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When accessing phpMyAdmin through cPanel, you may encounter the following error:

“Access Denied — Unable to establish a PHP session. If you believe this is an error, contact your system administrator to review server settings.”

This issue usually occurs due to incorrect ownership or permissions of the tmp directory inside the cPanel user’s home directory. PHP sessions rely on this directory, and improper configuration prevents phpMyAdmin from creating session files.

Cause of the Issue

Each cPanel account requires a properly configured tmp folder located at:

/home/username/tmp

If the folder is missing or has incorrect permissions/ownership, PHP session creation fails, resulting in the phpMyAdmin access error.

Solution: Fix tmp Folder Permission and Ownership

Step 1: Login via SSH

Access your server using SSH as the root user.

ssh root@server-ip

Step 2: Verify tmp Directory

Navigate to the user’s home directory:

cd /home/username

Check if the tmp directory exists:

ls -la | grep tmp

Example incorrect output:

drwx------ 8 root root 4096 Apr 1 2013 tmp/

Step 3: Correct Directory Permissions

The tmp folder permission should be 755:

chmod 755 tmp

Step 4: Fix Ownership

Set ownership to the correct cPanel username:

chown username. tmp

If tmp Folder Does Not Exist

Create the directory manually and assign proper settings:

mkdir tmp
chmod 755 tmp
chown username. tmp

Final Result

After correcting permissions and ownership, reload phpMyAdmin from cPanel. The PHP session error should now be resolved successfully.

If you require help, contact SupportPRO Server Admin