diff --git a/deps/Makefile b/deps/Makefile
index 442e8165a..2823e66db 100644
--- a/deps/Makefile
+++ b/deps/Makefile
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ endif
 STDCPP := -std=c++$(shell echo $(CPLUSPLUS) | cut -c3-4) -DCXX$(shell echo $(CPLUSPLUS) | cut -c3-4)
 
 
-targets := libconfig libdaemon jemalloc mariadb_client re2 sqlite3 pcre lz4 cityhash microhttpd curl ev libssl libhttpserver libinjection prometheus-cpp postgresql libusual libscram
+targets := check_openssl_version libconfig libdaemon jemalloc mariadb_client re2 sqlite3 pcre lz4 cityhash microhttpd curl ev libhttpserver libinjection prometheus-cpp postgresql libusual libscram
 ifeq ($(SYS_KERN),Linux)
 	targets += coredumper
 endif
@@ -69,19 +69,42 @@ endif
 
 libinjection: libinjection/libinjection/src/libinjection.a
 
+DISTRO := $(shell lsb_release -si 2>/dev/null || grep '^ID=' /etc/os-release | cut -d= -f2 | tr -d '"')
+OPENSSL_VERSION_3 := 3.0.0
 
-libssl/openssl/libssl.a:
-	cd libssl && rm -rf openssl-openssl-*/ openssl-3*/ || true
-	cd libssl && tar -zxf openssl-*.tar.gz
-	cd libssl && ./verify-bio_st-match.sh
-#	cd libssl/openssl && patch crypto/ec/curve448/curve448.c < ../curve448.c-multiplication-overflow.patch
-#	cd libssl/openssl && patch crypto/asn1/a_time.c < ../a_time.c-multiplication-overflow.patch
-	cd libssl/openssl && ./config no-ssl3 no-tests
-	cd libssl/openssl && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE}
-	cd libssl/openssl && ln -fs ./ lib # curl wants this path
+ifeq ($(DISTRO), almalinux)
+	ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl3/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+	LIB_SSL_PATH := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libssl.so.3" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+	LIB_CRYPTO_PATH := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libcrypto.so.3" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+    SSL_LDIR := $(dir $(LIB_SSL_PATH))
+else
+	ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+	LIB_SSL_PATH := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libssl.so" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+	LIB_CRYPTO_PATH := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libcrypto.so" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+    SSL_LDIR := $(dir $(LIB_SSL_PATH))
+endif
 
-libssl: libssl/openssl/libssl.a
+ifneq ($(ssl_header_path),)
+	SSL_IDIR := $(shell dirname $(shell dirname $(ssl_header_path)))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL headers at $(SSL_IDIR))
+    $(info OpenSSL lib full path is $(LIB_SSL_PATH))
+    $(info OpenSSL libs directory is $(SSL_LDIR))	
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL headers not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
 
+check_openssl_version:
+	@if [ "$(DISTRO)" = "almalinux" ]; then \
+		@current_version=$$(openssl3 version | awk '{print $$2}'); \
+	else \
+		@current_version=$$(openssl version | awk '{print $$2}'); \
+	fi; \
+	echo "Installed OpenSSL version: $$current_version"; \
+	compare_result=`printf "%s\n%s" "$(OPENSSL_VERSION_3)" "$$current_version" | sort -V | head -n 1`; \
+	if [ "$$compare_result" != "$(OPENSSL_VERSION_3)" ]; then \
+		echo "Error: Installed OpenSSL version must be $(OPENSSL_VERSION_3) or higher, Please upgrade OpenSSL."; \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi
 
 libhttpserver/libhttpserver/build/src/.libs/libhttpserver.a: libmicrohttpd/libmicrohttpd/src/microhttpd/.libs/libmicrohttpd.a re2/re2/obj/libre2.a
 	cd libhttpserver && rm -rf libhttpserver-*/ || true
@@ -120,7 +143,7 @@ coredumper/coredumper/src/libcoredumper.a:
 	cd coredumper/coredumper && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE}
 coredumper: coredumper/coredumper/src/libcoredumper.a
 
