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OpenSSL Compliance Requirements: What You Must Follow to Stay Secure and Audit-Ready

Andrios Robert

• 1 min read

Your build pipeline froze.
Security audits just flagged your OpenSSL usage.

OpenSSL compliance requirements are not optional. They define how cryptographic libraries must be configured, built, and updated to meet legal, security, and industry standards. Ignoring them risks vulnerabilities, failed audits, and shut-down deployments.

Key compliance areas

  1. Version control
    Use a supported OpenSSL version. Outdated releases contain known CVEs that fail PCI DSS, FIPS, and internal policies. Configure automated checks to block builds with unsupported versions.
  2. Secure configuration
    Disable weak ciphers and protocols like SSLv2, SSLv3, and TLS 1.0. Enforce strong algorithms such as AES-256 and SHA-256. Set minimum key sizes and confirm settings with openssl ciphers and openssl version -a.
  3. FIPS mode
    Many compliance frameworks require FIPS 140-2 or 140-3 validated modules. OpenSSL must be built with the FIPS provider, tested, and deployed in strict mode. Non-FIPS builds fail compliance in regulated industries.
  4. Patch management
    Track OpenSSL security advisories. Apply patches immediately—delays can be logged as compliance violations. Use CI/CD hooks to block merges unless the cryptography library version meets your policy.
  5. Documentation and audit trail
    Maintain records of OpenSSL versions, build configs, and patch dates. Auditors need evidence. Automate reports that pull from your build system to display compliance status in real time.
  6. License compliance
    OpenSSL uses the Apache License 2.0. Verify that your distribution, modification, and attribution meet the terms, especially when embedding in commercial products.

Why it matters

Compliance is more than passing a checklist—it safeguards encrypted data from exposure. Meeting OpenSSL compliance requirements keeps systems hardened, avoids penalties, and ensures your software is deployable across regulated environments.

Skip none of these steps. One misconfiguration can break compliance and block release.

Test it now. Run your project through a live compliance check at hoop.dev and see your OpenSSL compliance status in minutes.