How To disable cPHulk on a cPanel/WHM server (2 Methods)

[Helposoft Staff]

To disable cPHulk on a cPanel/WHM server, follow these steps. cPHulk is a brute force protection system that prevents unauthorized login attempts. Disabling it might expose your server to brute force attacks, so ensure you understand the implications before proceeding.

Steps to Disable cPHulk​

Method 1: Via WHM Interface​

1. Log in to WHM:
   • Open your web browser and go to https://your-server-ip:2087 (replace your-server-ip with your actual IP address).
   • Log in using your root credentials.
2. Search for cPHulk:
   • In the WHM search bar on the left-hand side, type cPHulk.
   • Click on “cPHulk Brute Force Protection” from the search results.
3. Disable cPHulk:
   • Click on the “Settings” tab.
   • Find the option “Enable cPHulk Brute Force Protection” and uncheck the box.
   • Scroll down and click “Save” to apply the changes.
4. Stop cPHulk Service (Optional):
   • If you want to ensure that cPHulk is completely stopped, you can manually stop the service via the command line.

Method 2: Via Command Line​

1. Access Your Server via SSH:
   • Use an SSH client (like PuTTY) to connect to your server.
2. Stop cPHulk Service:
   
   

   /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_cphulkd --stop

   
   
3. Disable cPHulk Service:
   • To prevent cPHulk from starting on boot, you need to modify its configuration.
     
     

     /scripts/restartsrv_cphulkd --disable

     
     
     
4. Verify cPHulk is Disabled:
   • You can check the status of cPHulk to ensure it’s not running:
     
     

     /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_cphulkd --status

   • It should show that the service is not running or disabled.

Considerations After Disabling cPHulk:​

• Security Implications:Disabling cPHulk reduces protection against brute force attacks. Consider implementing alternative security measures, such as:
  • Using strong passwords.
  • Setting up firewall rules to limit access.
  • Monitoring login attempts.
• Alternative Security Tools:If you still need brute force protection but want to use a different system, consider configuring alternatives such as Fail2Ban or CSF (ConfigServer Security & Firewall).

By following these steps, you should be able to disable cPHulk on your cPanel/WHM server.

 

[Helposoft Staff]

If You face issue:

[root@server ~]# /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_cphulkd --statuscphulkd (cPhulkd - processor - dormant mode - accepting connections) is running as root with PID 42987 (systemd+/proc check method).

Here is the solution:
It seems that even after attempting to disable cPHulk, the service is still running in dormant mode. Here’s a refined approach to properly disable cPHulk:

Steps to Fully Disable cPHulk​

1. Stop cPHulk Service​

To stop the cPHulk service immediately:

/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_cphulkd --stop

2. Disable cPHulk at Startup​

To prevent cPHulk from starting on boot, you need to disable the service using the following commands:

systemctl stop cphulkd
systemctl disable cphulkd

3. Verify the Service Status​

Check if cPHulk is still running and verify that it is no longer set to start on boot:

systemctl status cphulkd

If it’s stopped and disabled, you should see something like:

● cphulkd.service - cPanel brute force detector services
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/cphulkd.service; disabled; vendor preset: disabled)
Active: inactive (dead) since [timestamp]

4. Disable cPHulk Through WHM Interface​

1. Log in to WHM:
   • Open your web browser and go to https://your-server-ip:2087.
   • Log in using your root credentials.
2. Search for cPHulk:
   • In the WHM search bar, type cPHulk.
   • Click on “cPHulk Brute Force Protection” from the search results.
3. Disable cPHulk:
   • Go to the “Settings” tab.
   • Uncheck the box for “Enable cPHulk Brute Force Protection”.
   • Scroll down and click “Save”.

5. Optional: Remove cPHulk​

If you want to remove cPHulk entirely from your system:

yum remove cpanel-cphulkd

Note: Removing cPHulk will uninstall it completely. Make sure you have other security measures in place.

Additional Considerations​

• Security Measures: Disabling cPHulk could expose your server to brute force attacks. Consider setting up an alternative security system like Fail2Ban or ConfigServer Security & Firewall (CSF) if you need protection.
• Monitoring: Regularly monitor login attempts and server logs to detect any unusual activities.

This should help you in fully disabling or removing cPHulk from your cPanel/WHM server.