Generate Apache SSL certificate files

To obtain the SSL certificate files, a “Certificate Signing Request” (CSR) is executed.
The CSR process associates the domain name with identifying characteristics of the
organization and a cryptographic key. Depending on the certificate provider, the CSR is
executed either via a web interface or from the command line. We’ll show an example of a
certificate signing request via OpenSSL:

openssl req –new –newkey rsa:2048 –nodes –keyout <server-name>.key –out <server-
name>.csr

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When the command is executed, information is requested and a handful of files are
created. Here’s an overview of the files created when the Certificate Signing Request
(CSR) is executed, including file extensions:

File Extension Explanation

Private key Used to generate CSR and later secure and verify
.key
connections using the certificate.

CSR file .csr Required to order the SSL certificate.

Intermediate SSL Certificate that enables a certificate authority to issue

.crt
Certificate additional certificates.

Primary SSL SSL certificate issued for a specific domain and

.crt
certificate organization.

Place Apache SSL certificate files on server

To set up Apache SSL, the certificate files are placed on the server. Usually, there are
two to three files:

1. Private key

2. Primary SSL certificate

3. Intermediate SSL certificate, if applicable

Put these files in their own folder and make sure they are readable by the root
user only. From the command line, use the following steps:
Create folder for certificate files:

mkdir -p /root/cert/

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1. Move certificate files to folder:

mv /path/to/cert-files/* /root/cert/

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2. Customize users and permissions to make folders and files readable only by root:

chown root:root /root/cert/

chown root:root /root/cert/*

chmod 400 /root/cert/*

chmod 500 /root/cert/

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Note

Protecting the certificate folder is not the same process as setting password protection for
a directory with Apache. Make sure you know the difference!

Insert Apache SSL configuration

Once the certificate files are on the server, you can turn to the Apache SSL configuration.
The heart of the Apache SSL configuration is a “Virtual Host” block (VHost block).
In most cases, a VHost block already exists for HTTP connections. If the server is to
respond to both HTTPS and HTTP requests, both VHost blocks are required.

Edit Apache configuration file:

nano /usr/local/apache2/conf/httpd.conf

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Identify the existing VHost block for HTTP.

The block you are looking for for HTTP contains port number 80:

<VirtualHost *:80>
 DocumentRoot "/var/www/html"

ServerName your.domain.example.com

</VirtualHost>

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Duplicate HTTP VHost block and adjust for HTTPS.

Now duplicate the HTTP VHost block, adjust the port to 443, and add the Apache SSL-
specific settings:

<VirtualHost *:443>

DocumentRoot "/var/www/html"

ServerName your.domain.example.com

SSLEngine on

SSLCertificateFile /path/to/your_domain_name.crt

SSLCertificateKeyFile /path/to/your_private.key

SSLCertificateChainFile /path/to/DigiCertCA.crt

</VirtualHost>

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Subsequently, save the changes to the Apache configuration file.

1. Generate Certificate Files:

o First, ensure you have SSH access to your web server

and sudo/root privileges.

o Obtain an SSL certificate. You can use services like Let’s Encrypt (for free
certificates) or purchase one from a trusted certificate authority.

o Generate the SSL key and certificate files using the openssl command:

o sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout
/etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key -out /etc/ssl/certs/apache-
selfsigned.crt
You’ll be prompted to enter information about your website.

2. Place Certificate Files on Server:

o Upload the generated certificate files (apache-selfsigned.key and apache-

selfsigned.crt) to your server. Store them in a secure directory
(e.g., /etc/ssl/private and /etc/ssl/certs).

3. Enable mod_ssl:

o Enable the mod_ssl Apache module:

o sudo a2enmod ssl

o Restart Apache to activate the module:

o sudo systemctl restart apache2

4. Configure Apache Virtual Host:

o Edit your Apache configuration file (usually located at /etc/apache2/sites-

available/default-ssl.conf or similar).

o Inside the <VirtualHost> section, add the following directives:

o <VirtualHost *:443>

o ServerName example.com

o SSLEngine on

o SSLCertificateFile "/etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt"

o SSLCertificateKeyFile "/etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key"

o # Optional: SSLCertificateChainFile "/path/to/intermediate.crt"

o </VirtualHost>

5. Test Apache SSL Functionality:

o Restart Apache again:

o sudo systemctl restart apache2

o Ensure Apache starts without errors:

 o sudo systemctl status apache2

o Visit your website using https://example.com and verify that SSL is

working.

