Fixing session_start(): Permission Denied (13) in XAMPP — SELinux/AppArmor Restrictions

Check SELinux Status

SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) enforces security policies that can restrict access to session files.

For closely related XAMPP and session_start topics, see XAMPP session_start — sysadmin guide variant, session_start() failed: Permission denied (13), and Verify PHP Configuration (php.ini).

Run:

sestatus

If it returns:

SELinux status: enabled
SELinux mode: enforcing

SELinux is blocking access to /opt/lampp/temp/.

Allow Apache/PHP to Access the Session Directory

Since PHP sessions are stored in /opt/lampp/temp/, grant the necessary SELinux permissions.

Check SELinux Logs for Denied Requests

Run:

sudo journalctl -xe | grep AVC

or:

sudo grep "denied" /var/log/audit/audit.log

Look for entries related to /opt/lampp/temp/.

Grant Access to the Session Directory

Run the following command:

sudo chcon -R -t httpd_sys_rw_content_t /opt/lampp/temp/

This assigns the correct SELinux context to allow Apache (httpd) to read and write session files.

Check and Modify AppArmor (Ubuntu/Debian)

If you're running Ubuntu or Debian, AppArmor may be blocking PHP.

Check AppArmor Profiles

Run:

sudo aa-status

If AppArmor is enforcing restrictions on /opt/lampp/temp/, switch it to complain mode:

sudo aa-complain /usr/sbin/apache2
sudo aa-complain /usr/sbin/php-fpm

Restart Apache & PHP

sudo systemctl restart apache2
sudo systemctl restart php8.0-fpm

Test again to see if the session issue is resolved.

Disable SELinux Temporarily (For Testing)

If SELinux still blocks access, temporarily disable it to confirm.

Run:

sudo setenforce 0

Then restart XAMPP:

sudo /opt/lampp/lampp restart

If sessions now work, then SELinux is the problem, and you should configure SELinux properly instead of disabling it permanently.

Check & Fix File Permissions

If SELinux/AppArmor is not the issue, fix the session folder permissions.

sudo chmod -R 770 /opt/lampp/temp/
sudo chown -R daemon:daemon /opt/lampp/temp/

For Apache on Linux:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /opt/lampp/temp/

Restart services and test again.

Debugging Further Issues

If the error persists, check logs:

• Check Apache Logs:

  sudo tail -f /opt/lampp/logs/error_log

• Check PHP Logs:

  sudo tail -f /opt/lampp/logs/php_error_log

• Check System Logs for Security Blocks:

  sudo dmesg | grep php

Summary of Fixes

By following these server-level fixes, you can resolve SELinux/AppArmor restrictions and restore PHP session functionality in XAMPP.