What is the CSR code for SSL?

CSR code (Certificate Signing Request) is a specific code and an essential part for the SSL activation. It contains information about website name and the company contact details. For many reasons, the code should be created on the hosting server end.

Is CSR required for SSL certificate?

A CSR is one of the first steps towards getting your own SSL/TLS certificate. Generated on the same server you plan to install the certificate on, the CSR contains information (e.g. common name, organization, country) the Certificate Authority (CA) will use to create your certificate.

What is the full form of CSR in OpenSSL?

The first step to obtaining an SSL certificate is using OpenSSL to create a certificate signing request (CSR) that can be sent to a Certificate Authority (CA) (e.g., DigiCert). The CSR contains the common name(s) you want your certificate to secure, information about your company, and your public key.

Where are OpenSSL CSR files stored?

Generating the CSR with the openssl Command. Connect to the server by using an SSH connection and log in as a root user. Use the cd command to navigate to the folder in which the certificates should be saved: cd /etc/ssl/certs/

How to get details of CSR?

To check CSRs and view the information encoded in them, simply paste your CSR into the box below and our CSR Decoder will do the rest. Your CSR should start with "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- " and end with "-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- ".

Can you create a CSR without a private key?

A CSR is actually a request to get a certificate that is created and digitally signed by a CA, without having to send the private key over the internet.

Does a CSR generate a private key?

A Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and a private key can be generated using a CSR generator tool, a software application allowing you to create a CSR and a private key for an SSL/TLS certificate.

Can I generate CSR from public key?

Creating an SSL/TLS certificate with a CSR is a two-step process: Generate a private key and public key pair. This can be done using a variety of tools, such as OpenSSL. Create a CSR using the private key.

What is the difference between SSL certificate and CSR?

A certificate signing request (CSR) is one of the first steps towards getting your own SSL/TLS certificate. Generated on the same server you plan to install the certificate on, the CSR contains information (e.g. common name, organization, country) the Certificate Authority (CA) will use to create your certificate.

What is the difference between SSL and CSR?

A CSR (Certificate Signing Request) is a specially formatted encrypted message sent from a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) digital certificate applicant to a certificate authority (CA). The CSR validates the information the CA requires to issue a certificate.

How to generate CSR for SSL certificate renewal?

Generate a new Certificate Signing Request (CSR) from your hosting provider. Activate your SSL certificate from your hosting dashboard. Validate your SSL certificate using the generated CSR. Install your new SSL certificate either manually or via contacting your hosting provider.

CSR & SSL Installation (OpenSSL) (2024)

Create a CSR & install your SSL certificate on your Ubuntu server with Apache2 using OpenSSL

Add trust to e-signing workflows with DigiCert Document Trust Manager.

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Use the instructions on this page to use OpenSSL to create your certificate signing request (CSR) and then to install your SSL certificate on your Ubuntu server with Apache2.

Restart Note: After you've installed your SSL/TLS certificate and configured the server to use it, you must restart your Apache2 instance.

For Apache instructions, see . For other OS/platform instructions, see Create a CSR (Certificate Signing Request).

You can use these instructions to create OpenSSL CSRs and install all types of DigiCert SSL certificates on your Ubuntu server with Apache2: Standard SSL, EV SSL, Multi-Domain SSL, EV Multi-Domain SSL, and Wildcard SSL.

To create your certificate signing request (CSR), see Ubuntu with Apache2: Creating Your CSR with OpenSSL.
To install your SSL certificate, see .

I. Ubuntu with Apache2: Creating Your CSR with OpenSSL

Use the instructions in this section to create your own shell commands to generate your Ubuntu with Apache2 CSR with OpenSSL.

Recommended:Save yourself some time. Use theDigiCert OpenSSL CSR Wizardto generate an OpenSSL command to create your Ubuntu with Apache2 CSR. Just fill out the form, click Generate, and then paste your customized OpenSSL command into your terminal.

How to Generate a CSR for Ubuntu with Apache 2 Using OpenSSL

If you prefer to build your own shell commands to generate your Ubuntu with Apache2 CSR, follow the instructions below.

Log in to your server via your terminal client (ssh).
Run Command

At the prompt, type the following command:

Note: Make sure to replaceserverwith the name of your server.

openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyoutserver.key -outserver.csr

See Also
How to Get a Free SSL Certificate for Your Website (HTTPS)How to Install an SSL Certificate Installing the trusted root certificate Updating SSL Certificate
Generate Files
1. You've now started the process for generating the following two files:
  - Private-Key File: Used to generate the CSR and later to secure and verify connections using the certificate.
  - Certificate Signing Request (CSR) file: Used to order your SSL certificate and later to encrypt messages that only its corresponding private key can decrypt.
2. When prompted for theCommon Name(domain name), type the fully qualified domain (FQDN) for the site that you are going to secure.
  
  Note: If you're generating an Apache CSR for a Wildcard certificate, make sure your common name starts with an asterisk (e.g., *.example.com).
3. When prompted, type your organizational information, beginning with your geographic information.
  
