Not valid JSON

  • horvatt

    (@horvatt)


    4 days, 8 hours ago

    As I go through the setup procedure, at the end, I recieve a number of

    “The response is not a valid JSON response.”

    error messages. The setup process shows the successful setup message, but the setup is actually not done.

    The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Plugin Support chandelierrr

    (@shanedelierrr)

    3 days, 11 hours ago

    Hi @horvatt,

    Glad you reached out!

    That “The response is not a valid JSON response” message usually means WordPress expected a clean JSON reply from the REST API during onboarding, but got something else back instead (HTML, a block page, a PHP notice, or a blocked request). The setup UI can still show a success message even when some of the save steps failed, which matches what you’re seeing. Kadence Security’s setup relies on the REST API, including methods like PUT, so the requests need to reach /wp-json/ cleanly.

    Here’s what to try on your site:

    • Visit https://yoursite.com/wp-json/ in a browser (use your real domain). You should see JSON, not an error page, login page, or blank screen.
    • Go to Tools → Site Health and check whether the REST API test is failing. If it is, Site Health often shows useful detail about why.
    • Go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes without changing anything, then try the setup again.
    • Ask your host to confirm these REST HTTP methods are allowed: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, and OPTIONS. Some hosts (especially shared/Windows setups) block some methods and that breaks onboarding.
    • Temporarily deactivate other plugins (especially caching, firewall/WAF, and optimization plugins), then retry setup. We’ve seen other plugins inject output that corrupts the JSON response.
    • If you have <code class=””>WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY enabled, set it to false in wp-config.php. Printed PHP notices/warnings can also break JSON responses.

    If it still fails, open your browser’s Developer Tools → Network tab, run through setup again, and look for the failing /wp-json/ithemes-security/ request. A screenshot of that request’s status code and response body would help a lot.

    I hope this helps!

    brenteke_123

    (@brenteke_123)

    9 hours, 12 minutes ago

    Hi

    I have the same issue as described above. Following the normal setup on a hosting where I have done this ton of times. 🙂

    I tried clearing caches, removing and reinstalling the plugin, saving permalinks, look at site health, WP-JSON is working fine, …

    Screenshot of errors:

    Screenshot of Network Tab as asked:

    Failing request details:

    pe @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    de @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    le @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    Z @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    ce @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    Z @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    apiFetch.W @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    r @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    ue @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    c @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=d7efe4dc1468d36c39b8:2
    API_FETCH @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-content/plugins/better-wp-security/dist/packages/data.js?ver=18164e7f1600e6331b74:1
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    l @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    n @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    i @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    f @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    m @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    push.96691.Z.API_FETCH_BATCH @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-content/plugins/better-wp-security/dist/packages/data.js?ver=18164e7f1600e6331b74:1
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    reduxRoutine.b.any @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    u @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    l @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    n @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    callback @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-content/plugins/better-wp-security/dist/pages/settings.js?ver=5b07dca3203d83be8d6e:4
    $t @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-content/plugins/better-wp-security/dist/pages/settings.js?ver=5b07dca3203d83be8d6e:1
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    reduxRoutine.b.any @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    u @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    k @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    l @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    n @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/redux-routine.min.js?ver=64f9f5001aabc046c605:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=1756b6a2676c1b3369ab:2
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-content/plugins/better-wp-security/dist/pages/settings.js?ver=5b07dca3203d83be8d6e:4
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-content/plugins/better-wp-security/dist/5596.js?ver=2d3069b696bb10c3cae3:2
    Id @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:165
    Ji @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:179
    Hi @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:179
    Hk @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:178
    Rk @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:197
    xb @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:196
    Li @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:189
    db @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:79
    (anonymous) @ https://cobb-bikes.be/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/react-dom.min.js?ver=18.3.1.1:184
    jenja

    (@jenja)

    3 hours, 17 minutes ago

    Hi,

    I’m seeing the exact same issue and wanted to add another confirmed data point, since it seems to affect multiple, completely unrelated hosting environments — not a single host’s configuration.

    I’m experiencing this on four different websites, spread across two different hosting providers (IONOS and Webgo), all with different hosting packages. On all of them, saving any setting in Kadence Security (and even attempting a fresh installation on one site) fails with:

    “The response is not a valid JSON response”

    I’ve already ruled out several common causes:

    • Disabled all other plugins one by one — issue persists
    • Temporarily disabled my firewall plugin (NinjaFirewall) — issue persists
    • Confirmed the regular REST API works fine (/wp-json/wp/v2/posts returns 200 OK)
    • The specific endpoint that fails is /wp-json/batch/v1 — it returns a 403, while all other REST endpoints work normally
    • Site Health shows no critical issues, permalinks were re-saved, caches cleared

    Given that this happens simultaneously across two unrelated hosts and four separate installations, it looks less like a server-side configuration issue and more like something related to how the plugin’s batch save mechanism (API_FETCH_BATCH) is being handled right now — this matches what another user reported here just a few hours ago, with the identical API_FETCH_BATCH call failing in their console output as well.

    Has there been a recent update to the plugin or to the batch save mechanism that could explain this? Any update on a fix would be much appreciated, as this is currently blocking basic settings management across all affected sites.

    Thanks for looking into it!

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