How to install an SSL certificate in Webmin
Once the SSL certificate is activated, validated and issued, it is time to install it on the server. To prepare the correct files for the installation, make sure to download a compressed .zip archive from your account or from the email sent by Comodo (now Sectigo) and unzip it on your local computer. You will need the files called example_com.crt and example_com.ca-bundle , meaning that example_com is your domain name here.
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 :
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:
Click the Apache Webserver entry in the Servers menu in the same left-hand panel and choose the Global configuration tab:
Press the Configure Apache Modules icon:
In the list of Apache modules, find the ssl entry, check the box on the left and press the Enable Selected Modules button:
After a few seconds you should be prompted to the Apache Webserver ’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 domain name in the Server Name section. Then press the Create Now button to add a new virtual host:
In the newly opened Existing virtual hosts tab, click on the globe button next to the virtual host that we have just created:
After that, find and click on the SSL Options icon in Virtual Server Options :
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:
In order 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:
After that, scroll down to the very bottom and press the Restart button:
That’s it! After the successful Apache restart you can check the SSL certificate installation with the help of this tool .
If you would like your visitors to access the website through https:// 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:
In the Permanent URL redirects section, add “/” to the From field, in order to apply the redirection to the whole website, and “ https://example.com /” for To field, replacing example.com with the domain name the SSL certificate is issued for. Then press the Save button and restart Apache in the same way as it was described earlier in this guide:
The redirection should become effective now. To check whether it works, you can either access the website via http:// in a web browser or use this tool .
How to install an SSL Certificate on Webmin?
In this tutorial, we will show you how to install an SSL certificate on Webmin. If you’ve already generated a CSR code for your certificate, skip the first section and continue with the SSL installation steps. Part three of the tutorial brings you interesting facts about the Webmin history, while in part four includes useful tips on where to buy the best SSL Certificate for Webmin.
Generate a CSR code on Webmin
When applying for an SSL Certificate, one of your first steps is to generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and send it to the Certificate Authority. The CSR is a small text file with necessary details about your domain and company.
SSL providers use the CSR code to verify the validity of the applicants. If the information within the CSR is correct and up to date, the CAs will sign the SSL Certificate. Follow the instructions below to generate the CSR on Webmin:
- Open a web browser and log into your Webmin account. The quickest way is via the following URL: https://yourwebsite.com:10000, where yourwebsite.com is the hostname of your server, and 10000 is the default port number
- In the left pane, below the Refresh Modules, locate and click the Terminal symbol (second icon from left). Alternatively, use the Alt+K hotkey to open the terminal
- In the terminal screen paste the following SSL command to generate your CSR code and private key:
sudo openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes —keyout /etc/ssl/yourwebsite.com.key -out /etc/ssl/yourwebsite.com.csr -subj /C=US/ST=California/L=San Jose/O=GPI Holding LLC/OU=IT/CN=yourwebsite.com; cat /etc/ssl/yourwebsite.com.csr
Note:Replace the highlighted parts according to your personal information! Use the examples below:
- /etc/ssl/yourwebsite.com.key: this is your path to the private key file. Don’t forget to replace the domain name
- C: here you must enter the two-letter code of the country where your organization is legally registered. For example, US
- ST: specify the full name of the state or province. For instance, California
- L: enter the full name of the city, town or locality. For example, San Jose
- O: write the legal name of your company. For instance, GPI Holding LLC. If you have a Domain Validation certificate, write NA
- OU: indicate the department in charge of SSL certificates. For example, IT. If you have a Domain Validation certificate, type NA instead
- CN: provide the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the website you want to protect. For instance, com. If you bought a Wildcard certificate, put an asterisk in front of the domain name (e.g. *.yourwebsite.com)
Install an SSL Certificate on Webmin
After you’ve successfully applied for your SSL Certificate, and received all the necessary certificate files from the CA, it’s time to install them on your Webmin server.
- Prepare your SSL files. Download the zip archive and extract the files on your local computer. You must have the following files:
- crt (your primary certificate)
- ca-bundle (your root and intermediate certificates)
Note: yourwebsite_com is your domain name here.
Test your SSL installation
After you install an SSL Certificate on Webmin, it’s highly recommended to test your SSL installation for potential vulnerabilities. Use one of these advanced SSL tools to scan your website and get instant SSL reports.
Webmin history and versions
Webmin is a popular web control panel for Unix-like systems written in Perl. Developed by Jamie Cameron and the Webmin community, Webmin is available for CentOS, Debian, RHEL, and Ubuntu. Recent versions can also run on Windows. Webmin is primarily used for disk quotas configurations, as well as open source apps control such as PHP, MSQL or Apache HTTP Server. Below you’ll find the latest versions of Webmin:
- Version 1.890 (19th July 2018)
- Version 1.881 (16th March 2018)
- Version 1.880 (4th March 2018)
- Version 1.870 (8th December 2017)
- Version 1.860 (10th October 2017)
- Version 1.850 (28th June 2017)
- Version 1.840 (8th May 2017)
Click here to access the entire changelog.
Where to buy the best SSL Certificate for Webmin?
If you’re looking for a great shopping experience, then SSL Dragon is your best SSL seller. Our intuitive and user-friendly website will smoothly guide you through the entire range of SSL Certificates. All our products are issued by reputable Certificate Authorities and are compatible with Webmin. We offer the following SSL validation types:
Enjoy the lowest prices on the market, and dedicated customer support for any certificate you choose. And, if your struggling to find the perfect cert for your website, use our SSL Wizard and Advanced Certificate Filter tools to get a helping hand.
If you find any inaccuracies, or you have details to add to these SSL installation instructions, please feel free to send us your feedback at [email protected] . Your input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.