Remember, self-signed certificates are suitable for testing or securing non-critical

services. For production environments, consider using a trusted certificate authority
like Let’s Encrypt
#

# This is the Apache server configuration file providing SSL support.

# It contains the configuration directives to instruct the server how to

# serve pages over an https connection. For detailing information about these

# directives see <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod_ssl.html>

# Do NOT simply read the instructions in here without understanding

# what they do. They're here only as hints or reminders. If you are unsure

# consult the online docs. You have been warned.

<IfModule ssl_module>

# Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG):

# Configure one or more sources to seed the PRNG of the SSL library.

# The seed data should be of good random quality.

# WARNING! On some platforms /dev/random blocks if not enough entropy

# is available. This means you then cannot use the /dev/random device

# because it would lead to very long connection times (as long as

# it requires to make more entropy available). But usually those

# platforms additionally provide a /dev/urandom device which doesn't

# block. So, if available, use this one instead. Read the mod_ssl User

# Manual for more details.

#

#SSLRandomSeed startup file:/dev/random 512

#SSLRandomSeed startup file:/dev/urandom 512

#SSLRandomSeed connect file:/dev/random 512

#SSLRandomSeed connect file:/dev/urandom 512

# When we also provide SSL we have to listen to the

# standard HTTP port (see above) and to the HTTPS port

# Note: Configurations that use IPv6 but not IPv4-mapped addresses need two

# Listen directives: "Listen [::]:443" and "Listen 0.0.0.0:443"

#Listen 0.0.0.0:443

#Listen [::]:443

Listen 443

##

## SSL Global Context

##

## All SSL configuration in this context applies both to

## the main server and all SSL-enabled virtual hosts.

##
<IfModule mime_module>

# Some MIME-types for downloading Certificates and CRLs

AddType application/x-x509-ca-cert .crt

AddType application/x-pkcs7-crl .crl

</IfModule>

# Pass Phrase Dialog:

# Configure the pass phrase gathering process.

# The filtering dialog program (`builtin' is a internal

# terminal dialog) has to provide the pass phrase on stdout.

SSLPassPhraseDialog builtin

# Inter-Process Session Cache:

# Configure the SSL Session Cache: First the mechanism

# to use and second the expiring timeout (in seconds).

#SSLSessionCache "dbm:logs/ssl.scache"

##SSLSessionCache "shmcb:logs/ssl.scache(512000)"

##SSLSessionCacheTimeout 300

# Semaphore:

# Configure the path to the mutual exclusion semaphore the

# SSL engine uses internally for inter-process synchronization.

SSLMutex default

##

## SSL Virtual Host Context

##

<VirtualHost _default_:443>

# General setup for the virtual host

DocumentRoot "/xampp/htdocs"

ServerName localhost:443

ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost

ErrorLog "logs/error.log"

<IfModule log_config_module>

CustomLog "logs/access.log" combined

</IfModule>

# SSL Engine Switch:

# Enable/Disable SSL for this virtual host.

SSLEngine on

# SSL Cipher Suite:

# List the ciphers that the client is permitted to negotiate.

# See the mod_ssl documentation for a complete list.

 SSLCipherSuite
ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT56:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:+LOW:+SSLv2:+EXP:+eNULL

# Server Certificate:

# Point SSLCertificateFile at a PEM encoded certificate. If

# the certificate is encrypted, then you will be prompted for a

# pass phrase. Note that a kill -HUP will prompt again. Keep

# in mind that if you have both an RSA and a DSA certificate you

# can configure both in parallel (to also allow the use of DSA

# ciphers, etc.)

#SSLCertificateFile "conf/ssl.crt/server-dsa.crt"

SSLCertificateFile "conf/ssl.crt/server.crt"

# Server Private Key:

# If the key is not combined with the certificate, use this

# directive to point at the key file. Keep in mind that if

# you've both a RSA and a DSA private key you can configure

# both in parallel (to also allow the use of DSA ciphers, etc.)

#SSLCertificateKeyFile "conf/ssl.key/server-dsa.key"

SSLCertificateKeyFile "conf/ssl.key/server.key"

# Server Certificate Chain:

# Point SSLCertificateChainFile at a file containing the

# concatenation of PEM encoded CA certificates which form the

# certificate chain for the server certificate. Alternatively

# the referenced file can be the same as SSLCertificateFile

# when the CA certificates are directly appended to the server

# certificate for convinience.

#SSLCertificateChainFile "conf/ssl.crt/server-ca.crt"

# Certificate Authority (CA):

# Set the CA certificate verification path where to find CA

# certificates for client authentication or alternatively one

# huge file containing all of them (file must be PEM encoded)

# Note: Inside SSLCACertificatePath you need hash symlinks

# to point to the certificate files. Use the provided

# Makefile to update the hash symlinks after changes.

#SSLCACertificatePath "conf/ssl.crt"

#SSLCACertificateFile "conf/ssl.crt/ca-bundle.crt"

