Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Fix "WordPress An Error Occurred While Updating: Download Failed Forbidden" Error

If you have ever encountered the "WordPress An Error Occurred While Updating: Download Failed Forbidden" error, then you know how frustrating it can be. This error occurs when you try to update your WordPress website, and the update process fails with the message "Download failed. Forbidden." But don't worry; there is a fix for this error.

What Causes the "WordPress An Error Occurred While Updating: Download Failed Forbidden" Error?

The "WordPress An Error Occurred While Updating: Download Failed Forbidden" error occurs due to a permission issue within your web server. There are two possible causes of this error:

1. File Permissions: Your web server may not have the necessary permissions to download and update files.

2. Modsecurity: The modsecurity module on your web server may be blocking the update process.

How to Fix the "WordPress An Error Occurred While Updating: Download Failed Forbidden" Error

Here are the steps you can take to fix the "WordPress An Error Occurred While Updating: Download Failed Forbidden" error:

Method 1: Change File Permissions

The first method involves changing the permissions of your website's files and folders. Here's how to do it:

1. Connect to your website using an FTP client.

2. Right-click on the folder that contains your WordPress website's files and select "File Permissions."

3. Change the permissions of the folder to "755." If that doesn't work, try changing it to "777."

4. Repeat the process for all the subfolders of your WordPress website.

5. Try updating your WordPress website again. If it still doesn't work, move on to the next method.

Method 2: Disable Mod_security

The second method involves disabling the mod_security module on your web server. Here's how to do it:

1. Log in to your web host's control panel.

2. Look for the "Mod_security" option and disable it.

3. Try updating your WordPress website again.

Conclusion

The "WordPress An Error Occurred While Updating: Download Failed Forbidden" error can be frustrating, but it's relatively easy to fix. Determine the cause of the error and apply the appropriate solution. In most cases, either changing file permissions or disabling mod_security should do the trick.