WPML could not load configuration files, which your site needs

Overview of the issue

Since WPML 3.9 you may find the following warning on your WordPress Dashboard:

Which is followed by the following error:

2018-01-12 13:37:004 index wp_error wpml-config/config-index.json
code: http_request_failed
message: cURL error 35: error:14077410:SSL routines:SSL23_GET_SERVER_HELLO:sslv3 alert handshake failure

This issue was introduced some time ago and caused issues with wpml-config.xml file. However, it is visible only now, due to the new log feature added with WPML version 3.9 or greater.

Workaround

This error message is commonly associated with issues related to the cURL extension in PHP and how it is configured within your server.

The most probable reason is that the version of cURL installed on your server is outdated.

Our server only accepts allowed protocols. If your server has an outdated version of cURL, it’s likely that it’s trying to send the request by using an insecure and prohibited protocol, hence the error.

We are releasing a version of WPML which will not send this request through HTTPS, as this level of security is not necessary for this specific request.

However, to solve the problem before the upgrade and to avoid future issues due to the same cause, we strongly recommend to contact your hosting service and ask them to update the cURL extension to 7.34.0.