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errorWordfence•admin_panel_settingspermissionslocksslcodecURLsecurityfirewall•labelCommon•warningModerate

Wordfence firewall update failed: Unable to download latest rules

The firewall attempts to fetch new rule signatures from Wordfence servers. The request fails and the plugin cannot write the updated rules file.

Failure usually stems from a permission problem on the wflogs directory, a blocked outbound connection, or a mis‑configured PHP cURL/SSL library.

Symptoms

[dashicons-warning]
Admin notice
The dashboard shows “The last rules update for the Wordfence Web Application Firewall was unsuccessful. Unable to download latest rules.”
[dashicons-media-default]
Zero‑byte file
The file wp-content/wflogs/rules.php remains 0 KB after an update attempt.
[dashicons-admin-site]
cURL error
Diagnostics report lists cURL error 7 or failed IPv6 connection.

Common Causes

Folder permissions
The wflogs directory or rules.php is not writable by the web‑server user.
Outbound block
Server cannot reach noc1.wordfence.com or other rule servers because of firewall, SELinux, or host blocklist.
cURL/SSL mis‑config
PHP cURL lacks a valid CA bundle or OpenSSL library is mis‑configured, leading to connection failures.
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