Access required after Version 230815 Update

#1

When I login to the back-end wp-admin as site admin, I get the dashboard and WP page ok…

(THE ISSUE)
1.) While logged in as user or site admin: I click view the website, I am no longer able to view the website. I get the “Access required” error. Weirdly, or randomly it will operate as before, letting me view the pages, as I click around (no changes made). But 99% of the time it presents “Access required”
2.) When in WP-ADMIN, s2Member - Multisite (Config) page is blank.

multisite-admin
multisite-admin.png1904×922 73.9 KB

Fortunately I documented all the changes I made. It’s possible one of the below may be causing the issue. Please see below for anything that may have triggered it.

(WORDPRESS)

  • Upgraded from Wordpress 6.2 to 6.3

(PHP)

  • Upgraded from PHP 7.2 to to PHP 8.2

(PLUGINS - UPDATED)

  • Upgraded Ajax Search Lite from 4.9.2 to Version 4.11.2
  • Upgraded Akismet Anti-Spam from Version 4.1.9 to 5.2
  • Breadcrumb NavXT from Version 6.6.0 to 7.2.0
  • Classic Editor from Version 1.6 to 1.6.3
  • CM Tooltip Glossary Pro+ from Version 3.4.0 to 4.2.8
  • Contact Form 7 from Version 5.4 to 5.8
  • Favicon by RealFaviconGenerator from Version 1.3.20 to 1.3.27
  • Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights from Version 7.17.0 to 8.18
  • PDF Embedder from Version 4.6.2 to 4.6.4
  • Peter’s Login Redirect from Version 2.9.9 to 3.0.8.4
  • Post Types Order from Version 1.9.5.6 to 2.1
  • Quick Page/Post Redirect Plugin from Version 5.2.2 to 5.2.4
  • Reveal IDs from Version 1.5.4 to 1.6.1
    - s2Member Framework from Version 210208 to 230815
  • Yoast Duplicate Post from Version 4.1.2 to 4.5
  • Yoast SEO from Version 16.1.1 to 20.13

(PLUGINS - DELETED)

  • Easy Watermark

(THEMES)

  • Deleted unused Theme - Twenty Thirteen
  • Deleted unused Theme - Twenty Fourteen
  • Deleted unused Theme - Twenty Fifteen
  • Deleted unused Theme - Twenty Sixteen
  • Deleted unused Theme - Twenty Seventeen

(CONTACT FORM)

  • Validated Contact Form 7
#2

Same thing happened to me. After updating s2member, I can no longer log in as the site’s administrator user.

I had to create another admin user through the database.

This update is causing problems.

#3

Thanks for the report, guys.

I checked in one of my test installations with PHP8, and don’t get that behavior…

Screenshot%202023-08-19%20at%2003-25-34%20s2Member%20%E2%80%B9%20Network%20Admin%20s2Member%20Tests%20Install%20Sites%20%E2%80%94%20WordPress

Do you see any entries in your PHP errors log (e.g. debug.log). https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/debugging-in-wordpress/

Same thing happened to me. After updating s2member, I can no longer log in as the site’s administrator user.

That’s very odd. s2Member doesn’t affect admin access, not the admin area or the admin account. And I don’t know that any of the things changed in this update have anything to do with admin access either.

Did you update other things too?

This update is causing problems.

What other problems are you seeing?

I look forward to your updates. :slight_smile:

#4

I did some tests and found something in s2member.php that is throwing a notice, although apparently only when trying to activate the plugin. Attached is the file with a fix for it.

s2member.php 230815 wfix.zip (2.7 KB)

Please replace your /wp-content/plugins/s2member/s2member.php file with the one in the zip file above.

Could you try it and see if it changes what you’re getting? I don’t know if it’d be behind the problem you’re seeing, but it’s worth a try.

:slight_smile:

#5

OK… will try the fix and report back in… Here is the link to the current debug log, prior to fix. Thank you so much for the quick response by the way!

1 Like
#6

Thanks Brian. :slight_smile:

I don’t see any mention of s2Member there… Did you just enable WP_DEBUG? Did you reproduce the problem after enabling logging?

