This function allows you to configure two-factor authentication (2FA), an improved security measure for the login interface of cPanel & WHM. Two-factor authentication requires two forms of identification:
- Your password
- A generated security code
When you enable 2FA, an application on your smartphone supplies a code that you must enter with your password to log in. Without your smartphone, you cannot log in. For more information about 2FA, read Wikipedia's Two-Factor Authentication article.
Note:
2FA requires a smartphone with a supported time-based one-time password (TOTP) app. We suggest the following apps:
- For Android, iOS, and Blackberry — Google Authenticator
- For Android and iOS — Duo Mobile
- For Windows Phone — Authenticator
Enable 2FA
Warning:
This feature may cause some third-party applications to break significantly, and may cause applications to improperly store data.
If 2FA is disabled on the server, click the toggle to change it to On and enable 2FA.
Note:
Only the root user can enable 2FA.
Settings
The Settings tab allows you to specify the 2FA Issuer parameter.
To customize the Issuer setting for 2FA, perform the following steps:
- Click the Settings tab.
- Enter the desired value for the Issuer setting, or keep the default value.
- Click Save.
The Issuer setting determines the name that appears in the authentication app when a user accesses the security code.
Note:
If you do not enter a name for the Issuer setting , it defaults to the hostname.
Manage Users
The Manage Users tab displays the accounts for which you have configured 2FA, and allows you to disable 2FA on those accounts.
Remove 2FA on a user account
To remove 2FA for a single user account on the Manage Users list, click Disable (
) to the right of the user account.
To remove multiple user accounts from the Manage Users list, perform the following steps:
- Select the Manage Users tab.
- Select the checkboxes to the left of each user account that you want to remove, or select the checkbox to the left of the User heading to select them all.
-
Click the gear icon (
) on the top right of the list, and then select Disable Selected.
Note:
Select Disable All to remove every user account from the Manage Users list. This will not disable 2FA on your own account.
Enable 2FA on a user account
Important:
To enable 2FA for a user account, log in as the user to access cPanel's Two-Factor Authentication interface (Home >> Security >> Two-Factor Authentication).
Alternatively, you can call API functions to access 2FA functionality. For more information, read our Guide to API Authentication documentation.
Manage My Account
The Manage My Account tab allows you to set up 2FA for the root account or a reseller account.
Configure 2FA
To configure 2FA, perform the following steps:
- Click Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.
- To configure 2FA, you must create a link between your cPanel account and your 2FA app:
- To automatically create the link, scan the displayed QR code with your app.
- To manually create the link, enter the provided Account and Key information in your app.
-
Within your 2FA app, retrieve the six-digit security code.
Note:
The 2FA app generates a new six-digit security code for your cPanel account every 30 seconds.
-
Enter the six-digit security code in the Security Code text box.
Note:
You must enter the security code within 30 seconds. After time expires, the app will generate a new six-digit code.
- Click Configure Two-Factor Authentication.
Remove 2FA
To remove 2FA, click Remove Two-Factor Authentication.
Reconfigure 2FA
To reconfigure 2FA, click Reconfigure. Then, follow the steps to configure 2FA.
Warning:
If you reconfigure 2FA for your account, any existing configurations will no longer produce valid security codes.
