# SSL Certificates Directory **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [August 31, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ssl-certificates-directory/99047 "2017-08-31T20:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lask001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@lask001](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/lask001)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ssl-certificates-directory/99047/1 "2017-08-31T20:05:38Z")
Is there a reason why xpack requires all the certificates to be located within the /etc/elasticsearch directory, or am I doing something wrong? I have a few certs stored in /etc/pki/tls/private/... for other applications and would prefer not to have multiple copies of the private floating around if possible. Is there anyway around this?? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![TimV](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/timv/32/13162_2.png) [@TimV](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/TimV)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 4:55am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ssl-certificates-directory/99047/2 "2017-09-07T04:55:55Z")
Elasticsearch runs under a Java Security Manager which intentionally prevents it from reading any files outside of the specific directories it needs (config, data, logs). That prevents x-pack from reading certificates installed in different locations. While we understand there is some pain in having to copy certificates around, it's a trade-off we've chosen to make in order to ensure that ES cannot accidentally read/write files that it is not supposed to. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ssl-certificates-directory/99047/3 "2017-10-05T04:56:14Z")
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