Fixed: Forbidden Executing in an invalid environment for the supplied user on cPanel

[Helposoft Staff]

If you encountered an issue on cPanel server where you are getting an "Account Suspended" message and a 403 Forbidden error when trying to access my website, even though the account was newly created or not suspended. I wanted to share my experience and the solution that worked for me in case anyone else faces a similar problem.

Issue: When I accessed my website, I received the following message:

Account Suspended
This Account has been suspended.
Contact your hosting provider for more information.
Status: 403 Forbidden Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 403 Forbidden Executing in an invalid environment for the supplied user

Steps I Took to Resolve the Issue:

1. Checked Account Suspension Status:
   • Logged into WHM.
   • Navigated to List Accounts to confirm that the account was not suspended.
   • Also checked Manage Account Suspension to ensure the account was not marked as suspended.
2. Verified File Permissions and Ownership:
   • Ensured that directories had 755 permissions and files had 644 permissions.
   • Verified that the files and directories were owned by the correct user:
     
     

     chmod 755 /home/username/public_html
     chmod 644 /home/username/public_html/*
     chown -R username:username /home/username/public_html

3. Reviewed .htaccess Configuration:
   • Renamed the .htaccess file to rule out any restrictive rules:
     

     mv /home/username/public_html/.htaccess /home/username/public_html/.htaccess.backup

4. Checked Apache and cPanel Configuration:
   • Rebuilt the Apache configuration and restarted the service:
     
     

     /scripts/rebuildhttpdconf
     service httpd restart

     
     
   • Updated user domains in cPanel:
     
     

     /scripts/updateuserdomains

5. Examined ModSecurity and Firewall Rules:
   • Reviewed ModSecurity logs and temporarily disabled it for testing.
   • Ensured firewall rules were not blocking legitimate traffic.
6. Verified DNS Settings:
   • Confirmed DNS settings for the domain were correct.
   • Allowed time for DNS changes to propagate.
7. SSL Installation (Must):
   • Solution that worked: I installed an SSL certificate for the domain, which resolved the issue immediately. After the SSL installation, the "Account Suspended" message and 403 Forbidden error were no longer displayed.

Conclusion:If you're facing similar issues, I recommend checking your SSL certificate configuration as a potential fix. Installing or reinstalling the SSL certificate can resolve underlying configuration issues that may lead to such errors.

I hope this helps anyone else who might encounter the same problem. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!