# Certificate Revocation Lists (CRL):

# Set the CA revocation path where to find CA CRLs for client

# authentication or alternatively one huge file containing all

# of them (file must be PEM encoded)

# Note: Inside SSLCARevocationPath you need hash symlinks

# to point to the certificate files. Use the provided

# Makefile to update the hash symlinks after changes.

#SSLCARevocationPath "conf/ssl.crl"
#SSLCARevocationFile "conf/ssl.crl/ca-bundle.crl"

# Client Authentication (Type):

# Client certificate verification type and depth. Types are

# none, optional, require and optional_no_ca. Depth is a

# number which specifies how deeply to verify the certificate

# issuer chain before deciding the certificate is not valid.

#SSLVerifyClient require

#SSLVerifyDepth 10

# Access Control:

# With SSLRequire you can do per-directory access control based

# on arbitrary complex boolean expressions containing server

# variable checks and other lookup directives. The syntax is a

# mixture between C and Perl. See the mod_ssl documentation

# for more details.

#<Location />

#SSLRequire ( %{SSL_CIPHER} !~ m/^(EXP|NULL)/ \

# and %{SSL_CLIENT_S_DN_O} eq "Snake Oil, Ltd." \

# and %{SSL_CLIENT_S_DN_OU} in {"Staff", "CA", "Dev"} \

# and %{TIME_WDAY} >= 1 and %{TIME_WDAY} <= 5 \

# and %{TIME_HOUR} >= 8 and %{TIME_HOUR} <= 20 )\

# or %{REMOTE_ADDR} =~ m/^192\.76\.162\.[0-9]+$/

#</Location>
# SSL Engine Options:

# Set various options for the SSL engine.

# o FakeBasicAuth:

# Translate the client X.509 into a Basic Authorisation. This means that

# the standard Auth/DBMAuth methods can be used for access control. The

# user name is the `one line' version of the client's X.509 certificate.

# Note that no password is obtained from the user. Every entry in the user

# file needs this password: `xxj31ZMTZzkVA'.

# o ExportCertData:

# This exports two additional environment variables: SSL_CLIENT_CERT and

# SSL_SERVER_CERT. These contain the PEM-encoded certificates of the

# server (always existing) and the client (only existing when client

# authentication is used). This can be used to import the certificates

# into CGI scripts.

# o StdEnvVars:

# This exports the standard SSL/TLS related `SSL_*' environment variables.

# Per default this exportation is switched off for performance reasons,

# because the extraction step is an expensive operation and is usually

# useless for serving static content. So one usually enables the

# exportation for CGI and SSI requests only.

# o StrictRequire:

# This denies access when "SSLRequireSSL" or "SSLRequire" applied even

# under a "Satisfy any" situation, i.e. when it applies access is denied

# and no other module can change it.

# o OptRenegotiate:

# This enables optimized SSL connection renegotiation handling when SSL

# directives are used in per-directory context.

#SSLOptions +FakeBasicAuth +ExportCertData +StrictRequire

<FilesMatch "\.(cgi|shtml|pl|asp|php)$">

SSLOptions +StdEnvVars

</FilesMatch>

<Directory "/xampp/cgi-bin">

SSLOptions +StdEnvVars

</Directory>

# SSL Protocol Adjustments:

# The safe and default but still SSL/TLS standard compliant shutdown

# approach is that mod_ssl sends the close notify alert but doesn't wait for

# the close notify alert from client. When you need a different shutdown

# approach you can use one of the following variables:

# o ssl-unclean-shutdown:

# This forces an unclean shutdown when the connection is closed, i.e. no

# SSL close notify alert is send or allowed to received. This violates

# the SSL/TLS standard but is needed for some brain-dead browsers. Use

# this when you receive I/O errors because of the standard approach where

# mod_ssl sends the close notify alert.

# o ssl-accurate-shutdown:
 # This forces an accurate shutdown when the connection is closed, i.e. a

# SSL close notify alert is send and mod_ssl waits for the close notify

# alert of the client. This is 100% SSL/TLS standard compliant, but in

# practice often causes hanging connections with brain-dead browsers. Use

# this only for browsers where you know that their SSL implementation

# works correctly.

# Notice: Most problems of broken clients are also related to the HTTP

# keep-alive facility, so you usually additionally want to disable

# keep-alive for those clients, too. Use variable "nokeepalive" for this.

# Similarly, one has to force some clients to use HTTP/1.0 to workaround

# their broken HTTP/1.1 implementation. Use variables "downgrade-1.0" and

# "force-response-1.0" for this.

BrowserMatch ".*MSIE.*" nokeepalive ssl-unclean-shutdown downgrade-1.0 force-

response-1.0

# Per-Server Logging:

# The home of a custom SSL log file. Use this when you want a

# compact non-error SSL logfile on a virtual host basis.

CustomLog "logs/ssl_request.log" "%t %h %{SSL_PROTOCOL}x %{SSL_CIPHER}x

\"%r\" %b"

</VirtualHost>

</IfModule>