How to fix weak SSL/TLS ciphers or old protocols
Your server accepts old TLS versions (TLS 1.0, 1.1) or weak ciphers (RC4, 3DES, CBC). These have known vulnerabilities and are being phased out. Modern recommendations: support only TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3, with AEAD ciphers (AES-GCM, ChaCha20). On managed platforms (Vercel, Cloudflare), this is mostly handled automatically — if your scanner flags weak ciphers, check if you have a legacy TLS setting enabled.
Why it matters
TLS 1.0/1.1 are deprecated by PCI DSS and most major browsers. Weak ciphers enable downgrade and padding-oracle attacks. For a serious security posture — or to meet compliance — these must be disabled.
How to check
- 01Use Qualys SSL Labs: https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=your-domain.com
- 02Aim for grade A or A+. B or lower indicates issues.
- 03Specifically check the Protocols section (no TLS 1.0/1.1) and Cipher Suites section (no weak/export/null ciphers).
Or let SafeToShip check it for you in 60 seconds:
How to fix it
Vercel
Vercel uses modern TLS by default. If flagged, check if you have a custom origin or proxy in front.
Cloudflare
Dashboard → SSL/TLS → Edge Certificates → Minimum TLS Version: TLS 1.2. Disable TLS 1.0 & 1.1.
nginx
Set protocols and cipher suite.
ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
ssl_ciphers ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305;
ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;AI prompt
Copy-paste into your AI tool
Paste this prompt into Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, v0, or Claude Code and it will walk through the fix for your specific codebase.
My SSL Labs report shows weak TLS protocols or ciphers. Tell me my current host (Vercel, Cloudflare, nginx, Apache) and give me the exact config change to require TLS 1.2 minimum and enable only modern AEAD cipher suites. After the change, tell me how to re-test with SSL Labs.FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- Will disabling TLS 1.0/1.1 break old users?
- Only users on Windows XP / very old Android. The fraction is under 0.1% on most sites. The compliance and security benefits outweigh the cost.
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