Errors with version 5.6.6

  • Resolved Matt Scheidler

    (@matt6303)


    4 weeks, 1 day ago

    I’m running this plugin on 100+ websites. The sites are configured to email me if there is an error when the job runs.

    After upgrading from 5.6.5 to 5.6.6, a handful of the sites have sent error logs.

    All of them have this error:

    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:09] ERROR: Allowed memory size of 268435456 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 61440 bytes)
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:10] 2. Try to backup database …
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:10] Connected to database xxxxx on localhost
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:10] ERROR: Allowed memory size of 268435456 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 61440 bytes)
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:11] 3. Try to backup database …
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:11] Connected to database xxxxx on localhost
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:12] ERROR: Allowed memory size of 268435456 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 61440 bytes)
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:13] ERROR: Step aborted: too many attempts!

    Some of them also have this error:

    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:13] WARNING: Attempt to read property “post_type” on null
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:13] WARNING: Attempt to read property “post_type” on null
    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:13] WARNING: Attempt to read property “post_type” on null

    I am doing database-only backups, and the files appear to still be generated and sent to Dropbox.

    At the end I get this message;

    [07-Mar-2026 04:20:31] ERROR: Job has ended with errors in 27 seconds. You must resolve the errors for correct execution.

    Some of the sites have Legacy jobs, but some of the sites have jobs via the new UI. That itself doesn’t seem to be the issue.

    Glad to provide more information to help troubleshoot and correct the issue. I don’t think this is a problem with the memory on my sites, but rather something in the process is taking up too much memory. Thank you.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
  • Plugin Support WPM Support

    (@saranshwpm)

    3 weeks, 6 days ago

    Hi @matt6303,

    Thank you for sharing the logs and the details.

    From what I can see, there were no changes in BackWPup 5.6.6 related to the database backup process that would cause a difference in memory usage, so the update itself should not introduce this behavior.

    There are a few possibilities that could explain what you are seeing:

    1. Temporary server memory pressure

    Sometimes when the backup runs, the server may already be under higher load and the PHP process cannot allocate additional memory. This can lead to the Allowed memory size exhausted error even if the site normally works fine.

    Could you confirm if the issue is consistent when you trigger a manual backup, or does it only happen during the scheduled run?

    2. Hosting environment (IONOS)

    I also noticed you mentioned a similar issue in the past. If the affected sites are hosted on IONOS, this might be related to the hosting environment.

    We previously saw a case on IONOS where very large database tables (for example Wordfence tables such as wp_wffilechanges or wp_wffilemods) caused database backups to exceed the memory limit. In that case, cleaning or truncating those tables resolved the issue.

    It may be worth checking if the database contains any very large tables.

    3. Reducing the load during backup

    You could also try lowering the resource usage of the backup process to see if it makes any difference:

    • Go to BackWPup → Settings → Job
    • Set Reduce server load to Minimum
    • Lower Maximum Script Execution Time to around 20 seconds

    This makes the backup process run in smaller steps and can help on more restrictive hosting environments.

    Let me know what you find after checking these points and we can continue troubleshooting from there.

    Thread Starter Matt Scheidler

    (@matt6303)

    3 weeks, 5 days ago

    I have one site on Ionos hosting, which is not affected by the current issue.

    The remainder of my 100+ sites, including all sites affected by the current issue, are in a cPanel environment.

    Two other users have reported the same thing after also upgrading to 5.6.6, but the moderator removed their comments per the forum guidelines. As the OP, I’ll provide more info.

    Five of my sites have encountered the issue since upgrading.

    Of note, four of the five sites were at 256M. I increased them to 512M and all but one ran the next night.

    One of the five was at 128M. I increased it to 256M but it failed again the next night. I’ve now just increased it to 512M like the others. I’m not sure what is different about this site, but backups were being performed with a 128M memory_limit prior to your update and now even 256 isn’t enough.

    Separately, I took one of the affected sites using your new UI, and changed Reduce Server Load to “minimum” (it was “disabled”) and lowered “maximum number script execution time” to 20. (it was 30) and then lowered its PHP limit back to 256M.

    I cannot immediately identify any common factor in these 5 sites that might be contributing to the issue. I am happy to do this troubleshooting, as I have done with past issues, and will report back.

    Thank you.

    Plugin Support WPM Support

    (@saranshwpm)

    3 weeks, 5 days ago

    Hi @matt6303,

    Thanks for reporting this.

    Since this appears to be specific to your certain setup, it would be easier for us to investigate it more closely if you could reach out to us directly. Like last time, we should be able to take a deeper look and help you troubleshoot it properly.

    Looking forward to your message.

    Thread Starter Matt Scheidler

    (@matt6303)

    3 weeks, 5 days ago

    Thank you for the reply.

    Three others have commented to say “it’s happening to me too” but their posts are moderated before you can see them. (I do encourage others to open their own topic per the forum guidelines.)

    I will send an email to Support to continue the conversation.

    Plugin Support WPM Support

    (@saranshwpm)

    3 weeks, 3 days ago

    Hey @matt6303

    Thanks for the follow-up.

    Looking forward to your message.

    Frank Jäger

    (@fotodrachen)

    3 weeks, 2 days ago

    Hi Matt,
    I had the same problem.
    My database-size was >200M.
    With a database-cleaner-plugin I removed a lot of “revisions”.
    The new db-size is 150M and BackWPup 5.6.6 now works again.

    Plugin Support WPM Support

    (@saranshwpm)

    2 weeks, 6 days ago

    Hello, @matt6303.

    As I have not heard from you, I am closing this thread for the time being.

    You are always welcome to restart this or contact us.

    Best regards.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

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