php security ai_generated true

Warning: openssl_verify(): Supplied key param cannot be coerced into a public key in /var/www/app/src/Auth/JwtValidator.php:45

ID: php/openssl-verify-failed

Also available as: JSON · Markdown
85%Fix Rate
88%Confidence
55Evidence
2023-01-01First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
83 active — — —

Root Cause

OpenSSL verification errors in PHP occur when certificate verification fails due to expired certificates, missing CA bundles, incorrect key formats, or mismatched key types. This affects HTTPS requests, JWT validation, and encrypted data operations.

generic

Workarounds

  1. 90% success Update the CA certificate bundle and configure PHP to use it 
    Download the latest Mozilla CA bundle: curl -o /etc/ssl/certs/cacert.pem https://curl.se/ca/cacert.pem. Set in php.ini: openssl.cafile = /etc/ssl/certs/cacert.pem and curl.cainfo = /etc/ssl/certs/cacert.pem. On Debian: apt-get install ca-certificates && update-ca-certificates.
  2. 85% success Ensure key format and type match the expected algorithm 
    For JWT verification, ensure the public key is in the correct PEM format with proper BEGIN/END markers. Check that the key type (RSA vs EC) matches the JWT algorithm (RS256 vs ES256). Use openssl_pkey_get_public() and check the return value before calling openssl_verify().

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. Disabling SSL verification with CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER = false or verify_peer = false 85% fail

    Disabling certificate verification exposes the application to man-in-the-middle attacks. Any network intermediary can intercept and modify traffic. This is a critical security vulnerability.

  2. Using an outdated CA bundle bundled with an old version of PHP or cURL 65% fail

    Old CA bundles are missing root certificates for newer CAs and contain revoked certificates. This causes legitimate sites to fail verification while potentially trusting compromised CAs.

Error Chain

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