Enabling SSL breaks apache

Question

I seem to be in the midst of a struggle between apache2 and ssl on my 12.04 VPS. Whenever I enable SSL on one of my virtual servers, apache fails to start. Upon examination of my virtual host's error logs, I'm confronted with the following:

[Fri Jan 02 04:11:30 2015] [error] Unable to configure permitted SSL ciphers
[Fri Jan 02 04:11:30 2015] [error] SSL Library Error: 336486680 error:140E6118:SSL routines:SSL_CIPHER_PROCESS_RULESTR:invalid command
[Fri Jan 02 04:11:30 2015] [error] SSL Library Error: 336486680 error:140E6118:SSL routines:SSL_CIPHER_PROCESS_RULESTR:invalid command

Upon disabling SSL on virtual servers, apache works just fine.

I had a look at the apache2.config and found that apache appears to be looking for SSLv2:

SSLProtocol ALL -SSLv2
SSLCipherSuite ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384:AES256-SHA256:AES256-SHA256:RC4:HIGH:MEDIUM:+TLSv1:+TLSv1.1:+TLSv1.2:!MD5:!ADH:!aNULL:!eNULL:!NULL:!DH:!ADH:!EDH:!AESGCM

However, when I look at the ciphers openssl is using, it appears to be using SSLv3:

