When managing high-performance cPanel servers, CloudLinux is our go-to for stability and resource isolation. However, even the best systems can run into “dependency hell.” Recently, we encountered a specific issue where yum update would fail, preventing any system-wide updates.
If your server is stuck in a loop between liblsapi versions 1.1-86 and 1.1-92, here is exactly how we solved it at PrenHost.
The Issue: The “Version Gap”
The error usually looks like this:
Error: nothing provides liblsapi >= 1:1.1-92 needed by ea-apache24-mod_lsapi-1:1.1-92.el8.cloudlinux.x86_64
Why does this happen?
CloudLinux uses a “Gradual Rollout” system. Sometimes, the EasyApache 4 (EA4) repository updates the Apache module (mod_lsapi) to a new version, but the matching library (liblsapi) hasn’t reached the main production mirrors yet. This creates a gap where the package manager sees an update it wants but cannot find the files it needs to support it.
The Solution: Repair and Lock
Instead of waiting for mirrors to sync—which can leave your server in a broken state—the best solution is to repair your current version and “lock” it.
1. Repair the Current Installation
Often, when an update fails midway, the RPM database says the software is installed, but critical files (like the cloudlinux-selector script) might be missing or corrupted.
We force a reinstall of the stable 1.1-86 version to ensure the filesystem is healthy:
dnf reinstall liblsapi-1.1-86.el8.cloudlinux liblsapi-devel-1.1-86.el8.cloudlinux -y
2. Implement a Version Lock
To stop the “nothing provides” error from blocking your future yum updates, you can tell the system to temporarily ignore the newer 1.1-92 version.
Install the version-lock plugin:
dnf install 'dnf-command(versionlock)' -y
Lock the stable versions:
dnf versionlock add liblsapi-1.1-86.el8.cloudlinux liblsapi-devel-1.1-86.el8.cloudlinux ea-apache24-mod_lsapi-1.1-86.el8.cloudlinux
This “freezes” these packages, allowing you to run yum update -y for the rest of your system without errors.
3. Refresh the CloudLinux Manager
Once the files are repaired and locked, you must tell the CloudLinux Dashboard to re-sync its configuration to clear any “Malfunction” or “Refresh in progress” warnings:
/usr/share/lve/setup/cloudlinux-selector setup --json
systemctl restart lvestats
Final Thoughts
In server administration, the “newest” version isn’t always the best if it creates a dependency conflict. By utilizing Version Locking, we maintain a 100% uptime environment at PrenHost while waiting for upstream repositories to fully sync.
Need a hosting partner that handles the technical heavy lifting? Check out our managed services at PrenHost.