Windows 10 64-bit
How to solve error messages:
500 Internal Server Error
SoftException in Application.cpp:267: File “/home/username/public_html/mantis/index.php” is writeable by group
How to change file / folder permissions with Cpanel or Filezilla for MantisBT or any file / folder. Your paths
might be different.
Remove write access for Group
for directory mantis
using FileZilla. Do not recurse. It will take ~60 seconds.

How to change file / directory permissions with Cpanel or Putty. For a simple job (one file or directory) I would use the Cpanel File Manager but learn how to use a command line SSH and Telnet client like Putty.
From least to most; remove write access for Group
for see list below
, wait a few seconds, open index.php
:
index.php
. Do not recurse.
- directory
mantis
. Do not recurse.
- directory
mantis
. Recurse - Apply to directories only.
- directory
mantis
. Recurse into subdirectories and apply to all files and directories.
Directory should be 755
. File should be 644
. 755 means: "Directory permissions are set to: User can read, write, and execute; group members and other users can read and execute, but cannot write."
- Open the Cpanel File Manager:

- Navigate to the
mantis
directory: /home/username/public_html/mantis
. Your paths
might be different. For me it would be in the htdocs
directory.

- Left click
mantis
, right click index.php
and click CHMOD

- Remove the check mark from
group write

Click OK
, give the server a few seconds to change the permissions and open index.php
. If it does not solve your problem progress through the logic of "one, the other, both, or everything." If it is everything and there are a lot of files learn how to use a SSH and Telnet client like Putty. See commands below.
Reference: Use the correct path. Change cd
and mantis
.
cpp267-file-home-public_html-index-php-is-writeable-by-group
cd /home/username/public_html/
find mantis -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find mantis -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
error-500-file-is-writeable-by-group-no-whmcpanel-softexception:
Learn how to use CHMOD. Using a SSH and Telnet client like Putty access the cPanel account by SSH, navigate to the directory corresponding to the problem, and run the following commands to change file permissions to 644, and directories to 755:
#change directory / subdirectory and files to 644
chmod -R 644 /home/username/public_html/mantis/
#change directory / subdirectory to 755
find /home/username/public_html/mantis/ -type d -print0 |xargs -0 chmod 755
See https://www.puttygen.com/putty-commands
experts-exchange.com
Error log says SoftException in Application.cpp:267: File
"/home/.../public_html/index.php" is writeable by group. a 500 error
is served. Changing to 644 displays the page properly.
Comments:
Thanks, I was able to solve the issue by removing write access to all
files and directories for the mantis
directory. Changing it for
some of the directories / files proved not enough. I used FileZilla to
do this. It was quite easy. – Marty
How to solve error messages:
500 Internal Server Error
SoftException in Application.cpp:267: File “/home/username/public_html/mantis/index.php” is writeable by group