregntwr"r>/d6"abse8rsspabse8rs78d68w1dap79"/ce'm5n' se _nrmc8d68w1dap79"/ce'm5n' se _4lac'/>nrefjsofkel0be56098n lomse8rs9a03d30b"lmnrmc'/ il0984ce anrmc'/ il0984ce anrmcg'"lmmro/dc8air8b0faebd6434d9a03dfc1daac630be560984e ce anrmcg'"lmmro/dc8amrouss-e ige 7irc'/rsa/g'"lmmro/dc8air8b0ed c'/>nrefjb"lmnrmc' decs"abse8re epnrefjb"lmnrmcece anrmcg'"le a8car.cirmlrsu lomse cv-urrsa/g'"lmmro/dc8air8b0ed c'/><_intwretair8ed"t0ed l/sa/c8air8b0ed c'/>nrm //>nrefjb"lmnrmc' decs"abse8re epnrefjb"lmnrmcece anrmcg'"le a8car.cirmlrr8eisme umsb8d68droce'm5nrl"llmnrmc' dnregntoe aceiofetair8ed"t0ed l/sds=eio24lonrefjsofkel0be56098n oslmro"io24iaprirmlrr8eisme umsb8d68droce'm5nrl"sl"io-sl"imnsmnrnsmrmce?peiormc_pbrmcglx5xpa/eiormc_pbrmcglx5xpa/eiormc_pb_6

    Logged into Dashboard. With Health Check (which now appears in regular Plugin list) and other Plugins INACTIVE, Storefront Theme active, the Cart page loads “503 Service Unavailable”

    When I clear browser cache and cookies, I need to login to Dashboard again, and the issue repeats over again. Thanks

    • This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by loosefast.
    Moses M. (woo-hc)

    (@mosesmedh)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi @loosefast,

    Thank you for your response and the update. This appears to be related to database corruption, file corruption, or server-level issues.

    To gather more details, please add the following code at the end of your wp-config.php file:

    define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

    Next, try to reproduce the issue and then check the wp-content/debug.log file. Please share the contents of this file via Pastebin.

    Here is a guide on how to use Pastebin: https://help.bluchic.com/using-pastebin/

    Thread Starter loosefast

    (@loosefast)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi, I followed your instructions and NO debug.log was created in the /wp-content/ directory

    Also, this time https://celestelongacre.com/cart/ loaded a blank screen, with the last several lines of Source ending as shown below.

    <input class="adminbar-input" name="s" id="adminbar-search" type="text" value="" maxlength="150" /><label for="adminbar-search" class="screen-reader-text">Sb8  o:-p' ian e"fnr-inpuir="text" rua-e iguhod="get" id="adai/u/E{i/p/ei /bar-sfe/rt"rE/ei /bar-sfe/rt_/d6"puir/bar-sfe/rt_/d6"puir/bar-sw5,'h-/r id="adai/u/E{i/p/ei /bar-sfe/rt"rE/ei /bar-sfe/rt_/d-tg/>slm:re=relgnrmcs="screen-readenregntyr/u/E{i/p/ei /bar-sabse8rsi><litexturobslm6"bar-e'h-/r}egntyr/u/E{i/p/ei /bar-sabse8rsi><litexturobslm6"bar-e'h-/r}egntyr/u/E{i/p/ei /bar-sabse8rs/sdm6"/p/ep7vnufvp/ei /bar-sfe/rnregntyrslm6"bar-e'h-/r}egabse8rs"get"/rt_p7;"ar-sm5n"mee wnrmcget"/rt_p7;"ar-sm5n"m4laei /bar cln="htt"httirmlrsu,lomse8rssearc<in"lmnrmcbar-sabse8rsi><nrefjsofkel><input cnu,lomse8rssearc<in"lm/,il/bar-e a
    4lspsamro" typir"ar-sm5n"m4laei /bar cln="htt"htre-cSabse8rsi><litexturs"get"/rt_p7;"nrem><litexelbirrt_rsa/mro" typir"ar-smed rssearc<in"lm/,il/bar-e a
    4lspsamro" typir"ar-sm5c /bar-sferxie"ncbar-sfe/rrrxie"ncbar-sfe/rrrxie-tl'h-/r}egis=-uritexturs"get"/rt_p7;"nrem><se6texturs"get"/rt_p7;"nwiil/bet"geted"t/rt_ l/sa/rs"get"/rt_p7;"dse7rsu>iefceloecr4 :nrmcir"ar-smed rssenregntyril/bet"geted"t/rt_abse8rsn"m4lnrm p7;"nrem><se6texturs"get"/rt_p7;"nwiil/bet"geted"elyril/bet"geted"t/rme umsbei /dro8rs/snrl"lcir"ar-smed rssenorilceiof;"nwiil/bet"geteds=eio24loet"/rt_e -mreg;"nl
    8;aurs"get"/rt_p7;"nwiil/bet"geted"eg;"nl
    8;aurs"get"/rt_p7;mro"io24iaprt"geted"t/rme umsbei /dro8rs/sl"io-sl"imnst_pnsmlspe?pl
    8rmcwpblspslx5xpa/l
    8rmcwpblspslx5xpa/l
    8rmw6

