Getting SSL cert to work on server for cpanel/WHM login

[bmett]

Hi guys,

Having some trouble to get a SSL cert working on our server for accessing cpanel/WHM.

Installing the SSL cert itself wasn't a big deal. Done that hundreds of times for 'normal' domains, but this now keeps me stumped:
Let's say our server has the IP 123.123.123.123 and we used to log in via
https://123.123.123.123:2087 to get to WHM. Normally the browser would come up with the big warning that the side is not trusted etc etc and we just added an exception. But now we are starting to let clients access their cpanel accounts and we normally would give them the address
https://123.123.123.123:2083 to log into cpanel. Of course clients then will get the same security warning, which we would like to avoid.

After a bit of research and consultation with RapidSSL (thats where we get our SSLs from), I found out that you can't get SSL certs for IPs. Fair enough. So what about our domain name? Lets say the server behind above IP is called
server1.mydomain.com
Logging in via
https://server1.mydomain.com:2087 works fine so I installed an SSL cert for that domain name. Installation of the cert worked fine. Browsing to https://server1.mydomain.com (without the portnumber) comes up with the nice padlock we want. No security warning.

BUT, and thats where I get lost, if I type in https://server1.mydomain.com:2087 to login to WHM, no padlock and the security warning again.

What am I doing wrong?

Cheers,
Bjorn

[nibin]

Hi,

You must understand that http and cpanel are two different services. Installing SSL for a domain in http will not be picked up when you access cpanel service. You can get rid of this warning using the "Main >> Service Configuration >> Manage Service SSL Certificates" option in WHM and install the cert for cpanel/WHM/Webmail Service or for all services if you would like.

Thank you,
Nibin.

[bmett]

Hi Nibin,

Thanks for the reply.

How could I oversee that function in WHM itself?!

Anyway I got it to work now for https://server1.mydomain.com:2087 so I'm happy.

Just out of curiosity: Is it possible to get it to work with the IP address itself? Like
https://123.123.123.123:2087 ?

Cheers,
Bjorn

[nibin]

Hi Bjorn,

You can access with IP. But it will pop up a warning in browser saying "the certificate is only valid for server1.mydomain.com"

Thank you,
Nibin.

[bmett]

Thanks nibin,

I know that, but is it possible to access via IP and don't get the warning?

Cheers,
Bjorn

[cPanelMichael]

Hello

I know that, but is it possible to access via IP and don't get the warning?

In "WHM >> Server Configuration >> Tweak Settings", under the "Redirection" tab, you can set the "SSL redirect destination" option to:

"SSL Certificate Name"

This will ensure the request is redirected to the SSL Certificate hostname.

Thank you.