403 Forbidden
A 403 Forbidden error means the server understood the request but refuses to authorize it. Unlike a 401, the client's identity may be known, but they do not have permission to access the resource. For end users, this typically means you are logged in but your account does not have the required role or privilege to view the page or perform the action.
Common causes
- The authenticated user lacks the required role or permission for the resource
- IP address or geographic region is blocked by a firewall or access control list
- File or directory permissions on the server prevent the web server from reading the resource
- CORS policy is blocking a cross-origin request from an unauthorized domain
- A web application firewall (WAF) flagged the request as suspicious and blocked it
How to fix it
- Verify the user has the correct role or permission assigned in your authorization system
- Check server-side file permissions to ensure the web server process can read the resource
- Review firewall rules and IP allowlists to confirm the client's IP is not blocked
- Update CORS configuration to allow requests from the necessary origins
- Inspect WAF logs to determine if the request was blocked by a security rule and whitelist it if appropriate
Detect 403 Forbidden errors with Checkend
Checkend monitors your application and alerts you when 403 errors occur, with full request context:
- Full request details (URL, headers, params)
- Server-side stack trace and error context
- Automatic grouping of similar errors
- Instant notifications when error rates spike
Related HTTP errors
A 401 Unauthorized error means the request lacks valid authentication credentials for the target res...
A 404 Not Found error means the server cannot find the resource at the requested URL. The server is ...
A 400 Bad Request error means the server cannot process the request because the client sent somethin...
Stop debugging HTTP errors in production
Get full error context and fix issues faster with self-hosted error tracking.