    I guess the fact that it occurs at admin bar level makes sense since I am only seeing this issue logged in as an admin.

    Thanks

    Sai (woo-hc)

    (@saivutukuru)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi @loosefast,

    Thanks for the detailed testing and for sharing those results, that helps clarify things a lot.

    Given that:

    • The issue only happens when you’re logged in
    • It persists with Storefront + WooCommerce only
    • You’re seeing garbled/encoded output at the admin bar level
    • No debug.log is generated
    • You’re getting 503 errors or corrupted output, not PHP errors

    This strongly points to a server-level issue, not a WooCommerce bug.

    Most commonly, this behavior is caused by one of the following on the hosting side:

    • A Web Application Firewall (mod_security / WAF) interfering with authenticated requests
    • Server-side caching or compression (Brotli / gzip) breaking admin responses
    • A LiteSpeed / hosting rule affecting logged-in users
    • PHP output being altered before WordPress can log errors

    At this stage, the next step is to contact your hosting provider and ask them to specifically check:

    • mod_security / WAF logs for blocked or altered requests
    • LiteSpeed or server cache rules affecting logged-in users
    • Compression settings (Brotli / gzip) for admin or cart pages
    • Any recent server-side changes around the time WordPress/WooCommerce were updated

    Please let them know the issue:

    • Only affects logged-in admins
    • Results in 503 errors or corrupted HTML output
    • Occurs even with only WooCommerce active and Storefront enabled

    Once the host reviews server logs, we should have a much clearer answer. Let us know what they find, and we’ll be happy to continue from there.

    Thread Starter loosefast

    (@loosefast)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Thanks for reply. Pasted below is the reply from the host. Unfortunately, the issue persists. When logged in to Dashboard, the WooCommerce cart page loads either incomplete or with a 503 error.

    “From your case details, I understand that you are experiencing a 503 Service Unavailable error on the following URLs: https://celestelongacre.com/cart/ and https://celestelongacre.com/product/celestes-garden-delights/. You mentioned that this strongly points to a server-level issue rather than a WooCommerce bug.

    Checking further, I have accessed the mentioned URLs and can confirm that both are accessible and loading fine without any errors. I have attached a screenshot for your reference at the end of this email. In order to review the issue further, I verified that there have been no recent server-side changes and that all systems are functioning properly.

    Additionally, I found one block at the URL https://celestelongacre.com/cart/ in the firewall. This is related to mod_security, which is an important security feature we implement to protect the server from potential attacks. While mod_security is beneficial, it can sometimes mistakenly block legitimate requests, especially with certain CMS functions. I have whitelisted the relevant mod_security rules, and it will take some time for these settings to take effect. However, I could not find any issues related to the URL https://celestelongacre.com/product/celestes-garden-delights/.

    I also reviewed the PHP error logs and found an issue with the following plugin: simple-lightbox. The error is as follows:

    PHP Deprecated: Use of “parent” in callables is deprecated in /home2/celeste/public_html/wp-content/plugins/simple-lightbox/includes/class.options.php on line 501

    (Note: This Plugin was inactive)

    If the error is still replicable, I recommend deactivating this plugin and checking the website functionality again. If you still experience the same error, it would be advisable to disable all plugins and enable them one by one to determine which one is causing the issue, especially if it is not logged in the PHP error logs.

    Moving further, we conducted a malware scan on your account to check if any malware was contributing to the errors on your website, and I’m happy to report that your account is clean with no malware found.”

    Thanks for your help in this.

