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infoWordPress Core•hourglass_bottomTimeouterrorerrorcodecURLdnsDNSsecurityfirewall•labelCommon•warningModerate

cURL error 28: Resolving timed out after 5000 milliseconds (Code: http_request_failed)

WordPress tries to reach an external host using cURL. The request stops when DNS lookup does not finish within the 5 second limit.

The failure appears as error 28 in logs and prevents updates, API calls, and remote assets from loading. The root cause is usually a DNS problem, firewall block, low timeout setting, or outdated cURL library.

Symptoms

[dashicons-warning]
Admin notice
Site Health shows the cURL error 28 message
[dashicons-update]
Failed updates
Plugins or themes cannot retrieve update information
[dashicons-admin-site]
Broken API calls
Payment gateways, Google Fonts, or embeds do not load
[dashicons-networking]
REST loopback failure
Site Health reports loopback request to your site failed

Common Causes

DNS resolution failure
Server fails to resolve the remote host within the timeout
Outbound firewall block
Security plugin or firewall drops outgoing HTTP requests
Low cURL timeout
WordPress default 5 second limit is too short for slow remote APIs
Outdated cURL library
Old cURL or OpenSSL version prevents proper DNS lookup
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