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RSA Key Decryption

To remove the encryption from a private key

  1. Make a copy of the encrypted key as a backup, for example:
    cup server.key server.key.org
  2. Enter this command:
    openssl rsa -in server.key.org -out server.key

Specifying the output file without a preceding encryption option (that is, -des, -des3, or -idea), the file is written out in plain text, and there is no prompt for a pass-phrase.

Important! The availability of an unencrypted key on your system makes your system vulnerable to impersonation on the Internet. Make sure that this file has the appropriate permissions, that is, readable only by root on UNIX, or Administrator on Windows.