PHP CURL CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER: Resolving the Certificate Verification Issue

Despite efforts to disable SSL certificate verification using CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, some users experience the error: "Problem with the SSL CA cert (path? access rights?)" when performing CURL requests in PHP.

Addressing the Problem

To resolve this issue, it's essential to understand the purpose of CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER. This option enables verification of the host and peer SSL certificates. By default, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER is set to true, indicating that verification should be performed.

To disable certificate verification, you can set CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER to false, as shown below:

curl_setopt($cHandler, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);

However, disabling certificate verification is not recommended due to security concerns. Instead, it's advisable to specify alternate certificates or a certificate directory using the CURLOPT_CAINFO or CURLOPT_CAPATH options.

Additional Suggestions

If disabling verification does not resolve the issue, consider the following suggestions:

• Update to the latest PHP and CURL libraries.
• Ensure that the certificate file specified in CURLOPT_CAINFO is valid and accessible.
• Verify that the server certificate is trusted by your system.
• Restart Apache or your web server software.

Conclusion

By adjusting the CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER setting and verifying the server's certificate, you can resolve the "Problem with the SSL CA cert" error and establish secure HTTPS connections with CURL. Remember that disabling certificate verification can compromise the security of your application.