By the way, it’s best if you don’t show publicly your log file. I’d recommend you delete that copy you linked to above.

I look forward to your update after trying the changed file. :+1:

#7
  • Same negative results unfortunately with the updated s2member.php file.
  • Yes, I enabled the below in the wpconfig.php file.

// Enable WP_DEBUG mode
define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, true );

// Enable Debug logging to the /wp-content/debug.log file
define( ‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true );

// Disable display of errors and warnings
define( ‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, false );
@ini_set( ‘display_errors’, 0 );

// Use dev versions of core JS and CSS files (only needed if you are modifying these core files)
define( ‘SCRIPT_DEBUG’, true );

#8

Can I reach you in a private way? email maybe?

#9

Thanks for the update.

I just noticed something in your screenshot earlier… It has a link to get the Pro add-on.

That’d mean your installation doesn’t have Pro active. Multisite would require s2Member Pro.

Maybe Pro got deactivated. It wouldn’t normally, at least not in the many latest releases, but re-reading your versions, I see you updated from a much older one (v210208), older than the minimum required version (v210526).

Could you try uploading a matching version of Pro? Just get the zip from your Account page https://s2member.com/account/ Then upload it from Wp Admin > Plugins > Add New > Upload

:slight_smile:

#10

I am 3rd Party IT, here in Houston Tx. I am assisting the end user / customer. I looked through all of her notes, and do not see login credentials for s2Member. We have a single site, with 2 themes (English and Spanish).I will purchase and setup an account as new. I will follow the instructions and upload each s2member and s2member-pro via ftp, to the wpcontent\plugins folder, activate, etc… Then reapply the hotfix. Will advise.

#11

I purchased and updated. Plugin now shows PRO. It fixed the multi-site (config) page.

multi-site
multi-site.png2970×1197 369 KB

1 Like
#12

But I am still getting access required, when trying to view the website.

access%20required
access required.png2990×1199 259 KB

#13

Here is the latest debug.log with s2member entries.

#14

Thanks for the update, Brian. And I got the email you sent with the login.

After reviewing what you have, I saw a couple odd things that took me a moment to figure out.

That page is the Membership Options Page of your configuration. WP Admin > s2Member Pro > General Options > Membership Options Page

The message is not s2Member’s, but the one that was put on that page by a previous admin.

Screenshot%202023-08-19%20at%2012-59-29%20Edit%20Page%20%E2%80%9CMembership%20Options%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%B9%20CMedEd%20%E2%80%94%20WordPress

In the the Membership Options vars, in the URL after getting redirected there, it mentions that the page protected has ID 15826 and has a tag restriction applied. The tag seems to be members-only at level 4.

I looked up that page, and it’s a page, not a post, where tags in wordpress are normally for posts. And I couldn’t find that page under the tag in the configuration. Also no way to tag the page in the editor.

I went looking in the plugins, and found a Page Tagger plugin that is inactive. Obviously it was used before to tag pages, but then deactivated, so the interface to manage the page tags was removed, but the tags remained and the restriction still applied.

That page, though, was set in your wordpress configuration as the Home page, so no restriction should be applied to it, because then everyone gets sent to the Membership Options Page when landing on your site’s home page.

Having said that, it shouldn’t have been applied to the admin, and it doesn’t after I’m on the site, but when just landing on it from the Network Admin, I did get redirected. I don’t know if it’s part of the conflict between the configurations or just a session confusion from jumping between sites (unlikely, though).

Just enable Page Tagger, remove that “members-only” tag from that page, and try again. Then customize the Membership Options Page, so that it doesn’t give that message to admins (adjusting the s2If shortcodes), to prevent this confusion for your client in the future.

Let me know how it goes.

:slight_smile:

#15

I’m also suspecting that some of the weird behavior of the site may be related to caching, especially object caching.

I see in your log that there are mentions of object caching (WP_Object_Cache). Caching normally isn’t an issue, but with logged in users or with object caching, it can be complicated, and has to be done right.

Object caching in the past has been known to cause unexpected weirdness, and it’s been usually adviced to not use it.

I’d suggest that you look into that and figure out how to disable it. Site caching is fine, but object caching would be better disabled.

:slight_smile: