hi...

ive got apache 1.3.12 running with openssl... had everything working fine with
SSLPassPhraseDialog Builtin

Now I decided that I dont want to always be prompted for the passphrase, so I set:
SSLPassPhraseDialog exec:/www/bin/q

/www/bin/q is:
#!/usr/bin/perl
print "pass_here";

The q script works because if I run it from the command line, it outputs 'pass_here'

So, I did /www/bin/apachectl stop then /www/bin/apachectl startssl

It starts up and still prompts for the password. I type 'pass_here' and it loads.

There is nothing in the error_log.... anyone have feedback on how to get apache starting without prompting for the passphrase?

Thanks.

ok.. further testing... i did:

mv /www/bin/q /www/bin/z

then I stopped and started apache ssl

This is in the error_log
[Sat Apr 21 17:05:50 2001] [notice] caught SIGTERM, shutting down
Syntax error on line 970 of /www/conf/httpd.conf:
SSLPassPhraseDialog: file '/www/bin/q' not exists


SO, it is trying to read the q script... but it doesn't...

You have to decrypt the pem key. I am not sure how to do it in openssl. But i know the problem. take a look at www.openssl.org and see what they say about decrypting the key file.

Originally posted by jayglate
You have to decrypt the pem key. I am not sure how to do it in openssl. But i know the problem. take a look at www.openssl.org and see what they say about decrypting the key file.

Yes, and after you do this, _make sure_ you set the permissions on the .key file to 400. If you need help or advice on how to do this or whatever, send me an email and I'll explain the steps -- it's very simple and very fast to do.

all done..

thanks guys.. works fine like this

i guess its not more or less secure than a plain text password being called by a shell script....

Originally posted by woozle
all done..

thanks guys.. works fine like this

i guess its not more or less secure than a plain text password being called by a shell script....

It's a lot more of a secure means than a shell script passing (and holding) a clear text password.