ioncube_loader_lin_5.3.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

If you are seeing the error “ioncube_loader_lin_5.3.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory”error in your apache error logs then dont panic, aslong as everything on your site is working normally then this can easily be removed from your php.ini to prevent the error from occuring, please follow both of the steps below to remove the shared object from loading when php is initialized:

1. Check php.ini

The Ioncube Loader file may be in this file or one of the files in step 2, if you find it in here and it fixes your problem then there is no need to continue to step 2.

Find php.ini location

Open up SSH and run the following command:

[bash]php -i | grep php.ini[/bash]

This will tell you the location of your php.ini file, it’s usually located in /var/php.ini.

Edit php.ini file

Now open the file in your favourite editor, we are using nano for this example as it is our editor of choice.

[bash]nano /var/php.ini[/bash]

Now hold CTRL + W and type “cube”, you should find a line similar to:

[text]zend_extension=/usr/lib64/php/modules/ioncube_loader_lin_5.3.so
[/text]

If you do just comment out the line like so:

[text];zend_extension=/usr/lib64/php/modules/ioncube_loader_lin_5.3.so
[/text]

If you cannot find the line please move to step 2 below.

2. Finding Ioncube Loader ini File

If ioncube isn’t being loaded via the php.ini file then it means it may be being side loaded from a ini file specifically for Ioncube, you can usually find the external ini files for php in /etc/php.d/ but it may be in a different location on your system.

Find a file in this directory that has the word “ioncube” in the name, it is usually called “ioncube.ini” but may be named something else, you may find that simply looking in each and every file may be necessary to track down the code we need to remove. Again as in step 1 look for this line:

[text]zend_extension=/usr/lib64/php/modules/ioncube_loader_lin_5.3.so
[/text]

If you see it in any of the files replace it with:

[text];zend_extension=/usr/lib64/php/modules/ioncube_loader_lin_5.3.so
[/text]

Your problem should now be resolved.

Author: Dean WilliamsProfessional PHP Web Developer with expertise in OpenCart Web Development, WordPress Web Development, Bespoke Systems - also a seasoned Linux Server Administrator.

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