OpenSSL Removing a Pass-Phrase from a Private Key

Removing a Pass-Phrase from a Private Key

1. If required follow the OpenSSL Generating a Private Key procedure.
2. Create a backup of the original key with the pass-phrase.
   1. # cp <key_name>_passphrase.key <key_name>_passphrase.key.bk
3. Remove the pass-phrase from the private key.
   1. # openssl rsa -in <key_name>_passphrase.key -out <key_name>.key
4. Enter the information as required by the prompts.
5. Verify the checksum of the key matches the checksum of the key with the pass-phrase.
   1. # openssl rsa -noout -modulus -in <key_name>.key | openssl md5
   2. # openssl rsa -noout -modulus -in <key_name>_passhrase.key | openssl md5

Further Reading

1. How to Generate SSL key, CSR, and Self Signed Certificate for Apache