All Products
Search

This Product

    Certificate Management Service:Issues related to http_ssl_module of NGINX and solutions

    Document Center

    Certificate Management Service:Issues related to http_ssl_module of NGINX and solutions

    Last Updated:Apr 21, 2025

    NGINX servers use the http_ssl_module module to load SSL certificates. Before you install a certificate on your NGINX server, you must make sure that the server includes the module.

    Common errors

    Error 1: the "ssl" parameter requires ngx_http_ssl_module

    Cause: The NGINX server is not compiled with the http_ssl_module module.

    Error 2: nginx: [emerg] unknown directive “ssl” in /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf

    Cause: After you modify the configuration file of the NGINX server and run the nginx -s reload command, if the preceding error appears, the current version of NGINX is not compiled with the http_ssl_module module.

    Error 3: ./configure: error: SSL modules require the OpenSSL library

    Cause: The OpenSSL dependency library is missing.

    Solutions

    Check whether OpenSSL is installed on the server. If the NGINX server is not compiled with the http_ssl_module module, recompile the NGINX server to include the http_ssl_module module.

    Examples

    Note

    In this example, an NGINX 1.14.1 server that runs a 64-bit CentOS 8.0 operating system and has OpenSSL 1.1.1k installed is used. This example is for reference only. We recommend that you select a compatible OpenSSL version based on your NGINX version.

    1. Check whether the current NGINX version includes the http_ssl_module module.

      1. Run the following command to check the compilation parameters of NGINX:

        nginx -V | grep http_ssl_module

      2. If the output includes --with-http_ssl_module, the http_ssl_module module is included. Otherwise, the http_ssl_module module is not included, and you must manually install the module.

        image

    2. Install the http_ssl_module module.

      # For CentOS, OpenSSL 1.1.1k version. Please choose a compatible OpenSSL version based on your Nginx.
sudo yum install openssl-devel-1.1.1k

    3. Configure and compile the http_ssl_module module.

      # Go to the Nginx installation directory (example directory, please replace with your actual Nginx installation directory)
cd /usr/local/nginx/
# Configure http_ssl_module, other parameters can be customized
./configure --with-http_ssl_module
# Compile
sudo make
      Important

      Do not run the make install command. Otherwise, the original NGINX configuration is overwritten.

    4. Check whether the http_ssl_module module is successfully installed. If not, repeat Steps 2 and 3.

      nginx -V | grep http_ssl_module

    5. Restart the NGINX service.

      # Go to the executable directory of the Nginx service (example directory, please use the actual path).
cd /usr/local/nginx/sbin
# Reload the configuration file.
./nginx -s reload