License update failure: DNS query failure: (auth.cpanel.net/A) timeout!

Symptoms

The cPanel license fails to update, and a warning similar to the following may be found in the license_log log file or the output of cpkeyclt.

CONFIG_TEXT: warn [cpkeyclt] DNS query failure (auth.cpanel.net/A): Cpanel::Exception::DNS::ErrorResponse/(XID 3p42tn) DNS returned “SERVFAIL” (code 2) in response to the system’s query for “auth.cpanel.net”’s “A” records.

Cause

The issue occurs when the server is unable to query the auth*.cpanel.net A records for licensing. This commonly occurs due to a firewall blocking DNS queries.

Resolution

Ensure that your server can query the auth*.cpanel.net DNS records.

Note: These IPs may be subject to change.

# [root@server ~]cPs# dig A auth.cpanel.net +short
208.74.121.85
208.74.121.86
208.74.121.83
208.74.123.2
208.74.123.3
208.74.121.82