How to Remove the passphrase from a SSL Key If you use a passphrase protected SSL key in Apache, you may face difficulty while reloading the Apache. Apache wont be able to read the keys without providing the pass-phrase. In this case, you can remove the pass-phrase using the following steps.
1.Make sure to backup the existing key.
#cp -rp
www.key www.key.original2.Then unencrypt the key with openssl. You’ll need the passphrase for the decryption process. You may use the following command.
#openssl rsa -in
www.key -out new.key
Now copy the new.key to the
www.key file and you’re done. Next time you restart the Apache web server, it should not prompt you for the passphrase/password.
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