  Note: You may have already set up default information.
4. Now, your OpenSSL .csr file is created.
Order Your SSL/TLS Certificate
1. Open the .csr file you created with a text editor.
2. Copy the text, including the-----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----and-----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----tags, and paste it in to the DigiCert order form.
Save Private Key

Save (back up) the generated.keyfile. You need it later to install your SSL certificate.
Install Certificate

After you've received your SSL certificate from DigiCert, you can install it on your server.

II. Ubuntu with Apache2: Installing and Configuring Your SSL Certificate

If you still need to create a certificate signing request (CSR) and order your certificate, seeUbuntu with Apache2: How to Use OpenSSL to Create Your CSR.

After we've validated and issued your SSL certificate, you can install it on your Ubuntu with Apache2 server (where the CSR was generated) and configure the server to use the certificate.

How to Install and Configure the SSL Certificate on Your Ubuntu Server with Apache2

Copy the certificate files to your server.
1. Log in to your DigiCert account and download the intermediate (DigiCertCA.crt) and your primary certificate (your_domain_name.crt) files.
2. Copy these files, along with the .key file you generated when creating the CSR, to the directory on the server where you keep your certificate and key files.
  
  Note: Make them readable by root only to increase security.
Find the Apache configuration file you need to edit.
See Also
Installing an SSL Certificate on a Windows Server - IONOS Help

The location and name of the configuration file can vary from server to server-especially if you're using a special interface to manage your server configuration.
- The Ubuntu server with Apache2 main configuration file for your SSL/TLS site is typically found in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/your_site_name.
- If it's not found in the 'sites-enabled' directory, run the command below.
  
  sudo a2ensite your_site_name
- Open the file with a text editor and find the <VirtualHost> blocks that contain the Apache settings.
Identify the SSL <VirtualHost> block you need to configure.

If your site needs to be accessible through both secure (https) and non-secure (http) connections, you need two separate files in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/. One file is for port 80 and the other file is for port 443. Configure both files for SSL as described in step 4.

If your site only needs to be accessed securely, configure the existing virtual host for SSL as described in step 4.
Configure the <VirtualHost> block for the SSL-enabled site
1. Below is a very simple example of a virtual host configured for SSL. The parts listed in blue are the parts you must add to configure the SSL configuration; they may be spread throughout the file.
  
  <VirtualHost 192.168.0.1:443>
  DocumentRoot /var/www/
  SSLEngine on
  SSLCertificateFile /path/to/your_domain_name.crt
  SSLCertificateKeyFile /path/to/your_private.key
  SSLCertificateChainFile /path/to/DigiCertCA.crt
  </VirtualHost>
2. Make sure to adjust the file names to match your certificate files.
  - SSLCertificateFile is your DigiCert certificate file (e.g., your_domain_name.crt).
  - SSLCertificateKeyFile is the .key file generated when you created the CSR (e.g., your_private.key).
  - SSLCertificateChainFile is the DigiCert intermediate certificate file (e.g., DigiCertCA.crt)
    
    Note: If the SSLCertificateChainFile directive doesn't work, try using the SSLCACertificateFile directive instead.
Test your Apache2 configuration file before restarting.

As a best practice, check your Apache2 configuration file for any errors before restarting Apache.

Caution: Apache2 won't start again if your configuration files have syntax errors.

Run the following command to test your configuration file (on some systems, it's apache2ctl):

apachectl configtest
Restart Apache2.

You can use apachectl commands to stop and start Apache2 with SSL support.

apachectl stop apachect1 start

Restart Notes:

If Apache2 doesn't restart with SSL support, try using apachectl startssl instead of apachectl start. If SSL support only loads with apachectl startssl, we recommend you adjust the apache startup configuration to include SSL support in the regular apachectl start command. Otherwise, your server may require you to manually restart Apache2 using apachectl startssl in the event of a server reboot. This usually involves removing the <IfDefine SSL> and </IfDefine> tags that enclose your SSL configuration.
Congratulations! You've successfully installed your SSL certificate.

Testing Your SSL/TLS Certificate Installation

Browser Test
1. For best results, make sure to close your web browser first and then re-launch it.
2. Visit your site with the secure https URL (i.e., go to https://www.example.com not http://www.example.com).
3. Be sure to test your site with more than just Internet Explorer. IE downloads missing intermediate certificates; whereas, other browsers give an error if all the certificates in the certificate chain aren't installed properly.
DigiCert^® SSL Installation Diagnostic Tool

If your site's publicly accessible, use our Server Certificate Tester to test your SSL/TLS certificate installation; it detects common installation problems.

Configuration and Useful Commands

Install Apache2

Required to use SSL/TLS certificates:

sudo apt-get install apache2

Enable SSL Module

Replace 'default-ssl' with the real site name you set up in /etc/apache2/sites-available/.

sudo a2enmod ssl
Once the site listed in the command above is enabled, the site appears in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled.

Apply SSL Module to Site

sudo a2ensite default-ssl sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Cipher Suite

Once you run the sudo a2enmod ssl command, edit the ssl.conf file in /etc/apache2/mods-enabled.
If you haven't run the a2enmod command yet, preconfigure the ssl.conf file in /etc/apache2/mods-available.