For cPanel & WHM 76

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New features

MySQL/MariaDB preflight check

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added a preflight check for WHM's  MySQL or MariaDB Upgrade  interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> MySQL/MariaDB Upgrade) which will detect potential unfixable states due to the following issues:

• If a custom value for MySQLxx installed in the /var/cpanel/rpm.versions/local.version file exists.
• If a value greater than zero for innodb_force_recovery=<num> exists.

For RPM management issues with MySQL or MariaDB upgrades, read our How to Set or Unset RPM Management documentation.

Preserved PHP-FPM settings when you change the account's main domain

The system preserves your previously-configured PHP-FPM for Apache settings when you change the account's main domain. Previously, the system reset these settings when a user changed the account's domain. For more information on PHP-FPM, read the PHP-FPM documentation.

Enabled Apache PHP-FPM for all new cPanel & WHM installations

In cPanel & WHM version 76 and later, the system enables PHP-FPM for Apache by default in new installations of cPanel & WHM. The system will automatically enable PHP-FPM for all new domains that you add to the server. 

The following behaviors affect installations of cPanel & WHM that you upgrade or transfer to version 76:

• Systems that upgrade to version 76 will retain the Apache PHP-FPM settings from the previous version.
• Accounts that you transfer to a server with a new cPanel & WHM version 76 installation will use the new installation's Apache PHP-FPM settings.

Administrators with root-level privileges can disable this feature through either of the following actions:

• Click Turn Off, under the System PHP-FPM section, in WHM's  MultiPHP Manager interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> MultiPHP Manager). This action disables Apache's PHP-FPM for all domains. To disable an individual domain directly from the domains table, set the PHP-FPM toggle to Off.
• Execute the WHM API 1 function php_set_default_accounts_to_fpm and set the default_accounts_to_fpm parameter to 0.

For more information, read the PHP-FPM documentation.

New PowerDNS version 4.1

In cPanel & WHM 76, we updated the PowerDNS version to 4.1. This update replaces the pdnssec command with the pdnsutil command. Our How to List Domains with DNSSEC and the How to Rotate a DNSSEC Key documentation reflects this change. For more information, read the PowerDNS documentation.

AutoSSL preflight check for CAA records

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added a preflight check to AutoSSL. This check adds a Certificate Authority Authentication (CAA) record in the domain's zone file before AutoSSL orders a new certificate for that domain.

For more information, read our Manage AutoSSL documentation.

Ticket system generates secure ID token for support tickets.

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we configured the cPanel support ticket system to generate a secure ID token when you create a support ticket via WHM's Create Support Ticket interface (WHM >> Home  >> Support >> Create Support Ticket). The system uses this secure ID when it forwards you from WHM's Create Support Ticket interface (WHM >> Home  >> Support >> Create Support Ticket) to the cPanel Customer Portal to confirm that the user who creates a support ticket matches currently-logged in user. If the user who created the ticket and the currently-logged in user do not match, the system returns an error.

We also added the secure_id return to the WHM API 1  ticket_create_stub_ticket  function, and the secure_id parameter to the WHM API 1  ticket_grant  function.

cPanel and WHM API modules are role-aware

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we updated the cPanel and WHM API modules so that they are aware of server profile roles. If a profile has a role that disables a service, that profile also disables the role's related API functions. For example, the Mail Node profile disables the Web Disk role, so any API calls that interact with this role's services will fail.

For more information about profiles and their roles, read our How to Use Server Profiles documentation.

Account Preferences 

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added cPanel's Account Preferences interface (cPanel >> Navigation Bar >> User Preferences menu >> Account Preferences). Currently, you can use this interface to set where on the screen your system's alert notifications appear in the cPanel interface. 

Tomcat

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we implemented a new version of Apache Tomcat® for users that run EasyApache 4. This iteration represents a complete overhaul of our implementation, and provides substantial differences from the EasyApache 3 version. The EasyApache 4 implementation of Tomcat configures a private instance for each user. This increases security and allows the user to manage their own Tomcat services, but increases memory load on the server. We strongly recommend that you consider your server's configuration carefully before you enable Tomcat for many users. 

