phpMyAdmin doesn't work when using the cPanel user's password until you reset it

Symptoms

A cPanel user is unable to log into phpMyAdmin, and an error similar to the following is displayed:

CONFIG_TEXT: mysqli_connect(): (28000/1045): Access denied for user 'cpses_username'@'localhost' (using password: YES)

Cause

This issue occurs when the cPanel password and the database password become unsynchronized. An account that contains a file named .my.cnf in the user's account root directory will have a separate option to sync the MySQL password when resetting it that must be selected, or else the passwords will become unsynced.

Resolution

Resetting the cPanel user's password will sync the user's passwords. There are multiple ways to reset the password, and if available, you should select the option to Synchronize MYSQL Password. The following article shows you how to reset the password:

How to reset a cPanel User's Password

To prevent confusion in the future, you may also consider removing the .my.cnf file from the cPanel user's account if present, as it is no longer required:

How To Remove Synchronize MYSQL Password