-curl/curl/lib/.libs/libcurl.a: libssl/openssl/libssl.a
+curl/curl/lib/.libs/libcurl.a:
 	cd curl && rm -rf curl-*/ || true
 	cd curl && tar -zxf curl-*.tar.gz
 #	cd curl/curl && ./configure --disable-debug --disable-ftp --disable-ldap --disable-ldaps --disable-rtsp --disable-proxy --disable-dict --disable-telnet --disable-tftp --disable-pop3 --disable-imap --disable-smb --disable-smtp --disable-gopher --disable-manual --disable-ipv6 --disable-sspi --disable-crypto-auth --disable-ntlm-wb --disable-tls-srp --without-nghttp2 --without-libidn2 --without-libssh2 --without-brotli --with-ssl=$(shell pwd)/../../libssl/openssl/ && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE}
@@ -128,8 +151,8 @@ curl/curl/lib/.libs/libcurl.a: libssl/openssl/libssl.a
 ifeq ($(SYS_KERN),Darwin)
 	cd curl/curl && patch configure < ../configure.patch
 endif
-	cd curl/curl && ./configure --disable-debug --disable-ftp --disable-ldap --disable-ldaps --disable-rtsp --disable-proxy --disable-dict --disable-telnet --disable-tftp --disable-pop3 --disable-imap --disable-smb --disable-smtp --disable-gopher --disable-manual --disable-ipv6 --disable-sspi --disable-ntlm-wb --disable-tls-srp --without-nghttp2 --without-libidn2 --without-libssh2 --without-brotli --without-librtmp --without-libpsl --without-zstd --with-ssl=$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl/ --enable-shared=yes
-	cd curl/curl && LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl CFLAGS=-fPIC CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE}
+	cd curl/curl && CPPFLAGS="-I$(SSL_IDIR)" LDFLAGS="$(LIB_SSL_PATH) $(LIB_CRYPTO_PATH)" ./configure --disable-debug --disable-ftp --disable-ldap --disable-ldaps --disable-rtsp --disable-proxy --disable-dict --disable-telnet --disable-tftp --disable-pop3 --disable-imap --disable-smb --disable-smtp --disable-gopher --disable-manual --disable-ipv6 --disable-sspi --disable-ntlm-wb --disable-tls-srp --without-nghttp2 --without-libidn2 --without-libssh2 --without-brotli --without-librtmp --without-libpsl --without-zstd --with-ssl --enable-shared=yes
+	cd curl/curl && CFLAGS=-fPIC CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE}
 
 curl: curl/curl/lib/.libs/libcurl.a
 
@@ -194,11 +217,11 @@ jemalloc/jemalloc/lib/libjemalloc.a:
 jemalloc: jemalloc/jemalloc/lib/libjemalloc.a
 
 
-mariadb-client-library/mariadb_client/libmariadb/libmariadbclient.a: libssl/openssl/libssl.a
+mariadb-client-library/mariadb_client/libmariadb/libmariadbclient.a:
 	cd mariadb-client-library && rm -rf mariadb-connector-c-*/ || true
 	cd mariadb-client-library && tar -zxf mariadb-connector-c-3.3.8-src.tar.gz
 	cd mariadb-client-library/mariadb_client && patch -p0 < ../plugin_auth_CMakeLists.txt.patch
-	cd mariadb-client-library/mariadb_client && cmake . -Wno-dev -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo -DOPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl/ -DOPENSSL_LIBRARIES=$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl/ -DICONV_LIBRARIES=$(brew --prefix libiconv)/lib -DICONV_INCLUDE=$(brew --prefix libiconv)/include .
+	cd mariadb-client-library/mariadb_client && cmake . -Wno-dev -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo -DOPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=$(SSL_IDIR) -DOPENSSL_LIBRARIES=$(SSL_LDIR) -DICONV_LIBRARIES=$(brew --prefix libiconv)/lib -DICONV_INCLUDE=$(brew --prefix libiconv)/include .
 ifeq ($(PROXYDEBUG),1)
 	cd mariadb-client-library/mariadb_client && patch -p0 < ../ma_context.h.patch
 else ifeq ($(USEVALGRIND),1)
@@ -305,30 +328,30 @@ pcre/pcre/.libs/libpcre.a:
 