When you enable Tomcat for a user, the script creates an environment in the /home/user/ea-tomcat85/conf directory that the user can configure for their unique requirements. Users must possess shell access to use Tomcat. 

For more information, read our Tomcat Private Instances and Tomcat Proxies documentation. 

Tomcat users can migrate to EasyApache 4

In cPanel & WHM version 76, users can now migrate to EasyApache 4 if they use Tomcat. 

The EasyApache 4 implementation of Tomcat provides substantial differences from the EasyApache 3 implementation. The EasyApache 4 implementation of Tomcat configures a private instance for each user. The system will configure the existing domains to work in the new system and add them to a system.xml file, but we cannot guarantee the existing code's compatibility with Tomcat 8.5. You must check your configuration manually.

Tomcat Manager

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added WHM's Tomcat Manager interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> Tomcat Manager) for systems that run EasyApache 4. This interface allows system administrators to manage the Tomcat status of their users. 

cPanel's Domains interface

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added the Domains interface (cPanel >> Home >> Domains >> Domains). This interface combines most of the functionality from the following interfaces:

• cPanel's Addon Domains interface (cPanel >> Home >> Domains >> Addon Domains).
• cPanel's Subdomains interface (cPanel >> Home >> Domains >> Subdomains).
• cPanel's Aliases interface (cPanel >> Home >> Domains >> Aliases).

Users can now create and manage multiple domains for a single cPanel account in one interface. This streamlines the user experience and simplifies the user's ability to create and manage domains.

The cpuser_port_authority script

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/cpuser_port_authority script. This script allows system administrators to assign ports to a user's account. 

The cpuser_service_manager script

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/cpuser_service_manager script. This script allows cPanel users to add and remove user-managed and monitored services. This script also includes the Ubic subsystem, which allows users to easily manage their services. 

Updated features

Improved WHM experience

We have made several changes to WHM's setup process and Home interface, in order to improve users' initial experiences with cPanel & WHM.

Simplified setup process

We have removed several sections of WHM's Initial Setup Assistant interface in order to streamline the setup process for new servers.

• When you log in to WHM as the root user for the first time, the system will require you to accept cPanel, Inc.'s End User License Agreement (EULA) and to enable or disable cPanel Analytics. You can also specify a contact email address and two nameservers.

• You can modify all of the removed Initial Setup Assistant interface settings via configuration files or other WHM interfaces:

   Click here to view a list of setting locations...

