Grant cPanel Support Access

Valid for versions 82 through the latest version

Version:

82


Last modified: November 29, 2022

Overview

When you create a ticket with cPanel Technical Support, it is sometimes necessary to allow them access to your server. This interface uses the server authentication details in your ticket to provide cPanel Technical Support with SSH access to your server.

Important:

The transactional log for the Grant cPanel Support Access interface exists in the /var/cpanel/logs/supportauth/audit.log file. This file only logs changes from this interface.

Connect to the cPanel Customer Portal

In the Grant cPanel Support Access interface, you must connect your server to the cPanel Customer Portal. This secure connection transfers the required authentication details to cPanel Technical Support. To connect, perform the following steps:

  1. Click Log in to cPanel Customer Portal. The cPanel Authorization Request window will appear in a new browser window.
  2. Enter your cPanel customer account email address and password in the provided text boxes.
    • If you are already logged in to your cPanel account, click Allow Access.
    • To sign in as a different user, click Sign in as a Different User.
  3. Click Sign In. The browser window will close.

Afterwards, the Grant cPanel Support Access interface will update. It will display your tickets and their current status.

cPanel Technical Support IP addresses

After you connect to the cPanel Customer Portal, ensure that the following cPanel Technical Support IP addresses have access to your server:

Grant or Revoke cPanel Support Access

The Grant or Revoke cPanel Support’s Access section displays the tickets for which you granted access. You can view each ticket’s status, the ticket number, and the following information:

  • Server — The server’s ID.
  • User — The login username.
  • SSH Info — The sshd IP address and port.
  • Granted — Whether Support has server access.

If you don’t see your ticket, click Reload Tickets to update the list. If you still don’t see your ticket, you may need to log in with a different cPanel Customer Portal account.

Revoke closed tickets

If you have any closed tickets that still grant cPanel Technical Support access to your server, the system displays the Revoke and Remove Closed Tickets option. You can use this option to revoke server access for your closed tickets.

Grant cPanel Technical Support access

To allow cPanel Technical Support access to your server, click Grant in the row that corresponds to the server to which you wish to grant access.

When you select this option, the system checks whether it allows the root user to log in via SSH. If SSH root login is disabled, the system will create a temporary user in the wheel group. The system also assigns the SSH key to that user for cPanel Technical Support’s access.

Note:

You can view the SSH keys this interface creates in WHM’s Manage root’s SSH Keys interface (WHM » Home » Security Center » Manage root’s SSH Keys).

Whitelisted services

When you grant cPanel Technical Support access to your server, the server whitelists cPanel Technical Support’s IP addresses for the following services:

For more information about firewall configuration, read our How to Configure Your Firewall for cPanel Services documentation.

SSH connection test

After granting access, you must test the SSH configuration and login details. Click Test in the row that corresponds to that ticket and account. This test verifies that your server’s configuration allows cPanel Technical Support to connect to it.

SSH test statuses

After performing the test, the interface will display one of the following status results:

  • Success — The test succeeded.
  • Timeout — The server’s connection test timed out.
  • Escalate — The configured user failed to escalate to root privileges on the server.
  • Auth — Server authentication failed during connection.
  • Unreachable — The server is unreachable.
  • Refused — The server refused the connection.
  • Protocol — A protocol-level error occurred on the server.
  • Environment — The server responded unexpectedly.
  • Unknown — An unexpected error occurred.
  • Ticket System Timeout — The cPanel Ticket System failed to respond.

Revoke server access

You can revoke access to your servers at any time.

Open tickets

To revoke cPanel Technical Support’s access to your server, click Revoke in the row that corresponds to that ticket and account.

Closed tickets

To revoke cPanel Technical Support’s access to your server, click Revoke and Remove in the row that corresponds to that ticket.

A confirmation window will appear. Click OK. The browser will display a confirmation message. Afterwards, the system removes the ticket.

Important:

You should always revoke access after closing a cPanel Support ticket.

Additional Documentation