How to install a SSL Certificate for Apache


Step 1: Obtain Intermediate CA Certificate

  • Copy the Intermediate CA certificate from your Secure128 portal under “Order Details”.
  • Be sure there are 5 dashes to either side of the BEGIN CERTIFICATE and END CERTIFICATE and that no white spaces, extra line breaks or additional characters have been inadvertently added.

Step 2: Install the SSL Certificate

  • The SSL certificate will be sent by email and available within your secure128.com portal.
  • Copy the certificate imbedded in the body of the email and paste it into a text file using Vi or Notepad.

NOTE: Please do not use Microsoft Word or other word processing programs that may add characters.

  • The text file should look like this:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- [encoded data] -----END CERTIFICATE-----

  • Be sure there are 5 dashes to either side of the BEGIN CERTIFICATE and END CERTIFICATE and that no white space, extra line breaks or additional characters have been inadvertently added.
  • Rename the certificate filename with the .crt extension to follow the naming convention for Apache.

    • For example: public.crt
  • Copy the Certificate into the directory that you will be using to hold the certificates. In For example: /usr/local/ssl/crt/.

Step 3: Configure the Server

NOTE: Some instances of Apache contain both a httpd.conf and ssl.conf file. Please enter or amend the httpd.conf or the ssl.conf with the bellow directives. Do not enter both as there will be a conflict and Apache may not start.

In order to use the key pair, the httpd.conf or ssl.conf file will need to be updated. In the Virtual Host section of the httpd.conf or ssl.conf file, verify that there are the following 3 directives within this Virtual Host.

Please add them if they are not present:

  • SSLCertificateFile /usr/local/ssl/crt/public.crt
  • SSLCertificateKeyFile /usr/local/ssl/private/private.key
  • SSLCertificateChainFile /usr/local/ssl/crt/intermediate.crt

NOTE: Some versions of Apache will not accept the SSLCertificateChainFile directive. Try using SSLCACertificateFile instead.

Verify your Certificate is installed correctly

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