👀 Views: 80 💬 Answers: 1 📅 Created: 2025-06-14

apache http basic-authentication Apache

I'm having a hard time understanding I'm working with a frustrating scenario with my Apache server (v2.4.54) where certain API endpoints return a `403 Forbidden` behavior, despite being properly configured for basic authentication. The endpoints in question are `/api/data` and `/api/user`, which should be accessible with valid credentials. I've set up my `.htaccess` file to enable basic auth and restrict access as follows: ```apache AuthType Basic AuthName "Restricted Area" AuthUserFile /etc/apache2/.htpasswd Require valid-user ``` However, when I try to access these endpoints, I get the following behavior in my Apache behavior log: ``` [auth_basic:behavior] [pid 12345] [client 192.168.1.100:54321] user John not allowed: user does not exist or incorrect password ``` I've verified that the user `John` exists in the `.htpasswd` file and can authenticate successfully for other paths in the same directory. I also checked that the permissions on the `.htpasswd` file are correct (readable by the Apache user) and that the file path is valid. Additionally, I tested the configuration by adding a simple HTML file to the same directory, and it prompts for authentication as expected. However, when accessing `/api/data`, I still receive the 403 behavior. I've ensured that the `mod_auth_basic` and `mod_authn_core` modules are loaded. I've tried disabling any other directives in the `<Directory>` block for `/api` and setting `Require all granted`, but still no luck. Here's the relevant section of my Apache configuration: ```apache <Directory /var/www/html/api> AllowOverride All Require all granted </Directory> ``` Could this scenario be related to some other Apache configurations or a conflict with other modules? I'm looking for insights on what else to check or potential misconfigurations that could be causing these 403 errors. I'm coming from a different tech stack and learning Apache. Thanks in advance! The project is a service built with Apache. Has anyone dealt with something similar?