 pcre: pcre/pcre/.libs/libpcre.a
 
-postgresql/postgresql/src/interfaces/libpq/libpq.a : libssl/openssl/libssl.a
+postgresql/postgresql/src/interfaces/libpq/libpq.a :
 	cd postgresql && rm -rf postgresql-*/ || true
 	cd postgresql && tar -zxf postgresql-*.tar.gz
 	cd postgresql/postgresql && patch -p0 < ../get_result_from_pgconn.patch
 	cd postgresql/postgresql && patch -p0 < ../handle_row_data.patch
 	#cd postgresql/postgresql && LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl" ./configure --with-ssl=openssl --with-includes="$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl/include/" --with-libraries="$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl/" --without-readline --enable-debug  CFLAGS="-ggdb -O0 -fno-omit-frame-pointer" CPPFLAGS="-g -O0"
-	cd postgresql/postgresql && LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl" ./configure --with-ssl=openssl --with-includes="$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl/include/" --with-libraries="$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl/" --without-readline
+	cd postgresql/postgresql && LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$(SSL_LDIR)" ./configure --with-ssl=openssl --with-includes="$(SSL_IDIR)" --with-libraries="$(SSL_LDIR)" --without-readline
 	cd postgresql/postgresql/src/interfaces/libpq && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE} MAKELEVEL=0
 	#cd postgresql/postgresql && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE} -f src/interfaces/libpq/Makefile all
 
 postgresql: postgresql/postgresql/src/interfaces/libpq/libpq.a
 
-libusual/libusual/.libs/libusual.a: libssl/openssl/libssl.a
+libusual/libusual/.libs/libusual.a:
 	cd libusual && rm -rf libusual-*/ || true
 	cd libusual && tar -zxf libusual-*.tar.gz
 	cd libusual/libusual && ./autogen.sh
-	cd libusual/libusual && ./configure --with-openssl="$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl/" --disable-shared
+	cd libusual/libusual &&  CPPFLAGS="-I$(SSL_IDIR)" LDFLAGS="$(LIB_SSL_PATH) $(LIB_CRYPTO_PATH)" ./configure --with-openssl="$(SSL_LDIR)" --disable-shared
 	cd libusual/libusual && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE}
 
 libusual: libusual/libusual/.libs/libusual.a
 
-libscram/lib/libscram.a: libssl/openssl/libssl.a postgresql/postgresql/src/interfaces/libpq/libpq.a 
+libscram/lib/libscram.a:postgresql/postgresql/src/interfaces/libpq/libpq.a 
 	cd libscram && rm -rf lib/* || true
-	cd libscram && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE} LIBOPENSSL_DIR="$(shell pwd)/libssl/openssl" POSTGRESQL_DIR="$(shell pwd)/postgresql/postgresql/"
+	cd libscram && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE} LIBOPENSSL_DIR="$(SSL_IDIR)" POSTGRESQL_DIR="$(shell pwd)/postgresql/postgresql/"
 
 libscram: libscram/lib/libscram.a
 
@@ -356,7 +379,6 @@ cleanall:
 	cd libmicrohttpd && rm -rf libmicrohttpd-*/ || true
 	cd curl && rm -rf curl-*/ || true
 	cd libev && rm -rf libev-*/ || true
-	cd libssl && rm -rf openssl-openssl-*/ openssl-3*/ || true
 	cd libconfig && rm -rf libconfig-*/ || true
 	cd prometheus-cpp && rm -rf prometheus-cpp-*/ || true
 	cd cityhash && rm -rf cityhash-*/ || true
diff --git a/deps/libssl/README.md b/deps/libssl/README.md
index eab127418..5443316e1 100644
--- a/deps/libssl/README.md
+++ b/deps/libssl/README.md
@@ -16,3 +16,5 @@ Do not upgrade without extensive testing.
 See note about `struct bio_st` in MySQL_Data_Stream.cpp .
 
