This guide is designed specifically for store owners and developers who work with Magento on hosting with the cPanel control panel.
It will help you safely update Magento to the latest version without using SSH access or complex DevOps tools.
We will cover the entire process — from checking PHP and MariaDB compatibility to updating Magento via Composer, testing, and troubleshooting.

Why you need to update Magento

Updating Magento is not just a “version update.” It provides:

  • Security — known vulnerabilities are closed.
  • Compatibility — support for modern versions of PHP, MariaDB, Redis, etc.
  • Performance — optimization of cache, indexes, and templates.
  • New features — convenient tools for administrators and marketing.

Step 1: Preparation before updating

Before updating Magento, it is important to ensure that your environment is ready for the changes. This will help you avoid errors, downtime, and data loss.

1. Check the current version of Magento

Start by checking if there are newer stable releases of the system.

  • Visit the official Adobe Commerce Release Notes website
  • Find the latest available version of Magento Open Source or Adobe Commerce
  • Check out the list of changes — security fixes, new features, updated libraries, compatibility improvements

2. Check system dependencies

1. Go to the official system requirements page:

Magento System Requirements (Adobe Commerce & Open Source)
It lists the supported versions of PHP, MariaDB, Redis, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, Composer, and Node.js for each release.

2. Compare with the current environment:

  • PHP — via cPanel ➤ PHP Info or the php -v command
  • MariaDB — via mysql -V
  • Redis, Composer, Node.js — using redis-server -v, composer -V, node -v

3. If versions are outdated, update them only after creating a backup (next step).

3. Make a backup copy of the website and database

Before making any changes to the Magento environment or version, be sure to make a full backup.

  1. In cPanel ➤ Files ➤ Backup:
    • Download a complete copy of your Home Directory
    • Download a copy of your MySQL Database
  2. It is recommended to make a local backup manually:
    • Download the /public_html directory via File Manager or FTP.
    • Perform a database dump:
mysqldump --single-transaction -u USERNAME -p DATABASE > backup.sql

Store owners can safely use the first (UI) backup option. Developers may prefer the command-line method above. You can also use any alternative backup method provided by your hosting provider.

If the update fails, you can quickly restore the site to its previous state.

Step 2: Update Magento environment via cPanel (PHP / MariaDB)

After creating backups (see section 2.3), you can proceed to updating the server environment to prepare the system for the new version of Magento.
This section describes the complete process of updating PHP and MariaDB via cPanel/WHM using the standard panel tools.

1. Access to cPanel / WHM

  1. Open https://domain.com:2087/
  2. Log in as root user (use the same password as for root access to the server).

2. Updating PHP to 8.3

1. In the cPanel search field, enter EasyApache 4 and open the module.

WHM search EasyApache4

2. In the Currently Installed Packages section, click Customize.

EasyApache 4 Main Page

3. Select the PHP Versions tab, enable PHP 8.3 and select the PHP 8.2 and Extensions.

EasyApache 4 PHP Version select

4. Go to PHP Extensions by click next or switch in steps list:

  • Enter corrent php version in the filter to see the installed extensions.
  • Enable the same extensions for php83 to maintain compatibility.

5. Go to Review ➤ click Provision to install.
6. Once complete, click Done.

7. Change the default PHP version:

  • Go to Software ➤ MultiPHP Manager
  • In the PHP Version column, select PHP 8.3
  • Click Apply to apply the new version to the domain
MultiPHP Manager global settings

8. Change PHP version for your domain:

MultiPHP Manager domain settings
  • Go to Software ➤ MultiPHP Manager
  • Open the User Domain Settings tab
  • Find your domain and change PHP Version
  • Don’t forget to enable FPM

9. Synchronize PHP configuration

  • Open Software ➤ MultiPHP INI Editor
  • Select PHP 8.3
  • Update the settings according to the recommendations for Magento
  • Click Save Changes.

