Hello,
We apologize for the issue you are facing with the 500 error related to the Rank Math plugin. This type of error can often be caused by conflicts with other plugins or themes, and it seems you’ve already conducted a plugin conflict test.
Based on the error details you provided, it appears that the issue may be linked to the version control module in Rank Math. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue:
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Clear Cache: Ensure that you clear all caches, including any server-side cache, after making changes.
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Disable Rank Math Temporarily: Try deactivating the Rank Math plugin temporarily to see if the 500 error resolves. If it does, this confirms that Rank Math is indeed causing the issue.
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Check for Updates: Make sure that both WordPress and all your plugins, including Rank Math, are updated to their latest versions. Sometimes, updates can resolve compatibility issues.
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Review Error Logs: Check your server’s error logs for more detailed information about what might be causing the 500 error. This can provide additional insights into the problem.
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Reinstall Rank Math: If the issue persists, consider uninstalling and then reinstalling the Rank Math plugin. Be sure to back up your settings first using the export feature in Rank Math.
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Contact Support: If none of these steps resolve the issue, please reply to this ticket with your site URL and any additional details you think might help. A human agent from our support team will take over and assist you further.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we hope to help you resolve it soon!
Sources:
Fatal Error Happening on Some Installations After 1.0.49 Update » Rank Math
I have cleared server cahce.
I have deactivated rankmath to confirm it is the cause, and reactivated.
I have turned off all settings in RankMath trying to determine which setting was causing it.
It was working fine before you made like 4 updates this week and I had them set to auto-update. Now it conflicts with breakdance when it did not before.
I am not getting rid of breakdance and am only using RankMath because your software had the breadcrumb configuration I need. but if you cannot help me resolve this, I will have to uninstall it permanently.
But I would rather not. Please help thanks
Update: Breakdance support says
“This is a known issue that occurs when using Rank Math v1.0.242 on sites hosted with WPEngine. The issue should be addressed by the Rank Math team. For now, please use the workaround shared in this GitHub comment: https://github.com/soflyy/breakdance-bugs/issues/1222#issuecomment-2798803658
”
So please let me know if you are working on this or have a better fix. Also let me know if this temporary fix is something I can do on my end or you have to do it.
Thanks
WP Engine and Breakdance provided us a fix over the weekend, after we gave up waiting on support.
Turns out it’s a much bigger issue, why Rank Math is trying to hide. Their plugin isn’t fully compatible with NGINX servers, only older technology like Apache web servers.
Be careful what you ask for on here, Rank Math support hacked my site after trying to get them to make a hotfix for NGINX issues (which include Breakdance and WP Engine).
Best of luck with these monsters.
Jeremy, is the fix you received the one I shared the link for on Github or a separate fix?
If different, can you share it with me?
This is the fix (made to this file – class-beta-optin.php):
To prevent the error, WP Engine wrapped the loop in get_available_versions() with an isset() and is_array() check:
if ( isset( $plugin_info[‘versions’] ) && is_array( $plugin_info[‘versions’] ) ) {
foreach ( $plugin_info[‘versions’] as $version => $url ) {
if ( ! self::is_eligible_version( $version, $beta ) ) {
continue;
}
$versions[ $version ] = $url;
}
}
Here’s a more complete breakdown, from Breakdance (interesting how good these other companies are at doing Rank Math’s job):
After updating to the latest version of the RankMath plugin, we started encountering a fatal error on one of our sites hosted on WP Engine. The error is triggered during admin AJAX requests (specifically with Breakdance Builder), and appears to stem from the following line in class-beta-optin.php:
$plugin_info[‘versions’]
Since the versions key is not always defined in the $plugin_info array, the following error occurs:
Breakdance\Lib\Vendor\Whoops\Exception\ErrorException: Undefined array key “versions”
This doesn’t seem to occur on other hosts, likely due to WP Engine’s stricter error handling or object caching, but it does result in a 500 Internal Server Error during standard admin interactions on that platform.
To prevent the error, we wrapped the loop in get_available_versions() with an isset() and is_array() check:
if ( isset( $plugin_info[‘versions’] ) && is_array( $plugin_info[‘versions’] ) ) {
foreach ( $plugin_info[‘versions’] as $version => $url ) {
if ( ! self::is_eligible_version( $version, $beta ) ) {
continue;
}
$versions[ $version ] = $url;
}
}
We wanted to share this in case it helps others experiencing the same issue – and would love to see a permanent fix in a future release to prevent this error in environments with stricter runtime behavior.
Hello,
Thank you for contacting us. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.
We have released a Beta update that fixed the issue.
Please enable the Beta update by following this guide: https://rankmath.com/kb/version-control/#beta-updates
If you are unable to see an update, please clear Rank Math’s transients from WP Dashboard > Rank Math > Status & Tools > Database Tools > Remove Rank Math Transients > Remove transients
Please clear the caches, server, and WordPress after updating.
Let us know how it goes.
Thank you.
Hello,
Since we did not hear back from you for 15 days, we are assuming that you found the solution. We are closing this support ticket.
If you still need assistance or any other help, please feel free to open a new support ticket, and we will be more than happy to assist.
Thank you.
