Error Message: 403.6 - Forbidden: IP address rejected

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This article was previously published under Q248043

We strongly recommend that all users upgrade to Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 7.0 running on Microsoft Windows Server 2008. IIS 7.0 significantly increases Web infrastructure security. For more information about IIS security-related topics, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/IIS.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/IIS.mspx)

For more information about IIS 7.0, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.iis.net/default.aspx?tabid=1 (http://www.iis.net/default.aspx?tabid=1)

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SYMPTOMS

When connecting to Internet Information Services using a Web browser, you may receive the following error message:

HTTP 403.6 - Forbidden: IP address rejected

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CAUSE

Each client has a unique IP address. If the server defines a list of IP addresses that are not allowed to access the site and the IP address you are using is on this list, you will receive the error message.

This is a feature that grants or denies specific users access to a Web site, directory, or file.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, follow these steps.

Using the Internet Service Manager (Microsoft Management Console), open the Internet Information Server (IIS) snap-in and select the Web site reporting the 403.6 error. Right-click the Web site, virtual directory, or file where the error is occurring. Click Properties to display the property sheet for that item.
Select the appropriate Directory Security or File Security property page. Under IP Address and Domain Name Restrictions, click Edit.
In the IP Address and Domain Name Restrictions dialog box, if the Denied Access option is selected, then add the IP address, network ID, or domain of the computer that requires access to the exceptions list.

In the IP Address and Domain Name Restrictions dialog box, if the Granted Access option is selected, then remove the IP address, network ID, or domain of the computer that requires access to the exceptions list.

Important

When you set security properties for a specific Web site, you automatically set the same security properties for directories and files belonging to that site, unless the security properties of the individual directories and files have been previously set.
Your Web server will prompt you for permission to reset the properties of individual directories and files when you attempt to set security properties for your Web site. If you choose to reset these properties, your previous security settings will be replaced by the new settings. The same condition applies when you set security properties for a directory containing subdirectories or files with previously set security properties.

Notes

By default, some sites are only granted access from the IP address 127.0.0.1, which corresponds to the computer name localhost and is considered a different address/name than the NetBIOS or fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Web server. To access a site restricted to localhost, you must be at the console of the computer with the localhost restriction.
Computers accessing your server across proxy servers will appear to have the IP address of the proxy server.
Restricting by domain name is not recommended because it decreases the performance of your Web server by forcing the Web server to perform a reverse DNS lookup for each connection to that site. In addition to increasing the load on the Web server, reverse lookups can also result in unexpected denials.

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MORE INFORMATION

If the product documentation was installed with IIS, one of the following links will be available when viewed on the IIS server:

Internet Information Services 5.0 Documentation
http://localhost/iishelp/iis/misc/default.asp?jumpurl=../htm/core/iigdasc.htm

Internet Information Server 4.0 Documentation
http://localhost/iishelp/iis/htm/core/igdasc.htm

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

172218 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172218/ ) Microsoft TCP/IP host name resolution order

163391 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/163391/ ) Troubleshooting problems communicating with a server on the Internet using a dial-up networking connection in Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows NT

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