A website hosted in Plesk for Windows Server is not accessible: the ionCube PHP Loader needs to be installed

Symptoms

• A website is not accessible with the following error in a browser:

  Site error: the ionCube PHP Loader needs to be installed. This is a widely used PHP extension for running ionCube protected PHP code, website security and malware blocking. Please visit get-loader.ioncube.com for install assistance.

• PHP provided by Plesk is used for the domain at Domains > example.com > PHP Settings.

Cause

ioncube_loader module is not installed/enabled for PHP used by the website.

Starting from Plesk Obsidian 18.0.44, ionCube Loader is no longer shipped with Plesk because of the reorginization of the third-party component shipment with Plesk. ionCube will be automatically installed in one of the upcoming releases in the scope of installation of the PHP components.

Resolution

Install ioncube Loader for PHP version in question:

Note: ioncube Loader does not support PHP 8.3 at the moment. See supported versions on the official website https://www.ioncube.com/.

1. Log in to Plesk.

2. Go to Tools & Settings > PHP Settings > click on the required PHP version > Manage PECL Packages.

   

3. Search for ioncube_loader and click on the plus "+" button to begin the installation.

   

4. Once the installation completes, ioncube_loader will appear in the list of PHP extensions and will be enabled.