How to Integrate OAuth 2.0 with IMAP, POP3, and SMTP in cPanel Mail Accounts

Netgate Unknown

• June 04, 2025 20:59

Hello,

I'm currently managing a mail server via cPanel and I'm looking to improve authentication security when users configure their mail accounts in external clients like Outlook or Thunderbird.

**Objective:**
I would like to integrate **OAuth 2.0** so that, during the **first-time configuration of an IMAP, POP3, or SMTP account**, the user is redirected to a web-based login (OAuth2 flow) and prompted for a verification code (2FA), similar to how Gmail behaves when 2FA is enabled.

**Questions:**

1. Does cPanel (or the underlying Dovecot/Exim stack) support OAuth 2.0 for IMAP, POP3, and SMTP authentication?
2. If not supported out of the box, are there any known workarounds, modules, or third-party plugins that would allow such integration?
3. Is there any plan to implement OAuth2 in future versions of cPanel for mail protocols?
4. Would it be possible to integrate cPanel with an identity provider (IdP) that supports OAuth 2.0 (e.g., Keycloak, Auth0, etc.) for mail authentication?
5. Are there best practices for securing traditional IMAP/SMTP authentication if OAuth 2.0 is not currently an option?

**Use case:**
We want to provide external mail access securely, and avoid relying solely on static passwords in case credentials are compromised. 2FA via OAuth2 would significantly improve our security posture. Although we know that 2FA is active at the webmail level, it requires a more robust level of security.

Any insights or guidance would be highly appreciated!

Best regards,  

• 

  cPRex Jurassic Moderator

  • June 05, 2025 13:59

  Hey there!  I'll answer these in order to make sure I don't miss anything.

  1 - Not at this time.  However, we do have this potential improvements we're considering that may interest you: https://features.cpanel.net/c/114-force-2fa-for-webmail

  2 - Unfortunately no.  There very well may be, but it's not something I'd be able to recommend if they did exist.

  3 - I'm not sure I'm able to say "no" forever as things can always change in the future, but it's not currently on the roadmap.

  4 - Probably, but it would be completely unsupported work.

  5 - Yes, we have a lot of good information about this in various articles:

  https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/email/how-to-prevent-email-abuse/
  https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/security/recommended-security-settings/
  https://docs.cpanel.net/knowledge-base/security/security-best-practices/
  PGP keys: https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/email/encryption/
  details specific to IMAP - https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/email/set-up-mail-client/#secure-ssl-tls-settings-recommended

  but in general, cPanel's email distribution is well secured from the time of installation.

  0

Please sign in to leave a comment.