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Does AWS ALB terminate SSL?

Last updated on September 25, 2022 @ 6:13 pm

AWS ALB terminates SSL connections when the load balancer reaches a threshold. You can configure ALB to terminate SSL connections when the load balancer reaches a threshold of either:

Number of connections: The ALB terminates SSL connections when the number of connections reaches a threshold.

Number of SSL sessions: The ALB terminates SSL sessions when the number of SSL sessions reaches a threshold.

PRO TIP: Yes, AWS ALB does terminate SSL. This means that any data that is sent between the client and the ALB is not encrypted. This could potentially allow someone to eavesdrop on the communication and view sensitive data.

You can set the threshold using the following Amazon ALB settings:

Load Balancing settings > SSL termination > SSL termination threshold:

You can also use the Amazon ALB health check to monitor the health of SSL connections. The health check verifies that the SSL connection is established and the data is sent.

If the health check returns an error, then the load balancer terminates the SSL connection.

Madison Geldart

Madison Geldart

Cloud infrastructure engineer and tech mess solver.