LiteSpeed 403 error: MIME type [application/x-httpd-ea-phpXX] for suffix '.php' does not allow serving as static file, access denied!

Symptoms

You get a 403 error when browsing your site, and an error similar to the following is logged in the Apache error log:

CONFIG_TEXT: 2023-04-12 13:54:52.440677 [ERROR] [3994220] [T0] [203.0.113.2:53219:HTTP2-1#APVH_domain.tld:443] MIME type [application/x-httpd-ea-php73] for suffix '.php' does not allow serving as static file, access denied!

Cause

This issue occurs when the version of LiteSpeed running on the server is older than 6.1 or when the site's .htaccess file has a PHP handler for a PHP version not installed on the server.

Resolution

1. Access the server's command line as the 'root' user via SSH or Terminal in WHM.

2. Update LiteSpeed to the most recent version by running the following command:

   # /usr/local/lsws/admin/misc/lsup.sh

3. Open the site's .htaccess file in your preferred text editor.

4. Comment out any AddHandler lines for any PHP version not used by the site:

   CONFIG_TEXT: # AddHandler application/x-httpd-ea-php73 .php .php7 .phtml

5. Save the changes and exit the text editor.

Additional Resources

How to update LiteSpeed on the command line