4.5. Site Health Tool
Added in version 5.0.0.
WP fail2ban uses the standard WordPress Site Health tool to check things are configured correctly.
4.5.1. Checking fail2ban
This works well for typical installations, but there are two things to note:
4.5.1.1. Running PHP with chroot
PHP will not be able to access files outside the chroot, so the health checks will not work.
If you really want them to work, you could ensure the chroot includes the parent directory of the document root (you may already have done this and moved wp-config.php outside the document root), and then use nullfs to mount the fail2ban install into the chroot above the document root. You will then need to tell WP fail2ban where to find your fail2ban install (see below).
Most people will simply disable the checks by adding this to wp-config.php
define('WP_FAIL2BAN_SITE_HEALTH_SKIP_FILTERS', true);
See also
4.5.1.2. Non-Standard Install Path for fail2ban
If your fail2ban install lives somewhere other than /etc/fail2ban or /usr/local/etc/fail2ban you will need to tell WP fail2ban where to find it by adding something like this to wp-config.php
/**
* Be sure to change the path to point to your fail2ban install
*/
define('WP_FAIL2BAN_INSTALL_PATH', '/var/fail2ban');
4.5.1.3. Other Reasons
There are, of course, many other reasons why PHP won’t be able to read the fail2ban filter files, e.g. tighter chmod, SELinux.
If you have a way to allow the health checks to run in any of these situations and think it may help others, please either write it up and submit a PR, or get in touch on the forums.