Extend, cancel or keep a temporary IP policy

Use cPFence v4+ temporary IP policies for access changes that should expire. Create a temporary allowance or block first when needed.

Support users need server access and temporary-policy permission. Make permanent also requires permanent-list permission. IPDB must be active to extend a policy.

Change an existing temporary entry

1. Open IPDB Firewall & IP Tools and choose one server. Cluster policy views are read-only; Show available actions opens the originating server when available.
2. Open IP Allow & Block Lists. Filter List to Temporary block or Temporary allow, locate the exact IP/CIDR and check Expires.
3. Open the row’s Actions and choose the intended change:

Action	Effect
Extend temporary policy	Choose Time to live and confirm. The chosen duration runs from the current time.
Cancel temporary policy	Confirm removal of this temporary entry before its expiry. Other policy sources can still apply.
Make permanent	Confirm adding the corresponding custom block or whitelist and ending its temporary entry. The resulting policy has no automatic expiry.

4. Read the result, refresh and check the current entry and access. If the change reports an error or the view cannot refresh, check current policy before repeating it.

Review access before confirming

Canceling an allowance can disconnect an administrator; canceling a block can expose a service. Making an allowance permanent keeps an access exception until you remove it. Retain a root session or provider console and record the original policy.

To reverse a permanent conversion, remove its Whitelist or Custom block through the specific row action. If expiry maintenance is unavailable, read the error and restore IPDB’s healthy state before creating or extending an entry; do not assume it will expire safely.