  Section	Setting	Existing WHM Interface and Setting	Configuration File and Setting
  Setup Networking	Server Contact Email Address	Basic WebHost Manager Setup Enter one or more email addresses to contact in case a problem arises with this server.	/etc/wwwacct.conf CONTACTEMAIL
  	Subscribe to the cPanel mailing list. Note: You can subscribe to the cPanel, Inc. mailing list on the cPanel website.	N/A	N/A
  	Server Contact SMS Address	Basic WebHost Manager Setup Enter one or more cellular phone or pager email addresses to message via email in case a problem arises with this server.	/etc/wwwacct.conf CONTACTPAGER
  	Server Contact ICQ Number	N/A	N/A
  	ICQ Number to Send Alerts From	Basic WebHost Manager Setup The ICQ ID that this server should use for login to ICQ when sending alerts.	/etc/wwwacct.conf CONTACTUIN
  	ICQ Password	Basic WebHost Manager Setup The ICQ ID password for sending alerts.	N/A
  	This Server's Hostname Important: If you update your hostname, the system temporarily blocks user access to the following interfaces and services: Horde Webmail Calendars and Contacts (CalDAV and CardDAV) The system restores access to these interfaces and services after the hostname update finishes. For more information, read our Interface Lock Scripts documentation. Notes: Whenever you change the server's hostname, you must use one of the following methods to ensure that all of the necessary system and service changes occur:  Use WHM's Change Hostname interface (WHM >> Home >> Networking Setup >> Change Hostname). Call WHM API 1's sethostname function. Run the /usr/local/cpanel/bin/set_hostname utility as the root user. If your cPanel & WHM server uses a cloud-based hosting provider, read our Cloud-Hosted Hostname Solution documentation.	Change Hostname New Hostname	Use the /usr/local/cpanel/bin/set_hostname utility to set this value.
  	Primary Resolver	Resolver Configuration Primary Resolver	/etc/resolv.conf nameserver
  	Secondary Resolver	Resolver Configuration Secondary Resolver	/etc/resolv.conf nameserver
  	Third Resolver	Resolver Configuration Tertiary Resolver	/etc/resolv.conf nameserver
  	Main Network/Ethernet Device	Basic WebHost Manager Setup The ethernet device onto which new IP addresses are added.	/etc/wwwacct.conf ETHDEV
  Set Up IP Addresses	IP Address(es) to Add	Add a New IP Address New IP or IP range to add	Use WHM API 1's addips function to set this value.
  	Subnet Mask	Add a New IP Address Select a subnet mask for the IP or IPs above to use	/etc/ips
  Nameservers	Nameserver Configuration	Nameserver Selection N/A	/var/cpanel/cpanel.config local_nameserver_type
  	Nameserver 1, Nameserver 2, Nameserver 3, and Nameserver 4	Basic WebHost Manager Setup Nameserver 1 , Nameserver 2 , Nameserver 3 , and Nameserver 4	/etc/wwwacct.conf NS, NS2, NS3, and NS4
  	Add "A Entries" for all Nameservers	Basic WebHost Manager Setup Configure Address Records	/var/cpanel/nameserverips.yaml
  	Add "A Entries" for Hostname	Add an A Entry for Your Hostname N/A	/var/cpanel/nameserverips.yaml
  Services	FTP Configuration	FTP Server Selection N/A	/var/cpanel/cpanel.config ftpserver
  	Mail Configuration	Mailserver Configuration Protocols Enabled	/var/cpanel/cpanel.config mailserver
  	Configure cPHulk Brute Force Protection	cPHulk Brute Force Protection N/A	The /var/cpanel/hulkd/enabled and /var/cpanel/cphulk_enable touchfiles.
  	Provide modules to /usr/bin/perl formerly provided by checkperlmodules	Install a Perl Module N/A	N/A
  Quotas	Quotas	Initial Quota Setup N/A	Use the /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/fixquotas script to enable or disable quotas.

Updated WHM Home interface

We have revised WHM's Home interface to display a list of the most useful interfaces to manage your server and your accounts.

• WHM users can still access all of WHM's sections and interfaces via the left-side navigation menu. However, we now hide this menu by default.
• This change added a new description parameter to WHM's dynamicui.conf file.

Git SSH host key verification

The system now automatically performs host key verification whenever you clone a new repository or make changes to or update a cloned repository in cPanel's Git Version Control interface (cPanel >> Home >> Files >> Git Version Control). These checks help to prevent Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks.

WHM's Backup Configuration interface

We updated the appearance of WHM's Backup Configuration interface (WHM >> Home >> Backup >> Backup Configuration). 

The updates include the following new tabs:

• The Additional Destinations tab, which includes the Destination table and transport setup.
• The Validation Results tab, which shows the destinations' validation success or failure messages. This tab appears after a user verifies the connection to one or more destinations.

cPanel & WHM's File and Directory Restoration interface

We updated the appearance of the File and Directory Restoration interface in both the cPanel (cPanel >> Home >> Files >> File and Directory Restoration) and WHM (WHM >> Home >> Backup >> File and Directory Restoration) interfaces. We also added the ability to enter the exact path to the file or directory that users wish to restore.

Update a domain's PHP version and PHP-FPM settings from within the domains table in WHM's MultiPHP Manager

WHM users can now update an individual domain's PHP version and PHP-FPM settings from within the domains table in WHM's MultiPHP Manager  interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> MultiPHP Manager). Users can choose a PHP version from a menu and toggle PHP-FPM settings between On and Off for individual domains.

Upgraded cPanel (cpsrvd) PHP version to PHP 7.2

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we upgraded the PHP version in cPanel & WHM from PHP 5.6 to PHP 7.2. This change affects the PHP section of WHM's  Tweak Settings  interface (WHM >> Home >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings). See the Removal of Zendguard Optimizer release note for more information.

