I have updated my DirectAdmin to version 1.59 and started to seeing errors in let’s encrypt requests as Nonce is empty. Exiting. dig output of acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org.  Why this is happening?

That was a recent request that we received in our Server Management Services helpdesk.

Often, this error happens due to the old curl version or the outdated Let’s Encrypt client.

Today, let’s get into the details on how our Support Engineers fix this error.

Reasons for Nonce is empty exiting error

Server owners do consider their server security with the highest priority. So, they will do anything that improves the security of the server. For example, installing antivirus, adding SSL certificates, etc.

One of the best ways to protects the data over the network is SSL certificates. It creates a secure connection between a website and a visitor’s browser.

Also, paid(comodo) and free SSL certificates like LetsEncrypt are supported in most of the control panels like cPanel, DirectAdmin, and Plesk.

However, after installing the SSL certificate in the DirectAdmin control panel, customers may get the following error.

The top reasons to occur this error is the old curl version or the outdated Let’s Encrypt client.

The nonce is empty exiting error in DirectAdmin – How we fixed it

At Bobcares, where we have more than a decade of expertise in managing servers, we see many customers face problems with the DirectAdmin SSL certificates on the server.

Now, let’s see the major reasons for SSL error and how our Support Engineers fix this error.

1. Outdated LetsEncrypt client

Recently one of our customers had an SSL error after updating the DirectAdmin control panel to the latest version. The error said,

Requesting new certificate order...
Nonce is empty. Exiting. dig output of acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org:
prod.api.letsencrypt.org.

On checking, our Support Engineers found that the error was due to an outdated LetsEncrypt client.

Therefore, we updated the Let’s Encrypt client into the latest one by executing the following command.

cd /usr/local/directadmin/custombuild
./build update
./build letsencrypt

This is how we fixed the error.

2. Old curl version

Frequently, many customers may face an SSL error while creating a certificate. This can be due to an old curl version.

The error looks like,

Getting challenge for server.yourhost.com from acme-server...
Nonce is empty. Exiting. dig output of acme-v01.api.letsencrypt.org:
api.letsencrypt.org.edgekey.net.
e981.dscb.akamaiedge.net.
1.2.3.4
Full nonce request output:

Also, it shows another error curl: (43) CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST no longer supports 1 as value!

Then, our Support Engineers found that the version of curl was old and required an update. Therefore, we performed a custombuild as below.

cd /usr/local/directadmin/custombuild
./build update
./build curl

That’s it.

[Need assistance to fix DirectAdmin SSL errors? We’ll help you.]

Conclusion

In short, Nonce is empty exiting error occurs due to the old curl version or because of the outdated Let’s Encrypt client. Today, we saw how our Support Engineers assisted our customers to solve this error.