VSFTPD upload error on some files and directories

Community Support FTP
1

HI.

I installed HestiaCP on a VPS server and configured my first user / domain name on it.

I wanted to reinstall several WordPress sites, but when I upload the files via FTP, I keep getting errors:

  • It can’t upload certain files (often the same ones)
  • It doesn’t upload/create folders on the server when they’re empty

I’m using vsftpd and I’ve tried several configuration changes, without being able to fix the problem.

I have feel that it has to be with files containing special characters or uppercase letters, for example.

Here are some examples of files that consistently cause problems:

  • wp-includes/Requests/Auth.php
  • wp-includes/Requests/Autoload.php
  • wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/colorpicker/plugin.js
  • wp-content/uploads/2025/06 (empty folder)
  • wp-content/uploads/2025/07 (empty folder)
  • wp-content/plugins/elementor/modules/ai/module.php

When I resend the affected files/folders a second time, it works without error. But I have to spend 10 minutes resending everything that didn’t go through the first time.

Here is what appear on Filezilla :

Command : MKD Requests Answer : 550 Create directory operation failed.
Command : CWD /home/*******/subfolder/wp-includes/Requests/src Answer: 550 Failed to change directory.
Command : SIZE /home/*****/subfolder/wp-includes/Requests/src/Auth.php Answer: 550 Could not get file size.
Command : PASV Answer: 227 Entering Passive Mode (**,**,***,***,46,243).
Command : STOR /home/******/subfolder/wp-includes/Requests/src/Auth.php Answer: 553 Could not create file.
Error: Critical error during file transfer

I tried with domain name user and with an additional ftp account created in Hestia Panel.

Here is my VSFTPD configuration file :

listen=YES
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
local_umask=022
anon_umask=022
anon_upload_enable=NO
dirmessage_enable=YES
xferlog_enable=YES
connect_from_port_20=YES
xferlog_std_format=YES
dual_log_enable=YES
chroot_local_user=YES
pam_service_name=vsftpd
ftpd_banner=Welcome! Please note that all activity is logged.
userlist_enable=NO
tcp_wrappers=YES
force_dot_files=YES
ascii_upload_enable=YES
ascii_download_enable=YES
allow_writeable_chroot=YES
local_root=/srv/jail/%u
user_sub_token=%u
seccomp_sandbox=NO
pasv_enable=YES
pasv_promiscuous=YES
pasv_min_port=12000
pasv_max_port=12100
max_per_ip=0
max_clients=0
use_localtime=NO
utf8_filesystem=YES
ssl_enable=YES
allow_anon_ssl=NO
require_ssl_reuse=NO
ssl_ciphers=ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:DHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305
ssl_sslv2=NO
ssl_sslv3=NO
ssl_tlsv1=NO
force_local_data_ssl=NO
force_local_logins_ssl=NO
rsa_cert_file=/usr/local/hestia/ssl/certificate.crt
rsa_private_key_file=/usr/local/hestia/ssl/certificate.key

If you need any further information, just ask me.

Thank you for your help.

2

Hi,

How many simultaneous transfers do you have configured in FileZilla? I’m asking because that’s usually the main issue.

As an example, I tested uploading a WordPress site (8,255 files):

Simultaneous transfers: 1 → Failed transfers: 0
Simultaneous transfers: 5 → Failed transfers: 15
Simultaneous transfers: 10 → Failed transfers: 85

That said, uploading thousands of files via ftp is really inefficient. Instead, zip your site, upload the zip file and unzip it on the server. It takes less than a minute.

3 Likes
3

HI. Thank you for your help.

Before I saw your answer, I tried to reduce simultaneous transfers to check.

With 6 simultaneous transfers → ~100 failed transfers
With 4 simultaneous transfers → ~ 40 failed transfers
With 2 simultaneous transfers → ~ 10 failed transfers

So this is surely the solution.

However, I am surprised. I usually work with cPanel or Plesk, and I never saw this problem.

Just to know, Is there a reason specific to Hestia or VSFTPD that explains this?

Thank you.

4

If cPanel or Plesk uses vsftpd, you could share the conf they use. I’ve tried different vsftpd confs and always fail some transfers, so I can’t provide a solution. Anyway, as I said, you shouldn’t upload so many files using FTP (zip → upload → unzip).