Wordfence Blocking Password Reset

  • dwlorimer

    (@dwlorimer)


    4 days ago

    Wordfence is blocking users from resetting their password.

    1) Regular user (not admin), goes to password reset page, fills out the email address
    2) Receives email and clicks the reset link in the email
    3) Fills out the new password and password confirmation on the reset page
    4) When clicking submit, Wordfence gives a 403 error.

    “A potentially unsafe operation has been detected in your request to this site

    Your access to this service has been limited. (HTTP response code 403)

    If you think you have been blocked in error, contact the owner of this site for assistance.
    Block Technical Data Block Reason:A potentially unsafe operation has been detected in your request to this site”

    5) I can still log into the site as that user (ie, user isn’t locked out).

    Any ideas?

    ——–
    Most recent version of WordPress (7.0.4).
    Most recent version of Wordfence (9.0), but I confirmed that this behavior was happening on the previous version of wordfence also (Version 8.2.2).

    • This topic was modified 4 days ago by dwlorimer.

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

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
  • Plugin Support wfpeter

    (@wfpeter)

    2 days, 1 hour ago

    Hi @dwlorimer, thanks for detailing your issue.

    As submitting the default WordPress password reset form is normal and common, it’s surprising to see a block taking place. Note that the usernames aren’t locked out, but rather the IP of the user receiving the 403.

    I’m not sure from your post if there’s any custom code, pages, or a conflicting plugin involved that handles user roles, memberships, etc. but it could be worth trying Learning Mode in case it’s a false-positive. Try submitting the form again from an incognito browser window whilst not logged in as an admin when in Learning Mode. If the page starts working as normal, return the firewall to “Enabled and Protecting” and try again.

    Let us know how you get on,
    Peter.

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