I've noticed the same problem. My config is: $wgWhitelistEdit = true; # true = user must login to edit. $wgWhitelistRead = false; $wgWhitelistAccount = array ( "user" => 0, "sysop" => 1, "developer" => 1 );
In fact it seemed to be working until I used the Sysop account to create a user (using the Special:Userlogin page).
From that point on, it was impossible to login, I would systematically get:
Sysop access required The action you have requested can only be performed by users with "sysop" status