Plesk Obsidian 18.0.80 Is Here: MCP Support, AI Support Assistant, and DNS Diagnostics

Plesk now supports MCP – Model Context Protocol, which makes it possible to manage a Plesk server through an AI agent. The AI Support Assistant, introduced in beta earlier this year, is now enabled by default on new servers. On Plesk for Windows it is available on Windows Server 2019 and later, where MariaDB 12.3.2 is installed by default on fresh installations of 18.0.80. [product]


MCP Support in Plesk

We plan to deprecate and remove support for XML-RPC protocol versions earlier than 1.6.9.1 in Plesk Obsidian 18.0.82. For the full list, see the release notes. On CloudLinux servers, MariaDB 12 instances need to be updated using regular system tools rather than through the Plesk interface.

Access You Can Scope and Review

For the full list of updated versions, see the release notes.

• A script is now available to automate the distribution upgrade from Ubuntu 22 to Ubuntu 24.
• In practice, this means work can be handed to an AI agent rather than carried out step by step. Provisioning a new subscription, looking into a mail delivery issue, tracing the cause of a 500 error, or passing a website bug to an AI coding agent are all possible through a single connection.
• It is currently available to server administrator accounts only. Servers created before 18.0.80, or that do not meet the criteria above, can enable it throughpanel.ini:

Mail with a spoofed “from” address, sent from one mailbox on a Plesk server to another on the same server, no longer receives a valid DKIM signature.

• This release updates a number of third-party components and dependencies across Linux and Windows environments, including ModSecurity, the OWASP Core Rule Set, ProFTPD, .NET, Node.js, MariaDB, MailEnable, Git for Windows, libcurl and OpenSSL, among others. Micro-update 2 also updates Roundcube on Linux.
• If you manage DNSSEC-signed zones, it is worth reviewing your keys after updating.
• Plesk now supports MariaDB 12.3 for user databases.

Note: The tool is currently in beta.

AI Support Assistant Now Enabled by Default

ECDSAP256SHA256 in Plesk for Windows. [copilot] Plesk Obsidian 18.0.80 is here, and the focus of this release is AI-assisted server management.

You will find the “Allow SFTP for FTP accounts” checkbox under Tools & Settings > Security Policy, where the port number can also be set. A number of deprecated and insecure key generation algorithms have been removed from the DNSSEC extension: RSAMD5, DSA, NSEC3DSA, ECCGOST, RSASHA1 and NSEC3RSASHA1. The assistant answers questions about Plesk features, configuration and troubleshooting, such as how to set up a service, where to find a particular setting, or how to resolve a common configuration issue. Answers are based on the Plesk knowledge base and official documentation. The Docker extension is now supported on CloudLinux 8 and later. Troubleshooting DNS resolution and mail authentication usually means checking several things in turn. This release introduces a diagnostic tool that brings those checks together, covering DNS resolution alongside SPF, DKIM and DMARC configuration in a single pass.

MariaDB 12.3 Support

Beyond that, this release adds a DNS diagnostic tool for troubleshooting mail configuration, brings MariaDB 12.3 support to Linux and Windows, and delivers a range of security, compatibility and usability improvements across both platforms. And through the REST API: GET /domains/{id}/dns/resolution false for those that create, modify or delete. Setup details for creating a WebPros Dashboard MCP key are available here.

Feature Improvements

Domains and domain aliases can be created with the “No web hosting” type under subscriptions set to the same hosting type.

1. DNSSEC Algorithm Cleanup

• On Plesk for Linux it is available on any supported operating system other than Ubuntu 18.04 and 20.04, Debian 10, CentOS 7 and ELS operating systems. On servers upgraded to 18.0.80 from an earlier obsidian version MariaDB is not updated automatically, but can be updated via the Plesk UI.
• SSL It! now supports configuring TLS versions and cipher suites based on the latest Mozilla recommendations – version 5.8.
• chat.enabled = true
• To learn more about this release and review all of the details, visit the release notes.

2. TLS Versions and Ciphers

• It is disabled by default. To turn it on, add the following to panel.ini:
• Access tokens can be scoped to a single subscription, so an end user’s AI agent works only within their own subscription. A token can also be scoped to full server administration, for managing a fleet through one LLM connection.

3. SFTP for Additional FTP Accounts

• v18.0.80 also introduces a number of security, platform and usability enhancements.
• It is set to true for endpoints that only read data and have no side effects

4. Other Improvements

• Plesk Obsidian v18.0.80 is available now through the Plesk Installer. Unsure of how to update? Steps are available in our update guide.
• noFun = false
• If you have integrations built on the older specification, we recommend updating them to comply with 1.6.9.1.
• Because an agent is acting on your server, MCP support comes with controls over what it is able to reach.
• To get started, add your Plesk server to the WebPros Dashboard. This enables management access for the server and its subscriptions over MCP.
• v18.0.80 includes a number of fixes across the REST API, Code Editor, File Manager, Monitoring, Watchdog, Slave DNS Manager, Log Browser, Joomla! Toolkit and Backup Manager, on both Linux and Windows.
• Individual MCP tools can be enabled or disabled, and each one can be set to read-only or read-write.

Deprecated and Removed Items

1. Debian 11 Approaching End of Life

• To support read-only keys, endpoints in the Plesk REST API OpenAPI specification now carry an x-readonly extension.
• To mark the version number reaching 18.0.80, collectible 1980s pixel-art stickers have been hidden across the Plesk interface, with a Sticker Collection page showing what you have found so far.

2. Older XML-RPC Protocol Versions

• If you still run Debian 11 servers, we recommend either performing a dist-upgrade to Debian 12 using the Plesk dist-upgrade tool, or migrating hosted domains to servers running a supported operating system.
• When a CLI command called through POST /cli/{id}/call or POST /domains/{id}/exec fails, the specific error is now returned.

Important Fixes and Stability Improvements

Every MCP tool call is logged and available to you, including which tool was used and when. Endpoints without the extension are treated as false.

Updated Third-Party Components

Keeping your servers up to date ensures the highest levels of security, stability and performance available. The AI Support Assistant, available in beta since Plesk Obsidian 18.0.78, is now enabled by default on new Plesk servers with a retail licence deployed after 4 August 2026.

A Treasure Hunt in the Plesk Interface

It is available through the CLI: plesk repair dns [-n -j] -check-resolution <domain_name> Debian 11 reaches vendor end of life on 31 August 2026, and Plesk Obsidian 18.0.81 will be the last release to support it. No ELS support is planned.

Update Recommended

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is a standard that allows large language models and AI agents to discover and use the capabilities of an external system. With 18.0.80, your Plesk server can make its management capabilities available through it. The TLS versions and ciphers management screen is now available by default under Tools & Settings. In Plesk for Linux, SFTP access can now be enabled for additional FTP accounts through a separate ProFTPD instance listening on its own port.