How to create sudo users

Question

How do you create sudo users?

Answer

A "sudo" user has similar permissions to the root account by default. You must create a "sudo" user if you wish to disable direct root logins.

How to disable direct root logins.

Additionally, if you'd like to create a reseller without a domain, but with sudo access, please see our documentation:

How to Create a WHM Reseller Without an Associated Domain | cPanel Docs

1. Create a user.
   • You can create a new cPanel account, though this will count towards your total cPanel users for licensing purposes:
     Create a New Account | cPanel & WHM Documentation
   • Or you can use the adduser command to add a system user.
2. Check the new user's shell
   • Ensure the new user is set to use Normal Shell in WHM at Home / Account Functions / Manage Shell Access.
     Manage Shell Access | cPanel & WHM Documentation
3. Add the user to the wheel group.

   • In WHM, go to Home / Security Center / Manage Wheel Group Users and move the user you've just created into the wheel group.
     Manage Wheel Group Users | cPanel & WHM Documentation

     Note: This step allows the user access to the sudo command.

4. Restart the SSH daemon.
   • In WHM, go to Home / Restart Services / SSH Server (OpenSSH), and restart the SSH Daemon to ensure the updated user configuration is loaded.
5. Test Access.
   • Attempt to log in as your new user via SSH.

   • Once logged in, run the following and enter your password:

     # sudo su

     Note: By default, the prompt will change from $ to #.

   • Run the following, which the expected result should be root:

     # whoami

If your wheel user cannot use the sudo command to gain root access, ensure the wheel group is permitted to use sudo:

# grep '%wheel' /etc/sudoers

This should contain:

CONFIG_TEXT: %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

You should not edit the /etc/sudoers file directly, but use the command visudo to make changes:

# visudo