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How to Fix an ‘SSL_ERROR_NO_CYPHER_OVERLAP’ Error?

Author:
cpcloudhosting

Published:

Updated on August 15, 2024

Reading Time: 2 min

SSL_ERROR_NO_CYPHER_OVERLAP #

As the message implies, this particular error relates to an issue with the secure connection between a web browser and a website. Specifically, it means that the relevant secure connection cannot be completed, preventing the webpage from loading.

Here’s what you need to check.

Advice for Website Owners and Operators #

In most cases, this problem is due to an issue between the user’s Firefox browser and your web host. However, there is one server configuration you need to check – whether your website is using outdated security technology. It could be that your website is using an outdated encryption technology that is no longer supported by Firefox because it has been superseded.

The fastest way to see whether your website is using an outdated cipher suite like RC4 is to manually enable outdated SSL and TLS certificates in Firefox. You can do this by:

  1. Open Firefox Settings:
    • Type about:config into the address bar and press Enter.
    • The browser will warn you to proceed with caution – click the Accept the risk and continue button.
  2. Enable Outdated SSL/TLS Certificates:
    • Under the Advanced Preferences menu, find the security.ssl3.dhe_rsa_aes_128_sha setting and set it to True. Do the same for the security.ssl3.dhe_rsa_aes_256_sha and security.tls.version.enable-deprecated settings.
    • Try loading your website again.

If you find you can access your website after making these changes, you will definitely need to update your SSL/TLS cipher suite. The fastest and most effective way to do this is by enabling the free wildcard SSL certificate included with your web hosting package – see our instructions on how to activate your free SSL certificate.

There is one other reported cause of the SSL_ERROR_NO_CYPHER_OVERLAP – the Cloudflare distribution network. Apparently, some Firefox users run into problems because their web browser does not support Cloudflare’s Server Name Indication (SNI) protocol. To avoid similar issues for your users, consider switching to the free StackCP CDN for your web acceleration needs.

What Else Do I Need to Know? #

The SSL_ERROR_NO_CIPHER_OVERLAP error is only found in the Firefox web browser.