How to Update Your System

Valid for versions 102 through the latest version

Last modified: February 18, 2022

Overview

This document describes the steps to update various parts of your cPanel & WHM server.

Update cPanel and WHM

We strongly recommend that you regularly update cPanel & WHM on all of your servers. WHM displays the server’s current version in the upper right corner of the interface.

In the WHM interface

To update cPanel & WHM via the interface, use WHM’s Upgrade to Latest Version interface (WHM >> Home >> cPanel >> Upgrade to Latest Version). Note:

You can use WHM’s Update Preferences interface (WHM >> Home >> Server Configuration >> Update Preferences) to update your server’s release tier. For an explanation of our release tiers, read our Product Versions and the Release Process documentation.
If cPanel & WHM will not update, submit a ticket to cPanel Technical Support.

Manually

Note:

You can run the /usr/local/cpanel/cpanel -V command to verify the current cPanel & WHM version.

To update cPanel & WHM from the command line, use the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script as the root user. This script handles most of the updates on your cPanel & WHM system.

This script also calls a number of other scripts within the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts directory to update most of the software on your system. The/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script also runs the following scripts:

/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/rpmup — Updates system software. You can run this script instead of the yum update command.
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/sysup — Updates required operating system (OS) software dependencies.

Update Apache

Important:

EasyApache 4 updates Apache®, as well as other applications and libraries. We strongly recommend that you run EasyApache when a new Apache build becomes available.

To update EasyApache via the interface, click Run System Update in WHM’s EasyApache 4 interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> EasyApache 4).

Update software and services

You can update many services and third-party software through both the WHM interface and manually.

cPAddons

To update cPAddons, use WHM’s Manage cPAddons Site Software interface (WHM >> Home >> cPanel >> Manage cPAddons Site Software). Note:

This feature allows you to select the cPAddons that you wish to update automatically.

MySQL

Warning:

Compatibility problems may exist with any software that you choose to install manually. For that reason, we only support MySQL® versions that we supply with cPanel & WHM.

To update MySQL via the interface, use WHM’s MySQL/MariaDB Upgrade interface (WHM >> Home >> SQL Services >> MySQL/MariaDB Upgrade).

Operating system kernels

Note:

After you update the kernel, you must reboot your server.

To update the kernel:

Via the interface, select the Include kernel packages checkbox when you update your system with WHM’s System Update interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> System Update).
Manually, run the yum update command.

Perl

Warning:

We strongly recommend that you allow your operating system’s distribution to control updates to both the system and cPanel Perl installations. Do not customize either Perl installation.
cPanel, L.L.C. does not support updates of Perl beyond the operating system’s or cPanel’s distribution.
We also do not support Perl downgrades. Your system will return Perl to the currently-supported version during the next system update.
Neither your system Perl or cPanel-included Perl are likely to become corrupt. However, if you suspect that either instance of Perl is corrupt, a greater system issue may exist on your server. We recommend that you open a cPanel support ticket.

You can use the following methods to update Perl and Perl modules:

Run the yum update command.
Run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script, which causes WHM to run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/check_cpanel_pkgs script, which updates Perl.
Run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/update_local_rpm_versions script to update custom modules.

Note:

Instances of Perl on your server rely on packages for installation and maintenance.

PHP

You can use the following methods to update the Apache or system PHP installations:

Apache PHP

To update Apache’s PHP via the interface, use WHM’s EasyApache 4 interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> EasyApache 4).

System PHP

To update the system PHP manually, run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script.

PHP extensions and applications

Important:

You must manually update any PHP extensions that you installed manually.

To update extensions and applications:

Via the interface, use WHM’s EasyApache 4 interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> EasyApache 4).
Manually, run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script.

Note:

To update cPAddons that you have installed, use WHM’s Manage cPAddons Site Software interface (WHM >> Home >> cPanel >> Manage cPAddons Site Software).

Packages

Warning:

Third-party repositories can cause problems with cPanel & WHM and updates from the OS repository. Be aware of the risks before you use a third-party repository.

To update packages, run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script. Note:

You must manually update any manually-installed packages that cPanel & WHM’s default installation does not include. These packages will only receive an update if you have added them to the system repository.

Ruby Gems

Warning:

In cPanel & WHM version 66, we deprecated the legacy Ruby codebase and plan to remove it in a future release. This legacy Ruby codebase includes Ruby Gems.

When you install Ruby, cPanel & WHM only installs the required modules. To update these modules, run the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp script.

How to Update Your System