Troubled by seeing Apache ssl_error_rx_record_too_long on your website? You are not alone!

This error frequently occurs when SSL traffic is not set up properly on the target secure server.

At Bobcares, we often get requests from our customers regarding the Apache SSL certificate error as part of our Server Management Services.

Today, we’ll see how our Support Engineers find fix for our customers.

What are the causes of Apache ssl_error_rx_record_too_long?

Everyone wants their websites to be secure. But, improper implementation of security often results in errors like Apache ssl_error_rx_record_too_long.

Some possible causes for this error are:

• SSL traffic is not set up properly on the target server.
• DNS may not be correct in the DNS name on VirtualHost.
• Misconfigured proxy not allowing an SSL handshake on port 443 correctly.

But, how to fix this problem is the main question. Being in the hosting industry for more than a decade, we see many variants of SSL error. Let’s see how our Engineers handle this error in different scenarios.

What are the Fixes?

In simple terms, the fix for the SSL error involves handling the secure traffic reaching the server correctly. We’ll now take a look at the exact steps involved.

When a customer approaches us with Apache ssl_error_rx_record_too_long error, our Support Engineers initially replicate the error from our side. This eliminates any possible browser errors at the user’s computer.

We then proceed with the following actions:

1. We make sure that SSL is running on port 443. Because if SSL is running on a non-standard port, then Firefox may show this error.

netstat -lpan | grep :443

We do this by adding the following in the Apache configuration httpd.conf file.

Listen 443

2. Upon finding the correct port settings, we check and confirm that the SSL certificate is valid and not expired.

Also, we make sure not more than one SSL is sharing the same IP.

3. On IPv6, our Engineers include the IP Address for eliminating this error.

Listen x.x.x.x:443

4. Similarly, when customers get this error on Windows, we check whether the host file on the Windows server is properly set.

If not, we do it by changing VirtualHost domain.com:443 to VirtualHost _default_:443.

Each server configuration differs and so the troubleshooting will not be identical. However, we check the path of the SSL traffic and make corrections. This solves the problem and makes the SSL version of the website working again.

[Having trouble with Apache SSL error? We’ll fix it for you.]

Conclusion

In short, we discussed in detail on possible causes and fixes for Apache ssl_error_rx_record_too_long error. Also, we saw the way by which our Support Engineers find the fix for this error.