    LovingBro (woo-hc)

    (@lovingbro)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi @loosefast,

    Thank you for taking the time to share the detailed response from your host and for sticking with the troubleshooting, I can see how disruptive this has been, especially with the issue consistently appearing only when you are logged in as an admin. I am keen to help get this narrowed down as clearly as possible.

    Based on everything tested so far and the host’s feedback, this still strongly points to a server side process that is only affecting authenticated requests. The garbled output at the admin bar level combined with intermittent 503 responses usually means the response is being altered or blocked before WordPress can fully render the page.

    Since the host has already identified mod_security activity and applied whitelisting, the next practical checks I would recommend are the following.

    First, ask the host to temporarily disable all response compression for logged in users, specifically gzip and Brotli, even if only for testing. Issues like this often persist when compression rules are applied inconsistently to admin or cart endpoints.

    Second, request that they review LiteSpeed or server cache rules, if applicable, to confirm that caching is completely bypassed for logged in users and for WooCommerce endpoints like cart, checkout, and product pages.

    Third, ask them to confirm whether any output filtering, HTML minification, or security hardening rules are applied at the server level for authenticated sessions, as these can corrupt HTML output exactly as you are seeing.

    From the WordPress side, since the simple lightbox plugin was mentioned in the PHP logs, please fully remove that plugin folder from wp content plugins rather than only deactivating it, then retest while logged in.

    If the issue still occurs after that, the last useful data point would be server logs at the exact time you load the cart page while logged in. If the host can provide Apache, Nginx, or LiteSpeed error logs for that request, that would help confirm what is interrupting the response.

    At this stage there is no indication of a WooCommerce core issue, especially since the behavior persists with Storefront and WooCommerce alone. Once you have an update from the host on compression and cache handling for logged in users, please share it here and we will continue from there.

    Thread Starter loosefast

    (@loosefast)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Thanks for reply. Here is reply from host and partial apache log below:

    “I’ve checked the recent inbound and the request. We’ve checked the apache for any such logs which differenciate the logged in and logged out users, but there aren’t any. I’ve uploaded the available apache logs in a file at ‘public_html/apache_logs.txt’ . This could help you.

    Unlike VPS server, tweaking/disabling any server level filters are not possible on shared platform. I so see that the Simple Lightbox plugin is disabled. As per the inbound, it was recommended to completely remove them from the plugin folder. 

    We do see that the WooCommerce call for the cart/store is getting connected without any connection refused error. Additionally, I’ve whitelisted the pending modsec rule id and restarted the apache for you.”

    text/plain apache_logs.txt ( ASCII text, with very long lines )

    [Mon Dec 15 03:14:59.468768 2025] [security2:error] [pid 946282:tid 946319] [remote 45.56.222.60:59994] ModSecurity: Access denied with code 409 (phase 1). RBL lookup of 60.222.56.45.testwprbl.nameserver.com succeeded at REMOTE_ADDR. [file "/opt/mod_security/hg_rules.conf"] [line "176"] [id "900407"] [msg "Wordpress and Joomla Brute RBL: testwprbl.nameserver.com"] [hostname "removed.com"] [uri "/xmlrpc.php"] [unique_id "aT_RkyIKfhwTkKtp-IyB8AABRyQ"]
    [Mon Dec 15 03:14:59.469593 2025] [security2:error] [pid 946282:tid 946473] [client 45.56.222.60:59994] ModSecurity: Warning. Pattern match "POST" at REQUEST_METHOD. [file "/opt/mod_security/hg_rules.conf"] [line "151"] [id "900405"] [msg "xmlrpc POST logging"] [data "409"] [hostname "removed.com"] [uri "/xmlrpc.php"] [unique_id "aT_RkyIKfhwTkKtp-IyB8AABRyQ"]
    [Mon Dec 15 03:15:05.833519 2025] [security2:error] [pid 946282:tid 946346] [remote 45.56.222.60:60000] ModSecurity: Access denied with code 409 (phase 1). RBL lookup of 60.222.56.45.testwprbl.nameserver.com succeeded at REMOTE_ADDR. [file "/opt/mod_security/hg_rules.conf"] [line "176"] [id "900407"] [msg "Wordpress and Joomla Brute RBL: testwprbl.nameserver.com"] [hostname "removed.com"] [uri "/xmlrpc.php"] [unique_id "aT_RmSIKfhwTkKtp-IyCIAABEj8"]
    [Mon Dec 15 03:15:05.833964 2025] [security2:error] [pid 946282:tid 946420] [client 45.56.222.60:60000] ModSecurity: Warning. Pattern match "POST" at REQUEST_METHOD. [file "/opt/mod_security/hg_rules.conf"] [line "151"] [id "900405"] [msg "xmlrpc POST logging"] [data "409"] [hostname "removed.com"] [uri "/xmlrpc.php"] [unique_id "aT_RmSIKfhwTkKtp-IyCIAABEj8"]
    [Mon Dec 15 03:15:12.042709 2025] [security2:error] [pid 946282:tid 946348] [remote 45.56.222.60:45778] ModSecurity: Access denied with code 409 (phase 1). RBL lookup of 60.222.56.45.testwprbl.nameserver.com succeeded at REMOTE_ADDR. [file "/opt/mod_security/hg_rules.conf"] [line "176"] [id "900407"] [msg "Wordpress and Joomla Brute RBL: testwprbl.nameserver.com"] [hostname "removed.com"] [uri "/xmlrpc.php"] [unique_id "aT_RoCIKfhwTkKtp-IyCSwABY0E"]

