Bug ID 586878: During upgrade, configuration fails to load due to clientssl profile with empty cert/key configuration.

Last Modified: Apr 28, 2025

Affected Product(s):
BIG-IP Install/Upgrade, LTM(all modules)

Known Affected Versions:
11.5.3, 11.5.3 HF1, 11.5.3 HF2, 11.5.4, 11.5.4 HF1, 11.6.0, 11.6.0 HF1, 11.6.0 HF2, 11.6.0 HF3, 11.6.0 HF4, 11.6.0 HF5, 11.6.0 HF6, 11.6.0 HF7, 11.6.0 HF8, 11.6.1, 11.6.1 HF1, 12.0.0, 12.0.0 HF1, 12.0.0 HF2, 12.0.0 HF3, 12.0.0 HF4, 12.1.0, 12.1.0 HF1, 12.1.0 HF2, 12.1.1, 12.1.1 HF1, 12.1.1 HF2, 13.1.0, 13.1.0.1, 13.1.0.2, 13.1.0.3, 13.1.0.4, 13.1.0.5, 13.1.0.6, 13.1.0.7, 13.1.0.8, 13.1.1, 13.1.1.2, 13.1.1.3, 13.1.1.4, 13.1.1.5, 13.1.3, 13.1.3.1, 13.1.3.2, 13.1.3.3, 13.1.3.4, 13.1.3.5, 13.1.3.6, 13.1.4, 13.1.4.1, 13.1.5, 13.1.5.1

Fixed In:
13.0.0, 12.1.2, 11.6.1 HF2, 11.5.4 HF2

Opened: Apr 12, 2016

Severity: 3-Major

Related Article: K16098

Symptoms

During upgrade, configuration fails to load due to invalid clientssl profile cert/key configuration. The validation to verify whether at least one valid key/cert pair exists in clientssl profiles was enforced in software versions through 11.5.0. This validation was not in effect in versions 11.5.1, 11.5.2, and 11.5.3. The lack of validation resulted in invalid clientssl profiles (those containing empty key/certs or a cert/key of 'default'). When you upgrade such a configuration to 11.5.4 or later, you will receive a validation error, and the configuration will fail to load after upgrade.

Impact

Configuration fails to load. The system posts an error message that might appear similar to one of the following: -- 01070315:3: profile /Common/my_client_ssl requires a key Unexpected Error: Loading configuration process failed. -- 01071ac9:3: Unable to load the certificate file () - error:2006D080:BIO routines:BIO_new_file:no such file. Unexpected Error: Loading configuration process failed.

Conditions

The issue occurs when all the below conditions are met. 1. You have a clientssl profile in a configuration from a version without validation (that is, 11.5.1, 11.5.2, or 11.5.3). 2. The clientssl profile in the configuration has an empty cert/key, or a cert/key of 'default'. 3. You upgrade to a version that has the cert/key validation (specifically, 11.5.4, 11.6.0, 11.6.1, and versions 12.1.0 and later).

Workaround

To workaround this situation, modify the configuration file before upgrading: 1. Check the config file /config/bigip.conf. 2. Identify the clientssl profile without a cert/key. For example, it might look similar to the following: ltm profile client-ssl /Common/cssl_no-cert-key2 { app-service none cert none cert-key-chain { "" { } } chain none defaults-from /Common/clientssl inherit-certkeychain false key none passphrase none } Note: The profile might have cert-key-chain name but not the cert/key. In other words, it could also appear similar to the following example: ltm profile client-ssl /Common/cssl_no-cert-key2 { app-service none cert none cert-key-chain { default { } } chain none defaults-from /Common/clientssl inherit-certkeychain false key none passphrase none } 3. Remove the clientssl profile from /config/bigip.conf. 4. Run the command: tmsh load sys conf. 5. Re-create the clientssl profiles you need.

Fix Information

None

Behavior Change

Guides & references

K10134038: F5 Bug Tracker Filter Names and Tips