diff --git a/ircd/ircd.c b/ircd/ircd.c
index 3a16a40c..9bd415d2 100644
--- a/ircd/ircd.c
+++ b/ircd/ircd.c
@@ -827,7 +827,7 @@ charybdis_main(int argc, char * const argv[])
 	}
 	rb_strlcpy(me.info, ServerInfo.description, sizeof(me.info));
 
-	if(ServerInfo.ssl_cert != NULL && ServerInfo.ssl_private_key != NULL)
+	if(ServerInfo.ssl_cert != NULL)
 	{
 		/* just do the rb_setup_ssl_server to validate the config */
 		if(!rb_setup_ssl_server(ServerInfo.ssl_cert, ServerInfo.ssl_private_key, ServerInfo.ssl_dh_params, ServerInfo.ssl_cipher_list))
diff --git a/ssld/ssld.c b/ssld/ssld.c
index 93491004..ea0d462d 100644
--- a/ssld/ssld.c
+++ b/ssld/ssld.c
@@ -910,6 +910,8 @@ ssl_new_keys(mod_ctl_t * ctl, mod_ctl_buf_t * ctl_buf)
 	dhparam = buf;
 	buf += strlen(dhparam) + 1;
 	cipher_list = buf;
+	if(strlen(key) == 0)
+		key = cert;
 	if(strlen(dhparam) == 0)
 		dhparam = NULL;
 	if(strlen(cipher_list) == 0)