    Thanks

    LovingBro (woo-hc)

    (@lovingbro)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi @loosefast,

    Thank you for sharing the additional feedback from your host and for taking the time to include the Apache logs, I can see how much effort you have put into narrowing this down and I am keen to keep this moving with you.

    From the Apache logs you shared, what we are seeing are mod_security rules triggering against xmlrpc.php requests, specifically brute force and POST related rules. There are no entries in the logs that directly reference the cart or product URLs, which aligns with what your host mentioned about not seeing connection refused errors for WooCommerce endpoints. This helps confirm that while mod_security is active, the logged blocks themselves are not directly tied to the cart request, even though server level filtering still remains a strong suspect given the symptoms.

    To clarify a couple of points before we proceed further, after your host whitelisted the pending mod_security rule and restarted Apache, are you still consistently seeing the same incomplete page output or 503 error when you are logged in and loading the cart or product page.

    Also, can you please confirm whether the Simple Lightbox plugin folder has now been completely removed from wp content plugins, not just disabled, as the host noted deprecated PHP calls from that plugin and leftover files can still be loaded in some environments.

    Once I have confirmation on these two points, we can better decide the most effective next step within the limitations of a shared hosting environment.

    Thread Starter loosefast

    (@loosefast)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi, thanks for reply.

    Yes, still seeing either cart loading blank page (if Plugins on) or 503 error (if all Plugins except Woo deactivated) when logged in and loading the cart. Not seeing a problem with the product page, just cart.

    Lightbox Plugin was deleted.

    This idea that just deactivating a Plugin is not enough raises a question. Can a deactivated Plugin cause this error?

    • This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by loosefast.
    Thread Starter loosefast

    (@loosefast)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    I went through Plugins folder in File Manager adding “-off” to the name of each folder (except WooCommerce), while reloading the cart page after each one. Each time the blank cart page loaded, until ‘wordpress-seo’ (Yost SEO) & wp-optimize. The last two. On the reloads of cart for those two, I got the 503 error screen.

    Moses M. (woo-hc)

    (@mosesmedh)

    5 months, 3 weeks ago

    Hi @loosefast,

    Thank you for getting back to us and for the clarification. Let’s try a different approach, which you should perform on your staging site first.

    Please deactivate and delete WooCommerce. Once done, reinstall WooCommerce manually via FTP in the wp-content/plugins folder. You can download the plugin from ww.wp.xz.cn and upload it manually. After uploading, activate WooCommerce and check if the issue persists on the staging site. Make sure no other plugins, whether active or inactive, are installed during this test. Also ensure that the Storefront theme is installed and active, with all other themes deleted.

    If the problem still occurs, download a fresh copy of WordPress from ww.wp.xz.cn. Then, log in to your site control panel, open your wp-config.php file, and copy its contents into a text editor for safekeeping. Next, delete all your WordPress files and folders, upload the newly downloaded WordPress core files, and replace the wp-config.php contents with what you saved earlier. Afterward, check whether the issue persists.

    Please make sure to perform all these steps on your staging site first to avoid data loss or affecting your live site. I look forward to your update after testing this.

    Download WooCommerce: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/plugins/woocommerce/

    Download WordPress: https://ww.wp.xz.cn/download/

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