{"id":6573,"date":"2023-08-03T07:05:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T07:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/?p=6573"},"modified":"2026-02-26T14:02:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T14:02:43","slug":"apache-fails-to-start-due-to-failed-to-configure-encrypted-private-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/apache-fails-to-start-due-to-failed-to-configure-encrypted-private-key\/","title":{"rendered":"Apache fails to start due to: Failed to configure encrypted (?) private key"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

In this tutorial, we\u2019ll explain how Apache fails to start due to:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When Apache is not running and you see the following error is logged to the Apache error log.\u00a0(\/etc\/apache2\/logs\/error_log) when Apache fails to start:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

[ssl:emerg] [pid 2229] AH02312: Fatal error initialising mod_ssl, exiting.
\r\n[ssl:emerg] [pid 2229] AH02564: Failed to configure encrypted (?) private key
\r\ndomain.tld:443:1, check \/etc\/pki\/tls\/certs\/hostname.domain.tld.crt
\r\nAH00016: Configuration Failed<\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Description: This happens while using the SSLCertificateFile directive with an invalid path in a custom Apache that includes a configuration file.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Example:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
# cat \/etc\/apache2\/conf.d\/userdata\/ssl\/2_4\/cpaneluser\/domain.tld\/includefile.conf
SSLCertificateFile \/etc\/pki\/tls\/certs\/hostname.domain.tld.crt<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Workaround: As default, Apache\u2019s configuration contains an SSLCertificateFile directive for each domain. If you want to confirm then run the following command:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
# grep 'SSLCertificateFile' \/etc\/apache2\/conf\/httpd.conf<\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
To resolve this kind of issue, remove the SSLCertificateFile directive from the custom. Apache which includes a configuration file, or comment out the directive by adding a \u2018#\u2019 to the front of the line the directive is on. Once it is completed, run the following scripts to load the change and to start Apache:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\/scripts\/rebuildhttpdconf
\r\n\/scripts\/restartsrv_httpd<\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
For more help with your hosting, visit our bodHOST<\/a> Knowledgebase.<\/p>\r\n
<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In this tutorial, we\u2019ll explain how Apache fails to start due to: When Apache is not running and you see the following error is logged to the Apache error log.\u00a0(\/etc\/apache2\/logs\/error_log)…<\/p>\n
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nApache fails to start due to: Failed to configure encrypted (?)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this topic, you will find the information about the Apache fails to start due to: Failed to configure encrypted (?) private key\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bodhost.com\/kb\/apache-fails-to-start-due-to-failed-to-configure-encrypted-private-key\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Apache fails to start due 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