Dovecot fails to start in Plesk: Can't open file /etc/dovecot/private/ssl-cert-and-key.pem: No such file or directory

Symptoms

Dovecot fails to start on a Plesk for Linux server. The following error is found in /var/log/syslog:

CONFIG_TEXT: plesk dovecot[3833261]: doveconf: Fatal: Error in configuration file /etc/dovecot/dovecot.conf line 55: ssl_cert: Can't open file /etc/dovecot/private/ssl-cert-and-key.pem: No such file or directory

Cause

The file /etc/dovecot/private/ssl-cert-and-key.pem, which contains the default SSL certificate and private key used by Dovecot, is missing.

Resolution

1. Access the server over SSH

2. Create the file /etc/dovecot/private/ssl-cert-and-key.pem and open it for editing with a text editor:

# touch /etc/dovecot/private/ssl-cert-and-key.pem

3. Copy the private key and certificate from Tools & Settings > SSL/TLS Certificates > default certificate to /etc/dovecot/private/ssl-cert-and-key.pem and save the changes

4. Make sure the file format is correct:

# openssl x509 -in /etc/dovecot/private/ssl-cert-and-key.pem -noout -text

5. Start the Dovecot service:

# systemctl start dovecot