Enable SSL in Apache for 'localhost' (OSX, El Capitan)

ApacheHTTPSConfig.md

Enable SSL in Apache (OSX)

The following will guide you through the process of enabling SSL on a Apache webserver

• The instructions have been verified with OSX El Capitan (10.11.2) running Apache 2.4.16
• The instructions assume you already have a basic Apache configuration enabled on OSX, if this is not the case feel free to consult Gist: "Enable Apache HTTP server (OSX)"

Apache SSL Configuration

Create a directory within /etc/apache2/ using Terminal.app: sudo mkdir /etc/apache2/ssl
Next, generate two host keys:

sudo openssl genrsa -out /etc/apache2/server.key 2048
sudo openssl genrsa -out /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.key 2048
sudo openssl rsa -in /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.key -out /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.key.rsa

Create a configuration file using Terminal.app: sudo touch /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.conf
Edit the newly created configuration file and add the following:

[req]
default_bits = 1024
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
req_extensions = v3_req

[req_distinguished_name]

[v3_req]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = nonRepudiation, digitalSignature, keyEncipherment
subjectAltName = @alt_names

[alt_names]
DNS.1 = localhost
DNS.2 = *.localhost

Generate the required Certificate Requests using Terminal.app:

sudo openssl req -new -key /etc/apache2/server.key -subj "/C=/ST=/L=/O=/CN=/emailAddress=/" -out /etc/apache2/server.csr
sudo openssl req -new -key /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.key.rsa -subj "/C=/ST=/L=/O=/CN=localhost/" -out /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.csr -config /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.conf

Note: Complete the values C= ST= L= O= CN= to reflect your own organizational structure, where:

• C= eq. Country: The two-letter ISO abbreviation for your country.
• ST= eq. State or Province: The state or province where your organization is legally located.
• L= eq. City or Locality: The city where your organization is legally located.
• O= eq. Organization: he exact legal name of your organization.
• CN= eq. Common Name: The fully qualified domain name for your web server

Use the Certificate Requests to sign the SSL Certificates using Terminal.app:

sudo openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in /etc/apache2/server.csr -signkey /etc/apache2/server.key -out /etc/apache2/server.crt
sudo openssl x509 -req -extensions v3_req -days 365 -in /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.csr -signkey /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.key.rsa -out /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.crt -extfile /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.conf

Add the SSL Certificate to Keychain Access.

sudo security add-trusted-cert -d -r trustRoot -k /Library/Keychains/System.keychain /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.crt

Apache Configuration

Edit the Apache main configuration file /etc/apache2/httpd.conf and enable the required modules to support SSL :

LoadModule socache_shmcb_module libexec/apache2/mod_socache_shmcb.so
LoadModule ssl_module libexec/apache2/mod_ssl.so

Enable Secure (SSL/TLS) connections

Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-ssl.conf

Apache Virtual Host Configuration

Edit the Virtual Hosts file /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf and add the SSL Directive at the end of the file:

<VirtualHost *:443>
    ServerName localhost
    DocumentRoot "/Library/WebServer/Documents"

    SSLEngine on
    SSLCipherSuite ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT56:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:+LOW:+SSLv2:+EXP:+eNULL
    SSLCertificateFile /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.crt
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/apache2/ssl/localhost.key

    <Directory "/Library/WebServer/Documents">
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Order allow,deny
        Allow from all
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Finally restart Apache using Terminal.app : sudo apachectl restart
Open Safari and visit https://localhost to verify your configuration.

amazing :) works on first try for my MAC OS with apache2

Thanks, worked on Mac OS Mojave.

great help - it also works on Mac OS Catalina 10.15.7 and Apache 2.4.46 (installed with homebrew)

Thank you very much! I did exactly what is written and it worked initially :)
I got the warning that not trusted but I accepted it and it is gone.

frank
Mac OS 10.11.6 with Apache 2.4 and PHP 7.4

To fix chrome blocking you
Visit: chrome://flags/#allow-insecure-localhost on chrome and enable "Allow invalid certificates for resources loaded from localhost."

@felixkipyego Or you can use a self-assigned certificate. Then you won't get warnings in any browser. I have documented steps in a gist here: https://gist.github.com/smohadjer/cacacd14eed0881bc576d501cdf98e7d

Congratulations - with 10.13.6 and (from amazing MacPorts) Apache 2.4.46 (Php 7.4.16) and some changes in path (/opt/local/etc/... instead /etc/...) https is working with localhost (or xxxx-i5-imac.local) for website in /Library/WebServer/Documents and in /Users/~loginname/Sites... Bravo ! (a good way to understand ssl and test locally WP web sites in dev...)

it returns
Forbidden
You don't have permission to access / on this server.
I fixed it by un-commenting
Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf
in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf
I think the guide missed this part.

https://flaviocopes.com/macos-install-ssl-local/

Update for installation on macOS 13 (Ventura),Apache/2.4.54 (Unix):

• in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf file:
  uncomment line - "Include /private/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf"

• in /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-ssl.conf file:
  uncomment of remove all lines between the following:

# remove all lines here as otherwise any effective directives here will override settings in "/etc/apache2/extra/httpd-vhost.conf" file

Listen 443

Thanks, this helps.