{ "title": "CloudLinux and CageFS", "seo_title": "CloudLinux and CageFS: definition, LVE and isolation", "h1": "CloudLinux and CageFS", "description": "CloudLinux and CageFS: how LVE limits resources per account, how CageFS isolates users and what it changes for a WordPress site.", "lead": "CloudLinux is a Linux operating system built for shared hosting. With LVE, it caps each account's resources (CPU, memory, disk I/O, processes); with CageFS, a virtualized file system, it locks each user in their own “cage” where they can see neither the files nor even the existence of other accounts.", "language": "en", "locale": "en-US", "type": "definition", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "canonical": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.md", "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.json", "published": "2026-10-28T08:00:00+00:00", "modified": "2026-10-28T20:00:16+00:00", "site": { "name": "WP Masquerade", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/" }, "translations": [ { "language": "en", "hreflang": "en-US", "title": "CloudLinux and CageFS", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.md", "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.json" }, { "language": "fr", "hreflang": "fr-FR", "title": "CloudLinux et CageFS", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/fr/definitions/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/fr/definitions/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.md", "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/fr/definitions/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.json" }, { "language": "es", "hreflang": "es-ES", "title": "CloudLinux y CageFS", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/es/glosario/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/es/glosario/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.md", "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/es/glosario/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.json" }, { "language": "de", "hreflang": "de-DE", "title": "CloudLinux und CageFS", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/de/glossar/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/de/glossar/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.md", "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/de/glossar/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.json" }, { "language": "it", "hreflang": "it-IT", "title": "CloudLinux e CageFS", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/it/glossario/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/it/glossario/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.md", "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/it/glossario/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.json" }, { "language": "pt", "hreflang": "pt-BR", "title": "CloudLinux e CageFS", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/pt/glossario/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/pt/glossario/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.md", "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/pt/glossario/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.json" }, { "language": "nl", "hreflang": "nl-NL", "title": "CloudLinux en CageFS", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/nl/woordenlijst/cloudlinux-cagefs/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/nl/woordenlijst/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.md", "json": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/nl/woordenlijst/cloudlinux-cagefs/index.json" } ], "headings": [ { "level": 1, "text": "CloudLinux and CageFS" }, { "level": 2, "text": "LVE: per-account limits" }, { "level": 2, "text": "CageFS: one cage per user" }, { "level": 2, "text": "For WordPress" } ], "body": "On a shared server, hundreds of accounts share the same system. That creates two risks: one site hogging resources at the expense of the others, and one compromised site serving as a foothold to reach its neighbors. CloudLinux, widely used by hosts running [cPanel](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cpanel/), Plesk or DirectAdmin, addresses both problems with two separate components.\n\n## LVE: per-account limits\n\nLVE (Lightweight Virtual Environment) is a kernel-level technology that places each account in its own resource container. The CloudLinux documentation describes its main limits:\n\n- **SPEED**: the share of CPU, as a percentage of one core;\n- **PMEM**: physical memory; going over it can get processes killed and cause 500 or 503 errors;\n- **IO** and **IOPS**: disk throughput and operations per second; processes are slowed down, not stopped;\n- **EP** (entry processes): simultaneous entries into the container, such as PHP requests, SSH sessions or cron jobs; past the limit, the site returns a 508 “Resource Limit Reached” error without affecting other sites;\n- **NPROC**: the total number of processes and threads.\n\nLimits on [inodes](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/inodes/), in other words on the number of files, can also be set on the /home partition.\n\n## CageFS: one cage per user\n\nCageFS is a virtualized file system: according to its documentation, it isolates each user in their own cage, where they can neither see nor detect other users, not even their names. The /etc/passwd file is trimmed down inside it, each user gets their own /tmp, and only the programs the host has chosen are available. A malicious script dropped on one site therefore has much less reach over the rest of the server.\n\n![Comparison of a shared server without and with CloudLinux. Without isolation: accounts can see the server's list of users and shared directories, a compromised site can look for poorly protected files at its neighbors, and one site that uses too much slows everyone down. With CageFS and LVE: each user lives in a cage with their own /tmp and a trimmed-down user list, cannot see other accounts, and their CPU, memory, I/O and process limits only affect their own site.](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/media/2026/10/isolation-cagefs-en.webp)\n\n*CageFS walls off what each account can see, LVE what it can consume.*\n\nCageFS also underpins CloudLinux's PHP Selector, which lets each account pick its PHP version and extensions. It complements, without replacing, the measures taken in PHP itself and in its [PHP-FPM](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/php-fpm/) pools, which we cover in our article on hardening PHP on a hosting account.\n\n*Video: “Isolate tenants from each other with CageFS” (Cloud Linux Inc)*\n\n## For WordPress\n\n- **A 508 error** means your account has hit its limit of simultaneous processes: aggressive bots, a slow plugin, no page caching or scheduled tasks piling up. Check resource usage in your control panel before upgrading your plan.\n- **Blocking useless bots** and caching pages sharply reduces the number of PHP requests counted against those limits.\n- **Isolation doesn't protect your own site**: it limits how far a hack can spread between accounts, but a vulnerable WordPress install can still be exploited. [SSH or SFTP](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/ssh-sftp/) sessions also run inside the cage.\n\nChoosing [shared hosting](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/shared-hosting/) that isolates accounts this way is a sound criterion, but it is only one layer among others.\n\n## Related terms\n\n- [Shared hosting](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/shared-hosting/)\n- [Inodes](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/inodes/)\n- [cPanel](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cpanel/)\n- [PHP-FPM](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/php-fpm/)\n- [SSH and SFTP](https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/ssh-sftp/)\n\n\n## Sources\n\n- [CloudLinux OS documentation : CageFS](https://docs.cloudlinux.com/cloudlinuxos/cloudlinux_os_components/#cagefs)\n- [CloudLinux OS documentation : Limits](https://docs.cloudlinux.com/cloudlinuxos/limits/)", "definition": "CloudLinux is a Linux operating system built for shared hosting. With LVE, it caps each account's resources (CPU, memory, disk I/O, processes); with CageFS, a virtualized file system, it locks each user in their own “cage” where they can see neither the files nor even the existence of other accounts.", "group": "Web hosting", "aka": [ "CloudLinux OS", "CageFS", "LVE", "Lightweight Virtual Environment", "508 error", "Resource Limit Reached" ], "related": [ { "title": "Shared hosting", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/shared-hosting/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/shared-hosting/index.md" }, { "title": "Inodes", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/inodes/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/inodes/index.md" }, { "title": "cPanel", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cpanel/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/cpanel/index.md" }, { "title": "PHP-FPM", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/php-fpm/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/php-fpm/index.md" }, { "title": "SSH and SFTP", "url": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/ssh-sftp/", "markdown": "https://www.wp-masquerade.com/glossary/ssh-sftp/index.md" } ], "sources": [ { "title": "CloudLinux OS documentation : CageFS", "url": "https://docs.cloudlinux.com/cloudlinuxos/cloudlinux_os_components/#cagefs" }, { "title": "CloudLinux OS documentation : Limits", "url": "https://docs.cloudlinux.com/cloudlinuxos/limits/" } ], "format": "application/json" }