How to Fix LiteSpeed on Linux Server When it Fails to Start

To fix LiteSpeed on a Linux server, verify the service status, read error logs, resolve port conflicts (80/443), repair permissions and .htaccess rules, align PHP (lsphp) versions, fix SSL paths, open firewall ports, and restart LiteSpeed. The steps below cover both LiteSpeed Enterprise and OpenLiteSpeed on Ubuntu, Debian, AlmaLinux, Rocky, and CentOS.

If your websites are slow, down, or returning 403/500/503 errors, the web server is the first place to check. This guide walks you through a structured, beginner-friendly process to fix LiteSpeed on a Linux server, reduce downtime, and prevent repeat incidents.

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What is LiteSpeed (and OpenLiteSpeed)?

Both are fast and efficient, but configuration and service names differ slightly. This article calls out where steps differ between LSWS and OLS.

Fast Fix: 10-Point Checklist

• Confirm LiteSpeed service is running
• Tail error and access logs for clues
• Check ports 80/443 are not in use by Apache/Nginx
• Restart LiteSpeed gracefully and clear cache
• Match PHP (lsphp) version with your app
• Fix file permissions/ownership
• Validate .htaccess and rewrite rules
• Repair SSL cert/key/chain paths
• Open firewall ports; review SELinux
• Update LiteSpeed and plugins

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Step-by-Step: Troubleshoot and Fix LiteSpeed on Linux

1) Check the LiteSpeed Service and Status

Service names vary. On LSWS the service is usually lsws. On OLS it’s commonly lshttpd (sometimes exposed as openlitespeed).

# Service status
sudo systemctl status lsws 2>/dev/null || sudo systemctl status lshttpd 2>/dev/null || sudo systemctl status openlitespeed

# Start/Restart
sudo systemctl start lsws || sudo systemctl start lshttpd || sudo systemctl start openlitespeed
sudo systemctl restart lsws || sudo systemctl restart lshttpd || sudo systemctl restart openlitespeed

# Binary control (LiteSpeed Enterprise)
sudo /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl status
sudo /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl restart

# Follow logs in real time
sudo tail -f /usr/local/lsws/logs/error.log

If the service fails to start, the error log will usually state why (license, port in use, config syntax error, missing SSL key, etc.).

2) Read the Right Logs

LiteSpeed logs are your best friend during incidents. Typical paths:

• /usr/local/lsws/logs/error.log
• /usr/local/lsws/logs/access.log
• /usr/local/lsws/logs/ModSecurity/audit/ (if WAF is enabled)
• Per-vhost logs (defined in virtual host settings)

# Show last 200 lines
sudo tail -n 200 /usr/local/lsws/logs/error.log

# Search for common problems
sudo grep -Ei "license|permission|denied|Segmentation fault|address already in use|SSL|certificate|php|lsphp|mod_security" /usr/local/lsws/logs/error.log

Look for lines indicating “Address already in use” (ports), “Permission denied” (ownership/SELinux), “Invalid configuration” (.htaccess or vhost), or “License is invalid.”

3) Resolve Port Conflicts (80/443/7080)

Only one service can bind to 80 and 443. If Apache or Nginx is running, LiteSpeed won’t start or will fail to serve traffic.

# See which process is using HTTP/HTTPS/Admin ports
sudo ss -lntp | grep -E ':80|:443|:7080'

# Stop/disable Apache or Nginx (if you switched to LiteSpeed)
sudo systemctl stop httpd 2>/dev/null || sudo systemctl stop apache2 2>/dev/null
sudo systemctl disable httpd 2>/dev/null || sudo systemctl disable apache2 2>/dev/null
sudo systemctl stop nginx 2>/dev/null && sudo systemctl disable nginx 2>/dev/null

For OpenLiteSpeed, the WebAdmin console runs on 7080 by default. Keep it open in the firewall to access the UI.

4) Fix Permissions and Ownership

Incorrect permissions cause 403 errors or prevent PHP from writing to cache/uploads. As a baseline for WordPress:

# Replace USER:GROUP and DOCROOT with your values
sudo chown -R USER:GROUP /var/www/html
sudo find /var/www/html -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/html -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

# Give webserver write access to cache/uploads if needed
sudo chown -R USER:GROUP /var/www/html/wp-content
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/wp-content

On SELinux-enabled systems (AlmaLinux/Rocky/CentOS), also align contexts:

sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect 1
sudo chcon -R -t httpd_sys_rw_content_t /var/www/html/wp-content

5) Align PHP (lsphp) and Extensions

LiteSpeed uses lsphp. If the version or extensions don’t match your app, you’ll see 500/503 or blank pages. Install a compatible version and restart.

# RHEL/Alma/Rocky (EPEL/Repos required)
sudo yum install -y lsphp81 lsphp81-{common,opcache,pear,mbstring,xml,gd,zip,mysqlnd}

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y lsphp81 lsphp81-{common,opcache,mbstring,xml,gd,zip,mysql}

# Verify PHP CLI (for composer, wp-cli)
php -v
# Verify lsphp path used by LiteSpeed (in WebAdmin: Server > External App > lsphp)

For OpenLiteSpeed, ensure the External App (lsphp) and Script Handler point to the same PHP version. Then perform a Graceful Restart.

