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A website hosted in Plesk for Windows Server is not accessible: the ionCube PHP Loader needs to be installed

Gabriel Aznarez
Updated
Plesk for Windows kb: technical php extension ioncube

Applicable to:

  • Plesk for Windows

Symptoms

  • A website is not accessible with the following error in a browser:

    PLESK_INFO: Site error: the ionCube PHP Loader needs to be installed. This is a widely used PHP extension for running ionCube protected PHP code, website security and malware blocking. Please visit get-loader.ioncube.com for install assistance.

  • PHP provided by Plesk is used for the domain at Domains > example.com > PHP Settings.

Cause

ioncube_loader module is not installed/enabled for PHP used by the website.

Starting from Plesk Obsidian 18.0.44, ionCube Loader is no longer shipped with Plesk because of the reorginization of the third-party component shipment with Plesk. ionCube will be automatically installed in one of the upcoming releases in the scope of installation of the PHP components.

Resolution

Enable the module
  1. Log in to Plesk.
  2. Check the domain used PHP version at Domains > example.com > PHP Settings. e.g. PHP 8.3.32
  3. Go to Tools & Settings > PHP Settings > 8.3.32 FastCGI application. The version here is an example, chose the one from step 2.

  4. Switch the toggle for ioncube_loader_win_8.3 on.

    Note: If ioncube_loader_win_X.X is not listed proceed with the steps to Install the module (tab).

Install the module
  1. Download the ionCube loader from its official site based on the PHP version used on the domain:
  2. Unzip the file on a temporal directory. (7-Zip can be used for this.)
  3. Copy the corresponding .dll file from the extracted ioncube directory for the domain PHP needed version. e.g. ioncube_loader_win_8.3.dll for PHP 8.3

  4. Paste it into: C:\Program Files (x86)\Plesk\Additional\PleskPHP83\ext

    Note: Replace PleskPHP83 with the corresponding version folder name, e.g., PleskPHP81 if using PHP 8.1).

  5. Proceed with the steps from the Enable the module tab.
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Comments

3 comments
Date Votes
  • Avatar
    Zameer Minhas

    does not apply to latest Plesk for Windows version.  I do not see any button.  ONly thing i see is a page with many option with on / off switch ……

    0
  • Avatar
    Zameer Minhas

    i added the ion_cube dll manually into the folder and then they started to show up after service restart as additional on/off toggle switch.

    1
  • Avatar
    Gabriel Aznarez

    Hi Zameer,

    Thank you for bringing this to our attention, the article has been updated to reflect the current applicable process.

    Regards.

    0

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