Troubleshooting: Using /script/upcp for WHM and cPanel Issues

cPanel is set to update on a nightly basis for most server configurations. However, depending on changes made at different times, the update may need to be rerun as part of your troubleshooting process. The /script/upcp will update the cPanel and WHM services on your system. Running this update is a great first step in troubleshooting cPanel errors.

Note:

/script/upcp will not update Apache, PHP, Perl or MySQL, those are a different process not covered in this article.
The following examples are just a few of the type you will get in the case of needing to update cPanel using /script/upcp. There are many other cPanel errors that using /script/upcp can fix, however if after running the update, errors still occur, please contact our Support team

Paper Lantern Theme Issue

Error:

If you come across a 500 error trying to access a cPanel account using the Paper_Lantern theme, and you see the following error in the cPanel error log:

[2016-12-14 00:02:19 -0500] info [cpsrvd] Internal Server Error: "GET
 /cpsess9298300059/frontend/paper_lantern/index.html?
login=1&post_login=25351758733184 HTTP/1.1" 500 No response from subprocess 
(cpanel (cpanel)): The subprocess reported error number 255 when it ended.

Solution:

Move the Paper Lantern theme out of the way and run a upcp:

mkdir /root/cpanelzone mv /usr/local/cpanel/base/frontend/paper_lantern /root/cpanelzone/
 /scripts/upcp --sync

Automatic Update Failure

Error:

If you have automatic WHM/cPanel updates enabled, your server should automatically update WHM/cPanel as needed. Sometimes, however, you’ll receive an email like this:
failure message in WHM

An auto-update can fail for many different reasons. Commonly, it is because of server space. At the time the update ran, your server didn’t have enough free space to run the update. You need 3GB of free space to update WHM/cPanel, and depending on your server traffic and scheduled tasks, that might not be available when your server tried to auto-update. Sometimes, it’s just a random error.

Solution:

As long as the update didn’t fail because of an upgrade blocker, you can force a WHM/cPanel update. You can do this:

Using WHM
Using the command line

Using WHM to Force a WHM/cPanel Update

It’s easy to update WHM/cPanel using WHM. With one exception, you’ll simply follow the instructions in Updating WHM/cPanel. Before you click Click to Upgrade, select the checkbox next to Force a reinstall even if the system is up to date.

Using the Command Line to Force a WHM/cPanel Update

You can force WHM/cPanel to update in a terminal with one simple command.

Using the terminal program of your choice, log into your server via SSH.
Because updating WHM/cPanel could take a while, we recommend opening a screen session. This is like opening a new tab in your web browser: you can run the update process but still be free to continue working on something else. In the command prompt, type:
```
screen -S cpanel-update
```
Then press Enter. This will open a new screen session called “cpanel-update.”
In the command prompt, type:
```
/usr/local/cpanel/scripts/upcp --force
```
When you press Enter, WHM/cPanel will update

Unable to Download rpm Files

Error:

The links cPanel is attempting to use contain “unknown” for the dist version.

Solution:

You need to change the rpm dist to match the major version of the operating system.

Open the sysinfo.config file in vim

vim /var/cpanel/sysinfo.config

Enter the following to the file and save:

rpm_dist_ver=unknown

Failed Dependencies

Error:

You may see the following error when looking over cPanel update logs after an ‘updatenow failure’:

[20130508.133519] error: Failed dependencies:
[20130508.133519] MySQL conflicts with mysql-5.0.77-4.el5_5.3.i386
[20130508.133519] W Exit Code: 254
[20130508.133519] ***** FATAL: Test install failed: error: Failed dependencies:
[20130508.133519] MySQL conflicts with mysql-5.0.77-4.el5_5.3.i386
[20130508.133519] The Administrator will be notified to review this output when this script completes
[20130508.133519] ***** FATAL: Error testing if the RPMs will install: Died at /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/updatenow.static line 12527.

This issue is caused by a newer version of cPanel combined with a too old version of MySQL. In the case above, cPanel 11.36 and MySQL 5.0.