Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol that provides secure communication over the internet. TLS 1.3 is the latest version of this protocol, and it offers improved security and performance over previous versions. In this article, we’ll show you how to enable TLS 1.3 in Apache on Rocky Linux 8.

Before we begin, you’ll need to make sure that you have a working installation of Rocky Linux 8 and Apache. You can check if Apache is installed by running the following command:

httpd -v

This will print the version of Apache that is installed on your system. If Apache is not installed, you can install it by running the following command:

sudo dnf install httpd

Enabling TLS 1.3 in Apache

To enable TLS 1.3 in Apache, we’ll need to make some changes to the Apache configuration file. The Apache configuration file is typically located at /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf, but the exact location may vary depending on how Apache was installed.

To edit the Apache configuration file, you’ll need to use a text editor. For example, you can use nano by running the following command:

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

In the Apache configuration file, you’ll need to add the following lines to the LoadModule section:

LoadModule ssl_module modules/mod_ssl.so
LoadModule socache_shmcb_module modules/mod_socache_shmcb.so

These lines will load the required Apache modules for TLS 1.3 support.

Next, you’ll need to add the following lines to the Listen section of the Apache configuration file:

Listen 443 https
<VirtualHost *:443>
  SSLEngine on
  SSLProtocol TLSv1.3
  SSLCertificateFile /path/to/your/certificate.crt
  SSLCertificateKeyFile /path/to/your/private/key.key
</VirtualHost>

These lines will enable HTTPS support on port 443, and configure Apache to use TLS 1.3 for secure communication. Be sure to replace /path/to/your/certificate.crt and /path/to/your/private/key.key with the actual paths to your SSL certificate and private key files.

Once you’ve made these changes to the Apache configuration file, save the file and exit the text editor.

Restarting Apache

To apply the changes you’ve made to the Apache configuration file, you’ll need to restart the Apache service. You can do this by running the following command:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

This will restart the Apache service, and it will now use TLS 1.3 for secure communication.

Congratulations, you have successfully enabled TLS 1.3 in Apache on Rocky Linux 8! You can now use TLS 1.3 to securely communicate with your Apache server.