diff --git a/common_mk/openssl_flags.mk b/common_mk/openssl_flags.mk
index 886ac4cdd..c6c8b2dc7 100644
--- a/common_mk/openssl_flags.mk
+++ b/common_mk/openssl_flags.mk
@@ -10,6 +10,14 @@ endif
 
 
 # Use pkg-config to get the compiler and linker flags for OpenSSL if CUSTOM_OPENSSL_PATH is not set
+ifeq ($(CUSTOM_OPENSSL_PATH),)
+    ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Darwin)
+        ifneq ($(OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR),)
+            CUSTOM_OPENSSL_PATH := $(OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR)
+        endif
+    endif
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(CUSTOM_OPENSSL_PATH),)
     ifeq ($(OPENSSL_PACKAGE),openssl3)
 ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Darwin)
@@ -49,7 +57,11 @@ endif
     endif
 else
     SSL_IDIR := $(CUSTOM_OPENSSL_PATH)/include
+ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Darwin)
+    SSL_LDIR := $(CUSTOM_OPENSSL_PATH)/lib
+else
     SSL_LDIR := $(CUSTOM_OPENSSL_PATH)/lib64
+endif
 ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Darwin)
     LIB_SSL_PATH := $(shell find $(SSL_LDIR) -name "libssl.dylib" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
     ifeq ($(LIB_SSL_PATH),)
diff --git a/common_mk/openssl_version_check.mk b/common_mk/openssl_version_check.mk
index 7a1785163..885c0c029 100644
--- a/common_mk/openssl_version_check.mk
+++ b/common_mk/openssl_version_check.mk
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Darwin)
 			echo "OpenSSL header file not found at $$header_path"; \
 			exit 1; \
 		fi; \
-		version_number=$$(awk '/# define OPENSSL_VERSION_STR/ {print $$3}' $$header_path | tr -d '"'); \
+		version_number=$$(grep "# *define OPENSSL_VERSION_STR" $$header_path | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/'); \
 		if [ -z "$$version_number" ]; then \
 			echo "Failed to extract OPENSSL_VERSION_STR from $$header_path"; \
 			exit 1; \
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ else
 			echo "OpenSSL header file not found at $$header_path"; \
 			exit 1; \
 		fi; \
-		version_number=$$(awk '/# define OPENSSL_VERSION_STR/ {print $$3}' $$header_path | tr -d '"'); \
+		version_number=$$(grep "# *define OPENSSL_VERSION_STR" $$header_path | sed -E 's/.*"([^"]+)".*/\1/'); \
 		if [ -z "$$version_number" ]; then \
 			echo "Failed to extract OPENSSL_VERSION_STR from $$header_path"; \
 			exit 1; \
diff --git a/doc/BUILD-MACOS.md b/doc/BUILD-MACOS.md
index 3196c57bb..ce8012122 100644
--- a/doc/BUILD-MACOS.md
+++ b/doc/BUILD-MACOS.md
@@ -47,3 +47,17 @@ If the linker fails to find `libssl` or `libcrypto`, ensure that `OPENSSL_ROOT_D
 
 ### Missing ICU Headers
 The build system is configured to find `icu4c` via Homebrew. If you encounter errors related to ICU, ensure `icu4c` is installed and the Homebrew prefix is correct.
+
+### Building TAP Tests (Optional)
+
+If you wish to run the TAP tests, you need to build the test dependencies first:
+
+```bash
+export OPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=$(brew --prefix openssl@3)
+make build_tap_test_debug
+```
+
+This will automatically:
+1. Build the main ProxySQL debug binary.
+2. Download and build MariaDB and MySQL connectors (patched for macOS compatibility).
+3. Build the TAP test framework.