server status returns a 403 forbidden with handler enabled and proper access conditions met.

httpd.conf excerpt

<Location /server-status>
    SetHandler server-status
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from XXX.xxx.XXX.xxx
</Location>

XXX.xxx.XXX.xxx is only an example, I have a real IP entered.

./configure --with-config-file-path=/etc --with-apache=../apache_1.3.17
--enable-safe-mode --with-jpeg-dir=/usr --with-tiff-dir=/usr
--with-zlib-dir=/usr --with-pdflib=/usr/local --with-png-dir=/usr
--with-gdbm --without-gd --with-imap=/usr/local --with-mysql=/usr
--with-zlib --enable-sysvsem --enable-sysvshm --enable-memory-limit
--enable-track-vars --with-system-regex --disable-display-source

An strace of httpd -X during the failure.

stat("/usr/local/apache/htdocs/server-status", 0x82a8ebc) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
time(NULL)                              = 981067708
write(15, "[Thu Feb  1 17:48:28 2001] [erro"..., 91) = 91
alarm(300)                              = 0
alarm(0)                                = 300
alarm(300)                              = 0
alarm(0)                                = 300
write(3, "HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden\r\nDate: "..., 494) = 494
time(NULL)                              = 981067708

Apache compiled w/o php does not exhibit this behavior.

PhP functions perfectly but apache is exhibiting weird directory and AllowOverride processing as well.

Adding  AllowOverride AuthConfig directives causes apache to search for non essential .htaccess files as well.

kernel 2.2.16
Linux C Library        5.4.46