3. Update Magento Database (MariaDB)

1. In the cPanel search field, enter Upgrade Database Version and open the utility.

  • Select MariaDB 11.4
  • Please note the warning from cPanel.
  • Click Continue and wait for the update to complete
Update Magento Database Version

2. Check the update:

  • Open phpMyAdmin in cPanel
  • Make sure the MariaDB version is 11.4
  • Check the availability of the main Magento database

3. (Optional) Optimize the database configuration:

  • In the search field, enter Edit Database Configuration
  • Click Review Suggestions
  • Review the suggested optimizations and click Save

4. Restart the main services to apply the changes:

  • Open Restart Services in cPanel
  • Restart:
    • Apache Web Server
    • PHP-FPM service for Apache
    • Database Server

Step 3: Update Magento via Composer

After updating the system environment (PHP, MariaDB, Redis, etc.), you can proceed to the main stage — updating Magento itself.
The update is performed via Composer, which downloads the new version of Magento and the necessary dependencies.

1. Switching the website to maintenance mode

First, you need to put the site into maintenance mode so that users do not see errors during the update.

bin/magento maintenance:enable

2. Update Magento version

1. Run the command to change the Magento version:

composer require-commerce magento/product-community-edition 2.4.8-p3 --no-update
composer update

2. After updating, clear the cache and generated files:

rm -rf var/cache/* var/page_cache/* generated/code/*

3. Application of official Magento Quality Patches

Adobe releases quality patches (ACSD / APSB) that fix critical bugs and improve stability.

1. Install the patch management package if it is not already installed:

composer require magento/quality-patches

2. Apply the necessary patches (example for 2.4.8-p3):

vendor/bin/magento-patches apply ACSD-64118
vendor/bin/magento-patches apply ACSD-67643

Details for ACSD-64118 and ACSD-67643 can be found in the official patch descriptions.

The list of current patches can be found using the command:

vendor/bin/magento-patches status

4. Completing the update and restoring the site

After updating the Magento version and applying patches, you need to complete the basic configuration of the system.

bin/magento setup:upgrade
bin/magento setup:di:compile
bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy -f
bin/magento indexer:reindex

Then disable maintenance mode:

bin/magento maintenance:disable

5. Checking the Magento version

Ensure that the update was successful:

bin/magento --version

Step 4: Testing after the update

After completing the Magento update, you need to make sure that all key features are working smoothly.
This step is often underestimated, but it is what ensures that the website is ready to serve customers.

1. Checking basic functionality

  1. Frontend:
    • The home page opens without errors
    • Categories, filters, and sorting work
    • The product card displays the price, options, and attributes
    • Images, media, and banners load correctly
  2. Checkout:
    • Adding products to the cart
    • Selecting a delivery method
    • Payment (Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, etc.)
    • Creating an order without errors
  3. User account:
    • Registration/login/password recovery
    • Viewing order history
    • Changing delivery address/payment details
  4. Admin panel:
    • Editing products
    • Adding categories
    • Viewing and changing orders
    • Updating CMS pages and blocks

2. Technical inspection

1. Reindex check:

bin/magento indexer:status

All indexes must have Ready status.

2. Checking cron jobs:

bin/magento cron:run

Ensure that no errors occur during the process.

3. Checking logs:

  • var/log/system.log
  • var/log/exception.log
  • var/report/

Logs should not contain fatal errors.

3. Pay special attention to custom modules

Check custom developments that interact with Magento base classes — these are the ones that most often need to be adapted after an update.

  • Ensure that all plugins, observers, and DI configurations are working correctly
  • Test integrations: payment gateways, CRM, analytics
  • If you have custom templates, check that they are not broken due to changes in frontend libraries

Conclusion

Updating Magento is not just a technical procedure, but a strategic process that affects the security, performance, and stability of your store.

Follow these steps:

  • Prepare the environment (update PHP, MariaDB, extensions);
  • Make backup copies;
  • Update Magento via Composer;
  • Apply patches;

Thoroughly test the result — you will get an updated, secure, and stable store, ready to work on the latest version of the platform.