Ghost CMS Upgrade & Security Guide: Enhance Your Website's Safety and Performance

Learn how to upgrade your Ghost CMS to the latest version and implement robust security measures to protect your website from threats.

---

Prerequisites

Before starting the update process, ensure you:

• Have SSH access to your server

• Are using MySQL in production and running Ghost version 3.0.0 or higher

• Have the latest Node.js version (Node v18 Hydrogen LTS is currently recommended)

---

Update Process

1. Server Preparation First, update your system packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

2. Backup Creation Navigate to your Ghost installation directory and create a backup:

cd /var/www/ghost
ghost backup

3. Ghost-CLI Update Update the Ghost-CLI tool to the latest version:

sudo npm install -g ghost-cli@latest

4. Update Ghost Execute the update command:

ghost update

5. Post-Update Check Run the doctor command to verify the installation:

ghost doctor

---

Troubleshooting

Common Database Error Fix If you encounter "ECONNREFUSED ::1:3306" error after updating:

1. Open your config.production.js file

2. Change the database host from localhost to 127.0.0.1

3. Restart Ghost

Update Recovery Options

• To force retry an update: ghost update --force

• To rollback to previous version: ghost update --rollback

---

Important Notes

• Always create a backup before updating

• Update to the latest minor version before attempting a major version upgrade

• If running an older version (pre-3.0.0), a full reinstall is recommended rather than an update

• Consider using tmux to protect the upgrade process from SSH disconnections

---

---

What are the common issues faced during a Ghost CMS update

---

Node.js Compatibility Issues

The most frequent issue is Node.js version incompatibility. Ghost requires specific Node.js versions for different releases - currently Node v18 Hydrogen LTS is recommended. When upgrading Ghost, you may encounter errors if your Node.js version doesn't meet the requirements.

---

Database Connection Problems

After updating Node.js, users commonly encounter the "ECONNREFUSED ::1:3306" error because Node v18 prefers IPv6 over IPv4. This can be resolved by changing the database host from localhost to 127.0.0.1 in the config.production.js file.

---

Version Jump Restrictions

Ghost enforces a structured update path across major versions:

• You must update to the latest minor version before jumping to a new major version

• Direct updates across major versions are not allowed

• For example, updating from v3.x to v4.x requires first updating to the latest v3.x release

---

System Resource Issues

Memory constraints are a primary cause of update failures. Insufficient RAM or swap space can cause the update process to fail.

---

Post-Update Troubleshooting

Common issues after updates include:

• Theme compatibility problems with new Ghost versions

• Layout inconsistencies across devices

• Missing or broken post components

• Featured image display issues

---

Recovery Options

If update problems occur, you can:

• Use ghost update --force to force retry an update

• Use ghost update --rollback to revert to the previous version

• Run ghost doctor to check for system issues

• Restore from the backup created before the update

---

---

How can I ensure my Ghost CMS installation is secure after an update

---

Core Security Checks

SSL Configuration

• Verify SSL certificates are properly configured and active

• Ensure the config.production.js file uses HTTPS in the URL settings

• Restart Ghost after making SSL-related changes

---

Authentication Security

• Implement strong password requirements and update existing passwords

• Enable brute force protection (5 login attempts per hour per IP)

• Verify two-factor authentication is working if enabled

---

Server-Level Security

Permission Settings

• Confirm Ghost is not running as root user

• Verify directory permissions follow OWASP standards

• Check file ownership and access rights

NGINX Configuration Add these security headers to your NGINX configuration:

add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN";
add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;

---

Database Security

• Verify database connection settings are correct

• Change database host from localhost to 127.0.0.1 if using Node v18

• Ensure proper data validation and serialization is in place

---

Post-Update Validation

• Run ghost doctor to verify installation integrity

• Monitor logs for suspicious activity

• Test all admin functionality

• Verify content security policies are working

• Check that all uploaded files have proper symlink protection

---

---

What are the key security headers I should add to my NGINX configuration for Ghost CMS

Here are the essential security headers to implement in your NGINX configuration for Ghost CMS:

---

Required Headers

# Security Headers Configuration
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000";
add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff";
add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN";
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block";
add_header Referrer-Policy "no-referrer";
add_header Permissions-Policy "accelerometer=(), camera=(), geolocation=(), gyroscope=(), magnetometer=(), microphone=(), payment=(), usb=()";
proxy_hide_header X-Powered-By;

---

Header Functions

HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) Forces browsers to use HTTPS connections for enhanced security.

Content Protection

• X-Content-Type-Options prevents MIME-type sniffing

• X-Frame-Options protects against clickjacking attempts

• X-XSS-Protection helps prevent cross-site scripting attacks

Privacy Enhancement

• Referrer-Policy controls information shared in HTTP headers

• Permissions-Policy restricts access to browser features

• Removing X-Powered-By hides technology information from potential attackers

---

Additional Security Measures

Server Information Protection Add this to your nginx.conf file:

server_tokens off;

This configuration prevents NGINX from displaying version information in server responses.

---

---

How do I rollback to a previous version if the Ghost CMS update fails

Ghost CMS provides multiple ways to handle failed updates and rollback to a previous stable version:

---

Automatic Rollback

The simplest method is to use the built-in rollback command:

ghost update --rollback

This command reverts Ghost to the previous stable version.

---

Force Update Retry

Before attempting a rollback, you can try forcing the update to run again:

ghost update --force

This attempts to retry the failed update process.

---

Manual Recovery Steps

1. Check Version Directory

• Use ghost ls to locate your Ghost installation directory

• Verify that previous versions exist in the versions folder

• Only the last 2 versions are kept by default

2. Database Restoration If the automatic rollback fails:

• Navigate to your Ghost content directory

• Restore the previous database backup

• Ensure database permissions are correct

---

Prevention Measures

Before Updating Create a backup using:

ghost backup

Version Management

• Keep at least one previous stable version

• Update to the latest minor version before attempting major version upgrades

• Ensure you have sufficient disk space for version storage

---

Important Notes

• The rollback feature requires at least one previous version to be available

• Database changes may need manual intervention during rollback

• If rollback fails, you may need to restore from your backup

• Always test updates on a staging environment first