Last modified: July 28, 2023

Upgrade blockers

MySQL® version 5.1 and earlier

You cannot upgrade to cPanel & WHM version 62 if your server runs MySQL version 5.1 or earlier. You must upgrade to MySQL version 5.5 or higher before you can upgrade your cPanel & WHM server. You can upgrade your MySQL version in WHM’s MariaDB/MySQL Upgrade interface (Home » Software » MariaDB/MySQL Upgrade).

New features

Long-Term Support (LTS)

LTS will now go into effect from the date of a version’s inception until March 31st of the following year. For example, cPanel & WHM version 62 released on December 15, 2016. We will provide LTS for version 62 until March 31st of 2018.

EasyApache 4 Migration

Every time the EasyApache 4 Migration runs, the system logs the configuration to a new unique file, such as the /usr/local/cpanel/logs/packman/migrate_ea3_to_ea4.Wed_Oct_19_12:24:57_2016.log log file name.

Enable FileProtect with Apache

This setting allows you to specify whether FileProtect is enabled on the system. FileProtect improves the security of each user’s public_html directory. If you disable this setting, each user’s directory will be at risk.

This setting defaults to On.

cPanel Customer Portal Remote Authorization

In cPanel & WHM version 62, we added new functionality that improves the process for you to grant cPanel Support access to your server from the cPanel Customer Portal. In the Submit a Support Request section, when you click Prepare server for ticket, the support portal opens a browser tab to your server’s WHM interface. After you log in, WHM will prompt you to authorize cPanel Support’s access to your server. After you authorize Support’s access to your server, the Customer Portal will test the SSH connection details that you provided. This new functionality helps ensure that cPanel Support access is properly configured and can access your server without delay.

License purchases from the Trial License banner

The Trial License banner now allows you to navigate to the cPanel Store in order purchase a cPanel & WHM license.

Simple Zone Editor and Advanced Zone Editor combined into Zone Editor

We redesigned the Simple and Advanced Zone Editor interfaces into the new Zone Editor interface (Home » Domains » Zone Editor). This interface provides all of the same functionality of both the Simple Zone Editor and the Advanced Zone Editor, but in a simpler and easier to navigate interface. For this release, both the Simple and Advanced zone editors will remain available in addition to the new Zone Editor interface.

Enable SPF and DKIM globally

The new /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/enable_spf_dkim_globally script allows you to enable SPF and DKIM globally or for specified users. It also creates the appropriate SPF and DKIM records for those accounts’ domains.

ModSecurity SDBM Utility

We added the ModSecurity® SDBM Utility to cPanel & WHM version 62 systems that run EasyApache 4. This utility purges expired entries from the /var/cpanel/secdatadir/ip.pag cache file. The system runs this utility as a part of the nightly maintenance script, and we strongly recommend that you allow the maintenance script to run the utility.

EasyApache 4

We added support for SourceGuardian on systems that run PHP version 7.0.

We added support for IonCube 6.

We implemented an Experimental Repository to allow users access to new features that are still in development.

The mod_fcgid PHP Handler is now available in the Experimental Repository.

Create Support Ticket

In cPanel & WHM version 62, we improved WHM’s Create Support Ticket interface (Home » Support » Create Support Ticket) and added additional automation to the feature. We redesigned several sections of the interface that could cause confusion. When you create a support ticket through the interface, the server will automatically whitelist cPanel Support’s IP addresses to your server’s /etc/hosts.allow file. You can view and configure this file in WHM’s Host Access Control interface (Home » Security Center » Host Access Control).

Grant cPanel Support Access

In cPanel & WHM version 62, we added additional services to WHM’s Grant cPanel Support Access interface’s (Home » Support » Grant cPanel Support Access) whitelist automation. When you grant access through the interface, the server will automatically whitelist cPanel Support’s IP addresses to your server’s /etc/hosts.allow file. You can view and configure this file in WHM’s Host Access Control interface (Home » Security Center » Host Access Control).

Site Publisher JSON-safe value support

Site Template designers can now use user-entered strings as JSON-safe values.

• This functionality allows Site Template designers to use entered values in rendered JavaScript.

• For more information, read our Site Publisher documentation.

Site Publisher template display order

cPanel’s Site Publisher interface (Home » Domains » Site Publisher) now displays newer templates first.

• When a cPanel & WHM version includes new cPanel-provided templates, they will display at the top of the template list.

• Site Publisher template meta.json files can now include a date parameter to indicate the template’s creation date. For more information, read our Site Publisher documentation.

