Can firewalld and Plesk Firewall be used together?

Overview

firewalld and the Plesk Firewall extension should not be enabled on the same server.

Both tools manage the server’s operating-system firewall. If they run concurrently, their rules can conflict or overwrite one another. This may unexpectedly close ports required by Plesk, hosted websites, email, DNS or remote administration.

You should choose one firewall-management tool and disable or remove the other. Plesk recommends using the Plesk Firewall extension.

Symptoms

A conflict may cause one or more of the following:

• Plesk becomes inaccessible.
• Websites or hosted services stop responding.
• Mail, DNS or FTP connections fail.
• Firewall rules disappear or change unexpectedly.
• A port works temporarily but closes after a firewall service reload.
• Rules configured in Plesk do not match the server’s active firewall rules.

Cause

Both firewalld and the Plesk Firewall extension manage the underlying Linux firewall rules. Each tool expects to control the active ruleset and locks it while applying changes.

Running both tools therefore creates competing configurations. A reload or rule change made by one tool can interfere with rules created by the other.

Resolution

Before changing the firewall, make sure you have console or out-of-band access to the server. An incorrect firewall configuration could interrupt your SSH connection.

Option 1: Use Plesk Firewall

This is the configuration recommended by Plesk.

First, confirm that the Plesk Firewall rules allow SSH and any other services required by the server. Then connect to the server through SSH and stop firewalld:

sudo systemctl stop firewalld

Prevent it from starting automatically after a reboot:

sudo systemctl disable firewalld

Confirm its status:

sudo systemctl status firewalld

The service should show as inactive and disabled.

Open Plesk and review the rules under:

Tools & Settings > Firewall

Apply the Plesk Firewall configuration after confirming that all required ports are permitted.

Option 2: Use firewalld

If you prefer to manage the server firewall with firewalld, uninstall the Plesk Firewall extension using the Plesk Installer.

Before uninstalling it, reproduce any required access rules in firewalld. This should include SSH, the Plesk control panel and every service hosted by the server.

After removing the extension, confirm that firewalld is enabled and running:

sudo systemctl enable --now firewalld
sudo systemctl status firewalld

Do not leave the Plesk Firewall extension active when firewalld is responsible for the server’s firewall.

Verification

After completing the change:

Confirm that only the selected firewall-management tool is active.

Test access to Plesk and SSH from another connection.

Check hosted websites and any mail, DNS or FTP services.

Reboot the server during an approved maintenance window.

Repeat the access tests after the reboot to ensure the intended firewall starts correctly.

Important

Disabling one firewall does not automatically copy its rules to the other. Review and recreate all required rules before removing the existing configuration.

Avoid making firewall changes through your only active SSH session unless you also have console-level access to the server.

Further information

This guidance is based on the official Plesk support article: https://support.plesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/32312999842583-Can-firewalld-and-Plesk-Firewall-be-used-at-the-same-time

Article ID: 2043
Created On: Mon, Aug 3, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Last Updated On: Mon, Aug 3, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Online URL: https://www.heartinternet.uk/support/article/can-firewalld-and-plesk-firewall-be-used-together.html