Added the --fix_corrupt argument to the backups_create_metadata script

The --fix_corrupt argument tells the system to search for all corrupted metadata and fixes it. For more information, read the The backups_create_metadata Script documentation.

Controls and data suppressed for disabled httpd services

In cPanel & WHM version 76, when you disable the httpd daemon, the system now suppresses its related controls and data in WHM's user interface. For example, when you disable httpd, the system does not display IP address information in WHM's  Manage SSL Hosts  interface (WHM >> Home >> SSL/TLS >> Manage SSL Hosts).

Updated domain selection list

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we updated the domain selection list in the following WHM interfaces so that they could swiftly handle large numbers of domains:

• Delete a DNS Zone  (WHM >> Home >> DNS Functions >> Delete a DNS Zone)
• Edit DNS Zone  (WHM >> Home >> DNS Functions >> Edit DNS Zone)
• Edit MX Entry  (WHM >> Home >> DNS Functions >> Edit MX Entry)
• Reset a DNS Zone  (WHM >> Home >> DNS Functions >> Reset a DNS Zone)
• Set Zone Time to Live (WHM >> Home >> DNS Functions >> Set Zone Time To Live (TTL) )
  

Block restorations when account exceeds disk quota

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we updated cPanel's  Backup  interface (cPanel >> Home >> Files >> Backup) and  Backup Wizard  interface (cPanel >> Home >> Files >> Backup Wizard) to block restorations when the account exceeds its disk quota. Previously, the system attempted to restore the backup, failed, and did not display an error.

Redirects interface update

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added the Regular Expression and HTTP Status Code columns to the table in cPanel's  Redirects  interface (cPanel >> Home >> Domains >> Redirects). 

Symlink to user's log data backup file 

As of cPanel & WHM version 76, the system adds a symlink to the log data backup file in the user's /home directory during the archive process. This symlink allows you to access this file while the system archives the file.

The symlink's name reflects the log file's name and may contain a .bkup file extension.

For more information, read our The cPanel Log Files documentation.

Removed open_basedir patch from EasyApache 4 systems

WHM's PHP open_basedir Tweak interface (WHM >> Home >> Security Center >> PHP open_basedir Tweak) now only appears on systems that run EasyApache 3. This interface did not update the settings on systems that run EasyApache 4. 

KernelCare Free Patch Set only functions on CentOS 6 and CentoOS 7

As of cPanel & WHM version 76, WHM's Security Advisor interface (WHM >> Home >> Security Settings >> Security Advisor) only displays the option to install the KernelCare Free Patch Set if your system runs CentOS 6 or CentOS 7.

For more information about the KernelCare Free Patch Set, read the KernelCare documentation.

AutoSSL provider usability scores

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we added usability scores in the Providers tab of WHM's Manage AutoSSL interface (WHM >> Home >> SSL/TLS >> Manage AutoSSL). This score displays the service capabilities of each AutoSSL provider and allows a user to select a provider based on their AutoSSL needs.

A usability score ranks each provider based on the following capabilities:

• The Domain Control Validation (DCV) methods the provider offers.
• Whether the provider supports ancestor DCV.
• The number of unique domains per certificate.
• The average delivery time a provider requires to issue a certificate.
• The maximum number of HTTP-based DCV domain redirects the provider supports.
• The number of certificates registered per domain per week.

The interface also displays information for each provider's AutoSSL delivery method and the validity period of a certificate before it expires.

EasyApache 4 interface

We added the Additional Packages section to WHM's EasyApache 4 interface (WHM >> Home >> Software >> EasyApache 4). This section displays any available packages that do not fit into another category. 

The /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/migrate_ea3_to_ea4 script

We added the --allow-unsafe-amount-of-tomcat-users flag to the migrate_ea3_to_ea4 script. This flag allows you to migrate a system that possesses more than five Tomcat users. For more information, read our How to Install or Uninstall EasyApache 4 documentation. 

Deprecated and removed items

SquirrelMail deprecation

By default, new installations of cPanel & WHM will not include SquirrelMail. This change will not currently impact enabled SquirrelMail installations on existing cPanel & WHM servers.