Write-only servers will not display in DNS interfaces

As of cPanel & WHM version 62, DNS zones that exist on other Write-only servers in a DNS cluster do not appear in the following interfaces:

• WHM’s Edit DNS Zone interface (Home » DNS Functions » Edit DNS Zone).

• WHM’s Delete a DNS Zone interface (Home » DNS Functions » Delete a DNS Zone).

• WHM’s Reset a DNS Zone interface (Home » DNS Functions » Reset a DNS Zone).

You can edit or delete a DNS zone on a Write-only server directly from the Write-only server, or from the server on which the DNS zone resides.

Company Name character limit

In WHM’s Customization interface (Home » cPanel » Customization), we reduced the character limit of the Company Name text box from 140 to 50.

Leechprotect updated to use SQLite

We updated the leechprotect service to use SQLite. This change eliminates the need for a MySQL database and database user to run the leechprotect service.

ModSecurity now uses SQLite

We updated WHM’s ModSecurity® Tools interface (Home » Security Center » ModSecurity® Tools) interface to use SQLite.

SPF enabled by default

cPanel & WHM now enables SPF by default for new accounts.

• The Enable SPF on domains for newly created accounts setting in the Domains section of WHM’s Tweak Settings interface (Home » Server Configuration » Tweak Settings) now defaults to On.

• The create_account_spf setting in the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file now defaults to 1.

EasyApache 4

We made several usability updates to WHM’s EasyApache 4 interface (Home » Software » EasyApache 4):

• When you select a package with multiple possible dependencies, the user interface prompts you to choose which one you want to install.

• When you uninstall a PHP package, the system checks to ensure that no virtual hosts currently use the selected version. The interface will prompt you to update the virtual host’s PHP version before you continue.

• When you change the installation state of a package, the interface queues the required packages for install or uninstall.

To better support Litespeed, the ea-php-cli package now installs the /usr/bin/lsphp binary by default.

MultiPHP Manager

We updated WHM’s MultiPHP Manager interface (Home » Software » MultiPHP Manager) to include a number of improvements. This includes the following improvements:

• The interface now also displays what version of PHP a virtual host inherits, rather than just the word inherit.

• When you change a virtual hosts’s PHP version, the user interface notifies you of any other virtual hosts that may inherit these changes.

• We updated the PHP-FPM checks to queue the necessary missing packages when you click the Install button. This allows you to more easily install these packages.

cPanel’s MultiPHP INI Editor

When you save changes in cPanel’s MultiPHP INI Editor interface (Home » Software » MultiPHP INI Editor), the changes save to both the php.ini and user.ini files.

Apache Configuration Editor

We added the Symlink Protection option to the Global Configuration section of the Apache Configuration interface (Home » Service Configuration » Apache Configuration » Global Configuration). This option enables the BlueHost Symlink Protection patch. EasyApache 4 installs the Bluehost patch by default, but does not enable it.

Upgraded internal Perl from version 5.22 to 5.24

We upgraded the version of Perl that cPanel & WHM uses internally from 5.22 to 5.24.

Deprecated and removed items

The update-roundcube and update-roundcube-sqlite scripts

We deprecated the following scripts:

• /usr/local/cpanel/bin/update-roundcube

• /usr/local/cpanel/bin/update-roundcube-sqlite

We updated their names to:

• /usr/local/cpanel/bin/update-roundcube-db

• /usr/local/cpanel/bin/update-roundcube-sqlite-db

These scripts no longer update or install Roundcube. Use your server’s RPM system to manage Roundcube’s installation. For more information about custom RPM installations, read our How to Build and Install Custom RPMs on Red Hat Systems documentation. To rebuild the Roundcube database, run the following command:

/usr/local/cpanel/bin/update-roundcube-db --force

Default Website Page

In cPanel & WHM version 62 and later, you can no longer customize the following three images:

• img-sys/bg.jpg

• img-sys/headerbg.jpg

• img-sys/contentbox.jpg

We hard-coded these three images in base64 coding standard in CSS to prevent technical difficulties.

EasyApache 4

EasyApache 4 no longer requires the yum-plugin-tsflags package, so we removed it.

Appendix A: New and modified API functions

New UAPI functions

New WHM API 1 functions

Modified UAPI functions

• php_get_vhost_versions

Modified cPanel API 2 functions

Modified WHM API 1 functions

• accountsummary — Added uid return.

• php_get_vhost_versions

• get_lts_expire

• ticket_revoke — We updated this function to include the whitelist functionality for WHM’s 62 Release Notes (Home » Support » Grant cPanel Support Access) interface.

• ticket_grant — We updated this function to include the whitelist functionality for WHM’s 62 Release Notes (Home » Support » Grant cPanel Support Access) interface.

Deprecated UAPI Functions