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errorWordfence•codePHPhourglass_bottomTimeoutinfoWordfenceerror_outlinescan errorsettingsserver_configuration•labelCommon•warningModerate

Wordfence scan failed: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded

Wordfence aborts the scan when PHP stops script execution after 30 seconds. The plugin splits the scan into stages, each stage must finish before the timeout.

If the site contains many files, slow disk, or low PHP limits, a stage exceeds the limit and Wordfence reports a failure.

Symptoms

[dashicons-warning]
Red error banner
Wordfence shows a red banner with the timeout message.
[dashicons-admin-tools]
Scan never completes
Stop Scan button stays active and no results appear.
[dashicons-admin-generic]
Admin bar alert
Wordfence: Scan failed appears in the admin bar.

Common Causes

PHP max_execution_time
Server PHP setting limits script to 30 seconds.
Wordfence stage limit
Plugin setting for each scan stage is 30 seconds.
Large site footprint
Many files or plugins increase scan duration beyond the limit.
Shared hosting throttling
CPU or process caps pause PHP execution, causing timeout.
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