How to fix Internal Server Error in Wordpress Websites SoftException in Application cpp:256

Everything has been fine so far on my Wordpress websites until just yesterday. I opened one up and saw the following error on the screen:
Internal Server Error

he server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
lease contact the server administrator, webmaster@##DOMAIN##.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.
ore information about this error may be available in the server error log.
dditionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
t had me stumped for a little while. I could log into the server ok, and all the files were there.
I checked the database, it seemed to be alright also.
I then did what the message suggested and checked the error logs.
I found multiple lines going back some hours with the following:
“SoftException in Application.cpp:601: Directory “**directory**” is writeable by group”
&
“SoftException in Application.cpp:256: File “**file**.php” is writeable by group”
Strange…
o, I thought back to what I had done the day before.
Yes, that’s it, I had installed a couple of new Wordpress plugins, perhaps that’s done it?
nce I had logged in to thorhammaraxx.com using FTP I almost instantly noticed the permission settings were not as I’d like them to be for several directories and files.
They were all set at 775 or above (ughh!) allowing group write access.
I changed them back to 755 for now to see what effect it would have and refreshed the page.
INGO the site is back up and running.
don’t have an answer to which plugin caused the changes, or even if it was a plugin. The only thing I do know is that it only happened to those sites, where I had added plugins. What has me stumped is that they all worked fine straight after being installed. I tested them!
nyway, the outcome was much better than I had thought it was going to be. I did expect to have to back up the database and files and spend the day tinkering with the server set up.
o, before you go wild on your own server trying to fix this error message. Check your permission settings in your directories and files first and see if that does it.
on’t forget to leave a comment here if it helped or even if you’ve had the same problem but with a different cause.
Or even if you know of a plugin that causes strange behaviour.
I’d love to here from you.