• We plan to remove SquirrelMail entirely in a future version of cPanel & WHM. For more information, read our cPanel Deprecation Plan documentation.
• As part of this deprecation, we have removed the Enable Squirrelmail webmail setting from the Mail section of WHM's Tweak Settings interface (WHM >> Home >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings) and the skipsqmail setting from the /var/cpanel/cpanel.config file.

Removal of SSL Sharing

In cPanel & WHM version 76, we removed the ability to share SSL certificates. This change affects the following interfaces:

• In cPanel, we removed the Manage Certificate Sharing interface (cPanel >> Home >> Security >> SSL/TLS).
• In WHM, the Manage SSL Hosts  interface (WHM >> Home >> SSL/TLS >> Manage SSL Hosts) and the  Apache mod_userdir Tweak  interface (WHM >> Home >> Security Center >> Apache mod_userdir Tweak).

Removal of Zendguard Optimizer

We removed zend (Zendguard Optimizer) as an option for the cPanel PHP loader setting in the PHP section of WHM's  Tweak Settings  interface (WHM >> Home >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings). This PHP loader only supports PHP up to version 5 and thus is incompatible with cPanel & WHM's upgrade to PHP 7.2. For more information, read Zend's documentation.

Appendix A: Third-party applications

cPanel-provided

cPanel & WHM version 76 includes the following third-party applications:

PHP Modules

cPanel & WHM version 76 includes the following PHP modules:

Perl modules

cPanel & WHM version 76 includes the following Perl modules:

OS-provided

cPanel & WHM uses the following operating system-provided third-party applications:

Appendix B: New and modified API functions

New UAPI functions

• KnownHosts::create — This function registers a host with the /home/user/.ssh/known_hosts file.
• KnownHosts::delete — This function removes a host from the /home/user/.ssh/known_hosts file.
• KnownHosts::update — This function updates an entry in the /home/user/.ssh/known_hosts file.
• KnownHosts::verify — This function checks whether a host's public key exists in the /home/user/.ssh/known_hosts file.

New WHM API 1 functions

• accept_eula — This function records acceptance of cPanel & WHM's legal terms.
• backup_list_transported —  This function lists backup files that the system sent through a specified additional backup transport.
• get_available_applications — This function returns the contents of a dynamicui file.
• update_contact_email — This function updates the contact email address in the wwwacct.conf file.
• update_nameservers_config — This function updates nameservers in the wwwacct.conf file.
• ea4_tomcat85_rem — This function removes a user from the Tomcat 8.5 configuration.
• ea4_tomcat85_add — This function adds a user to the Tomcat 8.5 configuration.
• ea4_tomcat85_list — This function returns a list of the users that run Tomcat.

Modified UAPI functions

• Mime::list_redirects  — Added redirect and redirectmatch values to the kind return, and added the statuscode return. 
• Mime::delete_redirect — Added the args parameter.

 return.Modified cPanel API 2 functions

• DiskCounter::disk_counter — We updated the Parameters and Returns tables.

Modified cPanel API 1 functions

Modified WHM API 1 functions

• backup_user_list  — This function lists users with a backup file, stored locally or on additional backup destinations, on a specified date.
• backup_date_list  — This function lists all dates that contain backup files, whether stored locally or on additional backup destinations.
• backup_set_list  — This function lists backup files for the server's accounts, whether stored locally or on additional backup destinations.
• query_file_info — Added the optional exists parameter and the exists return.
• ticket_create_stub_ticket - Added the secure_id return.
• ticket_grant — Added the secure_id parameter.

Modified WHM API 0 functions

Deprecated WHM API 1 Functions

Deprecated UAPI Functions

• SSL::check_shared_cert  — We removed this function in cPanel & WHM version 76.
• SSL::set_ssl_share  — We removed this function in cPanel & WHM version 76.

Removed cPanel API 2 functions

Removed cPanel API 1 functions

• SSL::sslsharedstatus  — We removed this function in cPanel & WHM version 76.

Removed WHM API 0 functions