• Inviting everyone who uses WordPress management tools in Plesk
    The Plesk team is conducting a 60-minute research session that includes an interview and a moderated usability test.
    To participate, please use this link .
    Your experience will help shape product decisions and ensure the tools better support real-world use cases.

Resolved Is it SAFE to disable open_basedir in dedicated server?

Mkting

New Pleskian
Server operating system version
Debian 10
Plesk version and microupdate number
18.0.44
Hello,
I have noticed that the php openbase_dir directive is severely slowing down php execution on my server with various wordpress sites.
By disabling it I noticed a considerable increase to the loading speed of all pages using realpath_cache_size.

Since the server is my own dedicated one with no access from external users, I was wondering how much risk I would be taking by disabling openbase_dir on all sites or at least those with high traffic that need better speeds.

Also I would add that each website has been configured as a "Dedicated FPM application served by nginx", so each website use a separate fpm.

I know it is a directive used to increase security but I understand it is needed more for hosted websites rather than on dedicated servers with limited access.

I have a server with debian 10.5 and plesk 18.0.44
 
Many people and hosting providers still consider this setting a necessary security measure, but that's not exactly true. Even PHP itself officially denies it being useful in a security context: PHP: A Note on Security in PHP
In my opinion, using proper UNIX permissions is the only way to really secure the system, then you can ignore open_basedir completely and thus benefit from the realpath cache.
 
Back
Top