Installing SSL Certificates for the Courier-IMAP Mail Server

To install a custom SSL certificate for the Courier-IMAP (IMAP/POP3) mail server on a Plesk server:

  1. Log in to a Plesk server through SSH as a root user.
  2. Download one or more SSL certificate files that you want to install.

    Note: IMAP and POP3 each require separate certificate files, but both files can contain the same certificate.

  3. Make a backup copy of the existing default SSL certificate for the Courier-IMAP mail server.

    For example for RedHat or Fedora operating systems, you need to back up the following default SSL certificate files:

    • /usr/share/imapd.pem - the certificate enables secure data transfers through the IMAP protocol.
    • /usr/share/pop3d.pem - the certificate enables secure data transfers through the POP3 protocol.

      Note: For other operating systems, the default certificate file locations may be different.

  4. Open a default certificate file using your favorite text editor and replace the contents of the file, with the content of the SSL certificate file that you want to install.

    For example, the content to be copied from a custom SSL certificate and pasted in lieu of a default certificate file body should look like this:

    -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----

    MIIB8TCCAZsCBEUpHKkwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEEBQAwgYExCzAJBgNVBAYTAlJPMQww

    ............

    ............

    eNpAIeF34UctLcHkZJGIK6b9Gktm

    -----END CERTIFICATE-----

    -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

    MIICXgIBAAKBgQDv6i/mxtS2B2PjShArtOAmdRoEcCWa/LH1GcrbW14zdbmIqrxb

    ..........

    ..........

    faXRHcG37TkvglUZ3wgy6eKuyrDi5gkwV8WAuaoNct5j5w==

    -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

  5. Save and close the file.
  6. To finish the certificate installation, restart Courier-IMAP.