openssl ciphers -v
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH     Au=RSA  Enc=AESGCM(256) Mac=AEAD
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH     Au=ECDSA Enc=AESGCM(256) Mac=AEAD
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH     Au=RSA  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA384
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH     Au=ECDSA Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA384
ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA    SSLv3 Kx=ECDH     Au=RSA  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-SHA  SSLv3 Kx=ECDH     Au=ECDSA Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
SRP-DSS-AES-256-CBC-SHA SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=DSS  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
SRP-RSA-AES-256-CBC-SHA SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=RSA  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
SRP-AES-256-CBC-SHA     SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=SRP  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
DHE-DSS-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=AESGCM(256) Mac=AEAD
DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=AESGCM(256) Mac=AEAD
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA256   TLSv1.2 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA256
DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA256   TLSv1.2 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA256
DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA      SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
DHE-DSS-AES256-SHA      SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA256-SHA SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=Camellia(256) Mac=SHA1
DHE-DSS-CAMELLIA256-SHA SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=Camellia(256) Mac=SHA1
ECDH-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AESGCM(256) Mac=AEAD
ECDH-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AESGCM(256) Mac=AEAD
ECDH-RSA-AES256-SHA384  TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA384
ECDH-ECDSA-AES256-SHA384 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA384
ECDH-RSA-AES256-SHA     SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/RSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
ECDH-ECDSA-AES256-SHA   SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
AES256-GCM-SHA384       TLSv1.2 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=AESGCM(256) Mac=AEAD
AES256-SHA256           TLSv1.2 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA256
AES256-SHA              SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
CAMELLIA256-SHA         SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=Camellia(256) Mac=SHA1
PSK-AES256-CBC-SHA      SSLv3 Kx=PSK      Au=PSK  Enc=AES(256)  Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA  SSLv3 Kx=ECDH     Au=RSA  Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-ECDSA-DES-CBC3-SHA SSLv3 Kx=ECDH     Au=ECDSA Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
SRP-DSS-3DES-EDE-CBC-SHA SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=DSS  Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
SRP-RSA-3DES-EDE-CBC-SHA SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=RSA  Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
SRP-3DES-EDE-CBC-SHA    SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=SRP  Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
EDH-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA    SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
EDH-DSS-DES-CBC3-SHA    SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
ECDH-RSA-DES-CBC3-SHA   SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/RSA Au=ECDH Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
ECDH-ECDSA-DES-CBC3-SHA SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
DES-CBC3-SHA            SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
PSK-3DES-EDE-CBC-SHA    SSLv3 Kx=PSK      Au=PSK  Enc=3DES(168) Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH     Au=RSA  Enc=AESGCM(128) Mac=AEAD
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH     Au=ECDSA Enc=AESGCM(128) Mac=AEAD
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH     Au=RSA  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA256
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH     Au=ECDSA Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA256
ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA    SSLv3 Kx=ECDH     Au=RSA  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-SHA  SSLv3 Kx=ECDH     Au=ECDSA Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
SRP-DSS-AES-128-CBC-SHA SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=DSS  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
SRP-RSA-AES-128-CBC-SHA SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=RSA  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
SRP-AES-128-CBC-SHA     SSLv3 Kx=SRP      Au=SRP  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
DHE-DSS-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=AESGCM(128) Mac=AEAD
DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=AESGCM(128) Mac=AEAD
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA256   TLSv1.2 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA256
DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA256   TLSv1.2 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA256
DHE-RSA-AES128-SHA      SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
DHE-DSS-AES128-SHA      SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
DHE-RSA-SEED-SHA        SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=SEED(128) Mac=SHA1
DHE-DSS-SEED-SHA        SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=SEED(128) Mac=SHA1
DHE-RSA-CAMELLIA128-SHA SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=Camellia(128) Mac=SHA1
DHE-DSS-CAMELLIA128-SHA SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=Camellia(128) Mac=SHA1
ECDH-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AESGCM(128) Mac=AEAD
ECDH-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AESGCM(128) Mac=AEAD
ECDH-RSA-AES128-SHA256  TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA256
ECDH-ECDSA-AES128-SHA256 TLSv1.2 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA256
ECDH-RSA-AES128-SHA     SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/RSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
ECDH-ECDSA-AES128-SHA   SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
AES128-GCM-SHA256       TLSv1.2 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=AESGCM(128) Mac=AEAD
AES128-SHA256           TLSv1.2 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA256
AES128-SHA              SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
SEED-SHA                SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=SEED(128) Mac=SHA1
CAMELLIA128-SHA         SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=Camellia(128) Mac=SHA1
PSK-AES128-CBC-SHA      SSLv3 Kx=PSK      Au=PSK  Enc=AES(128)  Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-RSA-RC4-SHA       SSLv3 Kx=ECDH     Au=RSA  Enc=RC4(128)  Mac=SHA1
ECDHE-ECDSA-RC4-SHA     SSLv3 Kx=ECDH     Au=ECDSA Enc=RC4(128)  Mac=SHA1
ECDH-RSA-RC4-SHA        SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/RSA Au=ECDH Enc=RC4(128)  Mac=SHA1
ECDH-ECDSA-RC4-SHA      SSLv3 Kx=ECDH/ECDSA Au=ECDH Enc=RC4(128)  Mac=SHA1
RC4-SHA                 SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=RC4(128)  Mac=SHA1
RC4-MD5                 SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=RC4(128)  Mac=MD5 
PSK-RC4-SHA             SSLv3 Kx=PSK      Au=PSK  Enc=RC4(128)  Mac=SHA1
EDH-RSA-DES-CBC-SHA     SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=RSA  Enc=DES(56)   Mac=SHA1
EDH-DSS-DES-CBC-SHA     SSLv3 Kx=DH       Au=DSS  Enc=DES(56)   Mac=SHA1
DES-CBC-SHA             SSLv3 Kx=RSA      Au=RSA  Enc=DES(56)   Mac=SHA1
EXP-EDH-RSA-DES-CBC-SHA SSLv3 Kx=DH(512)  Au=RSA  Enc=DES(40)   Mac=SHA1 export
EXP-EDH-DSS-DES-CBC-SHA SSLv3 Kx=DH(512)  Au=DSS  Enc=DES(40)   Mac=SHA1 export
EXP-DES-CBC-SHA         SSLv3 Kx=RSA(512) Au=RSA  Enc=DES(40)   Mac=SHA1 export
EXP-RC2-CBC-MD5         SSLv3 Kx=RSA(512) Au=RSA  Enc=RC2(40)   Mac=MD5  export
EXP-RC4-MD5             SSLv3 Kx=RSA(512) Au=RSA  Enc=RC4(40)   Mac=MD5  export

Now, I have no idea if this is relevant to the errors I'm trying to solve. I tried a novice approach of simply changing the apache config from SSLProtocol ALL -SSLv2 to SSLProtocol ALL -SSLv3 but the error seemed to persist. Might anyone be able to give me some insight? Many thanks in advance.

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 17 '17 at 13:14

If you try your cipher string with openssl ciphers -V cipher-string until you get similar errors.

... ssl on my 12.04 VPS

12.04 ships with OpenSSL 1.0.1

SSLCipherSuite ...+TLSv1:+TLSv1.1:+TLSv1.2:...

+TLSv1.1:+TLSv1.2 is not supported in 1.0.1 yet. If you remove these settings everything should succeed.

Apart from that I question the quality of your cipher string. MEDIUM should not be used, same with RC4 (use DES-CBC3-SHA to support older browsers). You might have a look at https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/51680/optimal-web-server-ssl-cipher-suite-configuration to determine better ciphers.

Enabling SSL breaks apache

1 Answers1