How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

Webmin is a web-based interface for system administration for UNIX. Using any browser that supports tables and forms (and Java for the File Manager module), you can setup user accounts, Apache, DNS, file sharing and so on.

Webmin consists of a simple web server, and a number of CGI programs which directly update system files like /etc/inetd.conf and /etc/passwd. The web server and all CGI programs are written in Perl version 5, and use no non-standard Perl modules.

Install SSL Certificate

Prerequisites:

  1. Server certificate
  2. Private key
  3. Root and intermediate certificates

Steps:

Firstly, you will need to upload the above mentioned files to Webmin. Click Others to expand the menu on the left and then Upload and Download. Choose the Upload to server tab in the main window, then select the files to upload, specify the path to store them and click Upload:

How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

Now let’s get to configuring Apache using Webmin.

TIP: If you have not installed Apache so far, you can find and install it in the Unused modules menu in the left-hand panel:

How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

  • Click the Apache Webserver entry in the Servers menu in the same left-hand panel and choose the Global configuration tab:
    How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?
  • Press the Configure Apache Modules icon:
    How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?
  • In the list of Apache modules, find the SSL entry, check the box on the left and press the Enable Selected Modules button:
    How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

After a few seconds, you should be prompted to the Apache Web server’s main page. Choose the Create virtual host tab there.

  • Specify port 443 (the default one) after putting the radio button near the blank field in the Port section, enter the path to the document root folder in Document Root, and type in the Server Name domain name section. Then press the Create Now button to add a new virtual host:
    How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?
  • In the newly opened Existing virtual hosts tab, click on the globe button next to the virtual host that we have just created:
    How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?
  • After that, find and click on the SSL Options icon in Virtual Server Options:
    How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

Adjust the SSL options in the following way:
Enable SSL? – select Yes
SSL protocols – make sure to uncheck SSLv2 and SSLv3 as these protocols are considered to be unsecure
Certificate/private key file – the path to the uploaded example_com.crt file Private key file – the path to the private key file that was initially generated with the CSR code; used for the certificate activation
Certificate authorities file – the path to the uploaded example_com.ca-bundle file.
Press the Save button to update the SSL settings:

How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

  • To apply all of the changes we have made so far, we need to restart Apache. To open the needed page, press the Bootup and Shutdown entry under the System menu in the left-hand panel, find the apache2 service, and check the corresponding checkbox on the left:
    How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?
  • After that, scroll down to the very bottom and press the Restart button:
    How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

Now your SSL is installed successfully.

If you would like your visitors to access the website through http:// automatically instead of http://, you can enable the redirection in the following way.

Add a new virtual host in Apache Webserver >> Create virtual host, like we did it previously, but specifying port 80 (default for regular http://) this time:

How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

In the Permanent URL redirects section, add “/” to the From field to apply the redirection to the whole website, and “http://example.com/” for the To field, replacing example.com with the domain name the SSL certificate is issued. Then press the Save button and restart Apache in the same way as it has described earlier in this guide:

How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin?

The redirection should become effective now. To check whether it works, you can access the website via http:// in a web browser.

If you are unable to use these instructions for your server, Acmetek recommends that you contact either the vendor of your software or the organization that supports it.

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