Software⏱️ 4 min read📅 2026-06-11

How to Fix: No OpenSSL sign-file signing_key.pem leads to error while loading kernel modules

Kernel module loading error due to missing signing key file.

Quick Answer: Generate a new private key and certificate using OpenSSL, then update the kernel's signing key file.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🔍 Why This Happens
  2. ✅ Best Solutions to Fix It
  3. ✨ Wrapping Up

The error 'No OpenSSL sign-file signing_key.pem leads to error while loading kernel modules' occurs when the system is unable to locate the private key file 'signing_key.pem' in the kernel source directory. This affects users of Ubuntu 17.04 with kernel 4.10.0-20-generic who are trying to load signed kernel modules.

This issue can be frustrating because it prevents the user from loading and installing kernel modules successfully, leading to potential system instability or crashes. However, by following the steps outlined in this guide, users should be able to resolve the issue and continue using their system.

🔍 Why This Happens

  • The primary reason for this error is that the kernel source directory does not contain the 'signing_key.pem' file. This can happen due to various reasons such as incorrect configuration or missing files during installation.
  • Alternatively, the error could also be caused by issues with the OpenSSL library or its configuration, which may prevent it from generating or locating the necessary signing key files.

✅ Best Solutions to Fix It

Generate a signing_key.pem file using OpenSSL

  1. Step 1: Open a terminal and install OpenSSL if it's not already installed: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install openssl -y
  2. Step 2: Create a new directory to store the OpenSSL configuration files: mkdir ~/openssl-configs
  3. Step 3: Copy the contents of /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf to the newly created directory: cp /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf ~/openssl-configs/
  4. Step 4: Run the following command to generate a private key file: openssl genrsa -out signing_key.pem 2048
  5. Step 5: Run the following command to create a self-signed certificate: openssl req -x509 -new -nodes -key signing_key.pem -out cert.pem -days 365

Use an alternative method to generate a signing key file

  1. Step 1: Create a new directory to store the OpenSSL configuration files: mkdir ~/openssl-configs
  2. Step 2: Copy the contents of /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf to the newly created directory: cp /etc/ssl/openssl.cnf ~/openssl-configs/
  3. Step 3: Run the following command to generate a private key file using a different method: openssl genrsa -out signing_key.pem 2048 -topology curves
  4. Step 4: Note: This method uses a different curve topology for generating the private key, but it may not be as secure as the default method.

✨ Wrapping Up

To resolve the 'No OpenSSL sign-file signing_key.pem leads to error while loading kernel modules' issue, users can try generating a signing_key.pem file using OpenSSL or an alternative method. By following these steps, users should be able to locate and use the necessary signing key files to load and install kernel modules successfully.

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