So your WordPress permalinks admin page is blank and permalinks are not working or doing weird things? You’re not alone. Its broken for sure. This is a problem that started with the latter 2.8 or 2.9 version.

I scoured the Internet and racked my brain on this, but found a real solution. I am republishing it here as it was buried down in some forum and not very easy to find.

SOLUTION!

This is for standard Linux web hosting as it relates to a server directive found in the admin area code. For Windows servers, this probably won’t help, but may lead you in the right direction.

1. Using your favorite html/ php editor, open wp-admin/includes/misc.php

2. Find function function got_mod_rewrite Its around line 18 or so.

3. Comment out the existing function /* this is commented out */ — You can delete this function if you are sure the solution works, to be safe, just comment it out in case you need to put it back.

4. Add the following instead:
function got_mod_rewrite() {
$got_rewrite = true;
return apply_filters('got_rewrite', $got_rewrite);
}
5. Save and upload.

Now go back to your admin page and click the permalinks menu item. Should work as expected now.

NOTE: When you update to the next version of WordPress, this will be overwritten and you will need to go back and fix.

Comment below if it worked or not. Thanks!

UPDATE: This regains access to the permalinks admin area. You still have to follow the instructions on there to get the permalinks working.