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check_circleWP Rocket•admin_panel_settingspermissionserror403rocketrocketcdnsettingsserver_configuration•star_halfUncommon•warningModerate

Error 403 (forbidden) when RocketCDN is active

When RocketCDN is enabled WordPress serves static files from the CDN domain. The server receives requests that contain WordPress nonces or external referrers. Security rules or file permissions reject those requests and return HTTP 403. The result is a forbidden response for CSS, JS, images and sometimes admin AJAX calls.

Typical triggers include .htaccess directives that deny access to the cache folder, ModSecurity rules that flag the CDN URL, incorrect permissions on the RocketCDN cache directory, and hotlink protection that blocks external referrers. When a nonce expires the cached response may also be served, causing the server to reject it.

Symptoms

[dashicons-warning]
403 page displayed
Browser shows a forbidden page for any URL that points to the CDN.
[dashicons-warning]
Missing styles and scripts
Site loads without CSS or JavaScript because those files return 403.
[dashicons-warning]
Admin AJAX actions fail
Operations like Clear Cache or Save Settings return a 403 error in the admin toolbar.
[dashicons-warning]
Partial page rendering
HTML appears but the page looks broken due to blocked assets.
[dashicons-warning]
White screen for logged‑in users
Logged‑in visitors see a blank page because nonce‑related requests are blocked.

Common Causes

.htaccess blocking rules
Security plugins or manual edits add deny directives in wp‑content or cache folders that affect RocketCDN files.
ModSecurity false positive
Web‑application firewall flags RocketCDN requests as malicious and returns 403.
Incorrect file permissions
RocketCDN cache directory has wrong permissions; folders need 755 and files need 644.
Hotlink protection settings
CDN security or hotlink rules deny external referrers, causing RocketCDN assets to be blocked.
Nonce‑caching conflict
RocketCDN caches a request that contains a WordPress nonce; when the nonce expires the cached response is served and the server rejects it.
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