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errorWordfence•apiapisecurityfirewallmemorymemory_limitbug_reportscan_error•star_halfUncommon•warningModerate

Wordfence scan failed: Unexpected response code 500 from Wordfence servers

Wordfence attempts to contact its cloud API during a scan. If the request fails, Wordfence records a 500 response.

Common triggers include an outdated auto_prepend_file entry, low PHP memory limits, or a host firewall which blocks the API request. Corrupted plugin files or mismatched PHP version also produce fatal errors which result in the 500 code.

Symptoms

[dashicons-warning]
Dashboard error
The Wordfence dashboard shows “Scan failed: Unexpected response code 500 from Wordfence servers.”
[dashicons-admin-site]
Live traffic blank
Live Traffic page stays empty or shows a blank screen.
[dashicons-clock]
Cron scan fails
Scheduled scans do not run and no results appear.

Common Causes

Incorrect auto_prepend_file path
The .user.ini file still points to an old location of wordfence-waf.php after migration.
PHP limits too low
memory_limit or max_execution_time is insufficient, causing the request to abort.
ModSecurity block
Host firewall blocks outbound request to api.wordfence.com, forcing a 500 response.
Corrupt Wordfence files
Leftover files from previous version contain hard‑coded paths which no longer exist.
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