Short answer: ConfigServer eXploit Scanner (cxs) reached end of life on 31 August 2025 — no more updates, malware fingerprints or reputation service. The maintained replacements are MegaWit Shield (cxs-style real-time and upload scanning plus automatic clean-up, one flat price per server, cPanel, Plesk and DirectAdmin), Imunify360 (cPanel's recommended all-in-one suite, priced by account count), cPGuard and BitNinja (commercial security suites), and the free ImunifyAV and Linux Malware Detect (maldet) + ClamAV, which detect malware but do not clean it automatically.
Way to the Web Ltd., the company behind ConfigServer, closed on 31 August 2025. That ended all of its commercial software — ConfigServer eXploit Scanner (cxs), MailScanner Front-End (MSFE) and Outgoing Spam Monitor (osm) — and support for the free scripts (csf, cmq, cmc, cse). For cxs this means:
Sources: cPanel support, EuroVPS end-of-life notice.
What a cxs replacement needs to cover: on-access (real-time) scanning, blocking malicious uploads, quarantine, and ideally what cxs never did — cleaning infected files and databases.
| Option | Type | Real-time & upload scanning | Automatic clean-up | Panels | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MegaWit Shield | Commercial malware scanner (cxs-style) | Yes / yes | Yes, files and WordPress database, reversible | cPanel/WHM, Plesk, DirectAdmin | Flat per server, unlimited accounts; monthly or lifetime; 15-day free trial |
| Imunify360 | Commercial all-in-one suite (scanner, WAF, firewall, proactive defense) | Yes / yes | Yes | cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin and others | Per server, tiered by number of accounts |
| ImunifyAV / ImunifyAV+ | Free scanner / paid scanner with clean-up | Scanning; real-time in paid tiers | ImunifyAV+ only | cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin and others | Free; ImunifyAV+ paid |
| cPGuard | Commercial suite (antivirus, WAF, spam protection) | Yes | Yes | cPanel and other panels | Per server subscription |
| BitNinja | Commercial server-security suite (malware scanner, WAF, IP reputation) | Yes | Yes | Panel-independent | Per server subscription |
| Linux Malware Detect (maldet) + ClamAV | Free, open-source | inotify monitoring; no upload blocking | No (quarantine only) | Panel-independent, command line | Free |
Competitor details are summarised from each vendor's public documentation as of October 2026; check the vendor for current features and prices.
MegaWit Shield (MWS) is our product, built as a direct cxs replacement. It keeps what cxs admins relied on — real-time (inotify) scanning, upload-time blocking, quarantine and email reports — and adds automatic clean-up of infected files, reversible WordPress database clean-up, PHP proactive defense that stops known-bad scripts at runtime, cloud threat intelligence, WordPress plugin/theme vulnerability (CVE) alerts, and WordPress, Joomla and Drupal core-integrity checks. It runs on cPanel/WHM, Plesk and DirectAdmin with a full admin panel and a per-account page for end users. One license covers one server with unlimited accounts, at $14.99/month or a lifetime license.
Best for: hosts that want a cxs-like scanner with clean-up, without per-account pricing.
Imunify360 by CloudLinux combines a malware scanner, WAF, firewall and proactive defense in one product and is what cPanel recommends after the ConfigServer shutdown. It is the most complete option, but it replaces more than cxs did, and its price grows with the number of accounts on the server.
Best for: hosts that want one vendor for scanner, WAF and firewall and accept account-based pricing.
ImunifyAV is the free scanner from the Imunify family; automatic clean-up and extra features need the paid ImunifyAV+. A sensible free starting point, but without cxs-style upload blocking.
A commercial security suite for hosting servers that bundles antivirus, a WAF and spam protection. Worth evaluating if you want an all-in-one product other than Imunify360.
A panel-independent server-security suite with a malware scanner, WAF and shared IP reputation. A good fit for mixed fleets that are not all on one control panel.
maldet is a free, open-source malware scanner for shared hosting that can use the ClamAV engine and watch directories with inotify. It detects and quarantines but does not clean, has no upload blocking and no panel interface, and its releases are infrequent — fine as a free safety net, not a full cxs replacement.
/home (or /var/www/vhosts on Plesk) and review the results.No. ConfigServer (Way to the Web Ltd.) closed on 31 August 2025. cxs receives no software updates, no new malware fingerprints and no license changes, and its reputation service is offline. An installed copy keeps running, but it falls further behind new malware every day.
For a full commercial replacement, the two main options are Imunify360 (cPanel's recommended enterprise suite, priced by the number of accounts) and MegaWit Shield (a cxs-style scanner with real-time and upload scanning, automatic clean-up, PHP proactive defense and WordPress CVE alerts, one flat per-server price with unlimited accounts, also on Plesk and DirectAdmin). Free options are ImunifyAV, and Linux Malware Detect (maldet) with ClamAV, which detect malware but do not clean it automatically.
Yes: ImunifyAV (free scanner; automatic clean-up needs the paid ImunifyAV+), Linux Malware Detect (maldet) and the ClamAV engine. They detect malware but lack cxs-style upload blocking, runtime defense and a full management panel.
MegaWit Shield installs with one command on cPanel/WHM, Plesk and DirectAdmin and adds its panel to each. Imunify360, cPGuard and BitNinja also support several panels; maldet and ClamAV are panel-independent command-line tools.
Install the replacement, run a full scan of /home (or /var/www/vhosts on Plesk), review the results, then disable the cxs watch daemon and its cron jobs so two scanners do not quarantine the same files. MegaWit Shield includes a 15-day free trial, so it can run a full scan before you buy.
The same shutdown ended csf/lfd, cmq and cmc. Compare csf alternatives, cmq & MSFE alternatives and cmc alternatives.