cPanel port numbers: the full list, and which ones you need

cPanel, WHM and Webmail ports at a glance

Every cPanel & WHM server answers on the same set of ports. Each interface has an SSL port and an older non-SSL one, and all of them take inbound TCP connections. These are the numbers in cPanel's own firewall documentation:

An easy way to remember them: each SSL port is the non-SSL port plus one, cPanel sits at 2082–2083, WHM at 2086–2087 and Webmail at 2095–2096. If you only remember one number, make it 2083.

What is port 2083?

Port 2083 is the secure login port for cPanel, the control panel an account owner uses to manage files, databases, email accounts and SSL certificates for a website. When you visit https://example.com:2083, you reach cPanel's login page over an encrypted connection. Port 2082 is the same interface without encryption.

cPanel's documentation lists one more job for both ports: they are also used for cPanel licensing, and appear on the docs' list of licence callback ports.

You often do not need to type the number at all. A setting that cPanel used to call Always redirect to SSL/TLS is on by default, and it sends anyone who visits example.com/cpanel to example.com:2083. The same redirect sends /whm to the WHM port and /webmail to the Webmail port. It does not apply to subdomains such as cpanel.example.com, which work differently (more on those below).

If you are new to the panel itself, our guide to what cPanel is and what it does covers the basics.

Port 2087 and 2086: the WHM ports

WHM, short for WebHost Manager, is the administration layer above cPanel. Server owners use it to configure the whole machine, and resellers use it to create and manage cPanel accounts for their own customers. It listens on port 2087 over SSL and 2086 without. Like 2083, port 2087 is also used by cPanel licensing.

Not every hosting account has WHM. On a shared plan you get cPanel only, so https://example.com:2087 will not let you in. WHM comes with reseller hosting, or with a VPS or dedicated server that has its own cPanel & WHM licence. Our guide to what WHM is and how it differs from cPanel explains the split.

Port 2096 and 2095: the Webmail ports

Webmail on a cPanel server answers on port 2096 over SSL and 2095 without. This is the browser login for reading mail on a cPanel email account. You can also reach it at webmail.example.com or example.com/webmail.

Webmail ports are not the same as mail ports. If you are setting up a phone or desktop mail app, you need the SMTP, IMAP and POP3 ports (such as 465, 587, 993 and 995) instead. Those are covered in our email port numbers guide.

Why use the SSL ports, not 2082, 2086 and 2095

cPanel strongly recommends the SSL versions of every service, because the non-SSL ones can expose your login details. On a café, hotel or shared office connection, a password sent to port 2082 crosses the network unencrypted.

There is little reason to use the non-SSL ports at all. On a server you control, an administrator can limit 2082, 2086 and 2095 to SSL-only logins in WHM under Server Configuration » Tweak Settings. On someone else's server, make a habit of typing the SSL port, or use the /cpanel shortcut and let the redirect choose it for you.

Can't reach port 2083? Use cpanel.yourdomain.com

A common cPanel login problem is not a wrong password but a blocked port. Many office, college and public networks only let traffic out on standard web ports such as 80 and 443, so a request to :2083 simply times out. cPanel's documentation does not single out any type of network, but this is the usual reason cPanel opens at home and not at work.

The fix is a service subdomain. cPanel creates these automatically (they used to be called proxy subdomains), and they serve the same interfaces over the standard HTTP and HTTPS ports, so they work behind a firewall that only allows 80 and 443:

Which should you use? cPanel's documentation says the port responds faster, while the subdomain is the one that works from behind a restrictive firewall. The Service subdomains setting in Tweak Settings is on by default, and the docs strongly recommend leaving it on. Server owners who want different names can create custom cPanel, Webmail, Web Disk and WHM subdomains with a separate Service subdomain override setting.

If cpanel.example.com does not load either, check that the domain's DNS points at the hosting server; the subdomain can only work once the domain resolves there.

Other ports a cPanel server uses

The panel ports are only part of the picture. cPanel's firewall documentation also lists the ports a cPanel & WHM server needs for everything else it does:

Two of these catch people out. Port 3306 only needs to be open if something outside the server connects to MySQL directly; a website on the same server talks to its database locally. And port 2089 must be allowed outbound, or the server cannot reach the licence servers.

Which cPanel ports to open in a firewall

On shared or reseller hosting, the provider runs the server firewall and you do not need to open anything. This list matters when you run your own cPanel & WHM server on a VPS or dedicated machine. A sensible starting point, based on cPanel's documentation:

• Inbound: 22, 53, 80, 443, 2083, 2087 and 2096, plus 2078 and 2080 if your users need Web Disk or calendars, and the mail ports for the services you offer.
• Non-SSL panel ports: the docs list 2082, 2086 and 2095 too, and 2082 and 2086 are also used for licensing. If you keep them open, use Tweak Settings to restrict them to SSL-only logins.
• Outbound: 2089 for licensing, plus the outbound-only ports in the table above for the spam-filtering and system tools you use.
• Usually closed: 3306, unless you have a specific reason to accept remote database connections, and 20/21 if everyone can use SFTP instead.

Check your provider's network firewall as well as the one on the server itself. A port can be open in the server's own rules and still be blocked further upstream.

cPanel ports on Bigdomainhost

On our Web & cPanel hosting and WordPress plans, cPanel is included, so you log in to cPanel and Webmail as described above. These plans include cPanel only, not WHM, and on Web & cPanel hosting SSH access is available on request. WHM comes with reseller hosting, which gives you white-label WHM to create cPanel accounts for your own customers.

On a KVM VPS, cPanel & WHM can be pre-installed when you order or added later, with the licence billed at vendor price. Our server firewall denies all inbound traffic by default except SSH on port 22, and you set inbound rules per instance in the panel. So if you run cPanel on a VPS, expect to add rules for the ports you use, such as 80, 443, 2083, 2087 and 2096. Outbound traffic is not restricted apart from port 25, which is blocked by default and opened on request once the account has a payment history; our post on why port 25 is closed explains the reasons.

Sources (checked 15 November 2026)

• cPanel & WHM Documentation: How to Configure Your Firewall for cPanel & WHM Services
• cPanel & WHM Documentation: Service and Proxy Subdomains
• cPanel & WHM Documentation: Tweak Settings – Domains
• cPanel & WHM Documentation: Tweak Settings – Redirection