Guide CyberPanel Server Error (500) After Fresh Install: MariaDB Stuck at Boot (Fixed)

**JAY** · (This post was last modified: 10-28-2026, 04:59 AM by JAY.)

CyberPanel Server Error (500) after a fresh install: MariaDB stuck at boot (fixed)

You install CyberPanel, the installer finishes with "Visit: https://your-ip:8090", the server reboots, and the login page shows only one line: Server Error (500). No login form, no details.

This happened to us on a brand-new install (CyberPanel installer v3.0.8, OpenLiteSpeed edition, Ubuntu 24.04, MariaDB 10.11). Below is exactly how we found the cause and fixed it in a few minutes, with the real console output.

What the 500 error means
The page on port 8090 is served by lscpd (CyberPanel's own web server). Behind it runs the CyberPanel app, which reads everything (users, websites, settings) from the MariaDB database. If the app can't talk to the database, it can't build any page, not even the login page, so you get a bare "Server Error (500)". In other words: a 500 on port 8090 is almost always a backend problem, not a browser or password problem.

Step 1: Check the three services
Log in to the server as root (SSH, or your provider's VNC/web console) and run:

Code:

systemctl is-active lscpd lsws mariadb

In our case lscpd and lsws were active, but MariaDB said deactivating. That's the problem. Look closer:

Code:

systemctl status mariadb --no-pager

Code:

● mariadb.service - MariaDB 10.11.19 database server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/mariadb.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
    Drop-In: /etc/systemd/system/mariadb.service.d
             └─migrated-from-my.cnf-settings.conf
     Active: deactivating (stop-sigterm) (Result: resources)
       Docs: man:mariadbd(8)
             https://mariadb.com/docs/server/server-management/starting-and-stopping-mariadb/systemd
      Tasks: 8 (limit: 62250)
     Memory: 107.2M (peak: 107.6M)
        CPU: 560ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/mariadb.service
             └─824 /usr/sbin/mariadbd

Oct 24 07:35:58 websrv systemd[1]: mariadb.service: Will not start SendSIGKILL=no service of type KillMode=control-group or mixed while processes exist
Oct 24 07:35:58 websrv systemd[1]: Starting mariadb.service - MariaDB 10.11.19 database server...

"Active: deactivating (stop-sigterm) (Result: resources)" means systemd gave up waiting for MariaDB to start, tried to stop it, and the process never stopped either. The mariadbd process (here PID 824) is still there, but stuck.

Step 2: Read the log

Code:

journalctl -u mariadb -b --no-pager | tail -30

The story is clear in the timestamps:

07:05:58: MariaDB starts normally, loads InnoDB and creates its socket on 127.0.0.1:3306. Looks fine.
After that: nothing. It never reports "ready for connections" to systemd.
07:20:58 and 07:35:58: systemd, having given up on the start, tries to stop the process and both stop attempts time out ("timed out. Skipping SIGKILL"). The MariaDB unit is set to never force-kill the database, so the hung process just stays.

Step 3: Confirm the database doesn't answer

Code:

mariadb -e 'select 1'

Code:

ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local server through socket '/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (11)

# the same error in CyberPanel's log:
[10.24.2026_07:30-03] (2002, "Can't connect to local server through socket '/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (11)"). [RemoteBackup]

ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local server through socket '/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (11). The socket file exists, but nothing is accepting connections. CyberPanel's own log (

Code:

/home/cyberpanel/error-logs.txt

) shows the same 2002 error. The process was using 0 seconds of CPU and waiting forever (

Code:

cat /proc/PID/wchan

showed

Code:

futex_wait_queue

): a hung start, not a slow one.

Step 4: The fix
Kill the stuck process, let systemd start MariaDB again, then restart the panel:

Code:

ps aux | grep [m]ariadbd          # note the PID
kill -9 PID                         # replace PID, e.g. kill -9 824
sleep 5
systemctl is-active mariadb         # should say: active
mariadb -e 'select version()'
systemctl restart lscpd

The MariaDB unit restarts automatically after the kill. This time it started cleanly within seconds:
[Image: attachment.php?aid=541]

Reload

Code:

https://your-ip:8090

and the login page is back:
[Image: attachment.php?aid=442]

Is kill -9 on a database safe? Only as a last resort, and only when the process is truly hung like here (no CPU, not answering, not stopping). InnoDB recovers on the next start. On a fresh install there's no data to lose anyway. On a server with live sites, take a backup first if you possibly can.

If it happens again after every reboot
In our case one clean restart was enough. If MariaDB hangs on every boot, check these:

Free memory and disk:
Code:
free -h
and
Code:
df -h
. CyberPanel wants at least 1 GB RAM (2 GB is more comfortable) and 10 GB free disk.
Errors at the end of the MariaDB log (journalctl command above): a corrupted table or wrong permission on
Code:
/var/lib/mysql
will show up there.
Asynchronous I/O: some virtual servers have trouble with MariaDB's native async I/O. As a test, create
Code:
/etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/99-noaio.cnf
with:

Code:
[mysqld] innodb_use_native_aio = 0
then
Code:
systemctl restart mariadb
and reboot to see if the hang is gone.

Other causes of a 500 on port 8090
If MariaDB is active and

Code:

mariadb -e 'select 1'

works, but you still get a 500:

Restart the panel:
Code:
systemctl restart lscpd
, wait 10 seconds, reload.
Look at the last lines of
Code:
/home/cyberpanel/error-logs.txt
for the real error.
The disk is full:
Code:
df -h /
.
An interrupted install or upgrade: run
Code:
cyberpanel upgrade
(take a snapshot first).

Got a different error or this didn't help? Post the output of

Code:

systemctl is-active lscpd lsws mariadb

and the last 20 lines of

Code:

journalctl -u mariadb -b

in CyberPanel Support and we'll take a look.

More CyberPanel reading: What is CyberPanel? · Fix PHP2Shell on CyberPanel

More CyberPanel guides

Tested on CyberPanel installer v3.0.8 (OpenLiteSpeed), Ubuntu 24.04, MariaDB 10.11.19, October 2026.

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Guide CyberPanel Server Error (500) After Fresh Install: MariaDB Stuck at Boot (Fixed)

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