6) Validate .htaccess and Rewrite Rules

Syntax errors or conflicting rules in .htaccess trigger 500 errors or infinite redirects. Temporarily move .htaccess and reload to confirm.

# Test by disabling .htaccess
mv /var/www/html/.htaccess /var/www/html/.htaccess.bak
# If site loads, regenerate permalinks (WordPress) or fix rules

For WordPress, ensure standard rewrite rules exist after you re-save Permalinks in wp-admin.

7) Repair SSL/TLS and Mixed Content

Invalid certificate or key paths prevent LSWS/OLS from starting HTTPS listeners. Confirm file paths and permissions in the listener/vhost settings.

# Test TLS from client side
openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 -servername yourdomain.com -showcerts

# Common files (example)
# /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem
# /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem

If using Cloudflare, ensure the SSL mode matches your origin setup (Full or Full Strict with a valid cert on origin). Fix mixed content via proper HTTPS URLs and the QUIC.cloud or LSCache plugin rewrites.

8) Open Firewall and Review Security Layers

Keep ports 80/443 open for visitors, and 7080 for the LiteSpeed WebAdmin panel (restrict to your IP if possible).

# firewalld
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=7080/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# ufw
sudo ufw allow 80,443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 7080/tcp

Also check ModSecurity rules. Overly strict rules can block legitimate traffic; review audit logs and add targeted exceptions, not global disables.

9) Clear LSCache and App Caches

Corrupt or stale cache can cause layout issues or 403/404 after migrations. In WordPress, purge LSCache from the plugin and clear any other caches (Object Cache/Redis/CDN).

# Purge via header (if configured server-side)
curl -I -X PURGE -H "X-LiteSpeed-Purge: *" https://yourdomain.com/

10) Update, License, and Admin Access

Run the latest LiteSpeed version to avoid known bugs. For LSWS Enterprise, validate your license if you see license-related errors in logs. Access the WebAdmin panel to review configuration.

# Update (example; use your OS repos or official repo setup)
sudo yum update openlitespeed || sudo apt-get upgrade openlitespeed

# Reset WebAdmin password if needed
sudo /usr/local/lsws/admin/misc/admpass.sh

# Then open WebAdmin
https://SERVER_IP:7080/

If you manage cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, or CyberPanel, use the official LiteSpeed plugin in each panel to toggle between Apache and LiteSpeed, rebuild PHP handlers, and restart services safely.

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Common LiteSpeed Errors and Proven Fixes

403 Forbidden

• Wrong file/folder permissions or ownership
• Blocked by ModSecurity/WAF or .htaccess deny rules
• Missing index file (index.php/index.html)

404 Not Found

• Broken or missing rewrite rules
• Virtual host docroot misconfigured
• Cache serving stale URLs after migration — purge LSCache

500 Internal Server Error

• .htaccess syntax errors or unsupported directives
• PHP fatal errors, missing extensions, or memory limit
• File ownership/SELinux contexts blocking PHP writes

502/503 Bad Gateway/Service Unavailable

• lsphp crashed or reached process limits — increase max children
• Mismatched PHP version for the app
• Backend timeouts — raise LiteSpeed/lsphp timeouts sensibly

SSL Errors (525/526) or Cloudflare 521/524

• Invalid origin certificate/chain or wrong path in listener
• Firewall blocking Cloudflare IPs — allowlist Cloudflare ranges
• Origin overwhelmed — tune PHP workers and enable caching

Performance Tuning After the Fix

• Enable HTTP/2 and QUIC/HTTP/3 for faster TLS delivery
• Use LSCache for WordPress with Object Cache (Redis) where appropriate
• Right-size lsphp workers (max connections/children) based on CPU/RAM
• Enable GZIP/Brotli compression and browser caching
• Optimize PHP Opcache and raise memory_limit for heavy plugins

Test changes during off-peak hours and monitor error log and response times. Avoid raising limits blindly — tune incrementally to keep stability.

Preventive Maintenance

• Keep LiteSpeed, PHP, and OS packages updated
• Automate backups and test restores regularly
• Rotate logs and watch for error spikes
• Harden SSH, restrict WebAdmin (7080) to your IP
• Review WAF hits and tune rules instead of disabling security

If you prefer not to manage these tasks yourself, managed LiteSpeed hosting from YouStable includes server hardening, 24×7 monitoring, and hands-on troubleshooting to keep sites fast and stable.

Real-World Tips from the Field

• After migrations, always re-save WordPress Permalinks to rebuild rewrite rules.
• If only HTTPS fails, focus on listener and certificate chain paths before PHP.
• For frequent 503s, check lsphp max children and apply caching to cut PHP load.
• Limit plugins. A bloated stack amplifies PHP errors and security risks.
• Document your changes; it accelerates the next recovery.

When to Escalate

If logs show persistent segfaults, kernel/SElinux denials you can’t resolve, or recurring 503s under light traffic, escalate. Engage LiteSpeed support with log snippets and config details, or open a ticket with your hosting provider. YouStable customers can request a deep-dive audit, LSCache tuning, and zero-downtime fixes.

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FAQ’s