 Run `verify-bio_st-match.sh` to confirm compatibility.
+
+In ProxySQL 3.0.1, OpenSSL was changed from being statically linked to dynamically linked.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/deps/libssl/a_time.c-multiplication-overflow.patch b/deps/libssl/a_time.c-multiplication-overflow.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index 9dbae8092..000000000
--- a/deps/libssl/a_time.c-multiplication-overflow.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@
-             }
-             o++;
-         }
--        if (offset && !OPENSSL_gmtime_adj(&tmp, 0, offset * offsign))
-+        if (offset && !OPENSSL_gmtime_adj(&tmp, 0, (long) offset * offsign))
-             goto err;
-     } else {
-         /* not Z, or not +/- in non-strict mode */
diff --git a/deps/libssl/curve448.c-multiplication-overflow.patch b/deps/libssl/curve448.c-multiplication-overflow.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index 732b8e1b5..000000000
--- a/deps/libssl/curve448.c-multiplication-overflow.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-@@ -588,7 +588,7 @@
-             assert(position >= 0);
-             if (odd & (1 << (table_bits + 1)))
-                 delta -= (1 << (table_bits + 1));
--            current -= delta * (1 << pos);
-+            current -= (long) delta * (1 << pos);
-             control[position].power = pos + 16 * (w - 1);
-             control[position].addend = delta;
-             position--;
diff --git a/deps/libssl/openssl b/deps/libssl/openssl
deleted file mode 120000
index 4ca124e1d..000000000
--- a/deps/libssl/openssl
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-openssl-3.3.1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/deps/libssl/openssl-3.3.1.tar.gz b/deps/libssl/openssl-3.3.1.tar.gz
deleted file mode 100644
index 832a70224..000000000
Binary files a/deps/libssl/openssl-3.3.1.tar.gz and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/deps/libssl/verify-bio_st-match.sh b/deps/libssl/verify-bio_st-match.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 137f6cfee..000000000
--- a/deps/libssl/verify-bio_st-match.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-# make sure we have correct cwd
-pushd $(dirname $0) &>/dev/null
-trap 'popd &>/dev/null' EXIT
-
-echo "checking for 'deps/libssl/openssl/crypto/bio/bio_local.h'"
-if [[ ! -e './openssl/crypto/bio/bio_local.h' ]]; then
-	echo "extracting 'openssl-*.tar.gz'"
-	tar -zxf openssl-*.tar.gz
-fi
-
-echo "extracting 'struct bio_st' from 'deps/libssl/openssl/crypto/bio/bio_local.h'"
-DEPBIOST=$(cd ../../; cat ./deps/libssl/openssl/crypto/bio/bio_local.h | sed -n '/^struct bio_st {/,/}/p')
-
-echo "extracting 'struct bio_st' from 'lib/mysql_data_stream.cpp'"
-LIBBIOST=$(cd ../../; cat ./lib/mysql_data_stream.cpp | sed '/^\/\*/,/*\//d' | sed -n '/^struct bio_st {/,/}/p')
-
-echo -n "Comparing ... "
-if [[ "$LIBBIOST" =~ "$DEPBIOST" ]]; then
-	echo "PASS - bio_st is a match!"
-else
-	echo "FAIL - bio_st does not match!"
-	echo
-	echo ">>> lib/mysql_data_stream.cpp"
-	echo "$LIBBIOST"
-	echo "==="
-	echo "$DEPBIOST"
-	echo "<<< deps/libssl/openssl/crypto/bio/bio_local.h"
-	exit 1
-fi
diff --git a/lib/Makefile b/lib/Makefile
index 504b766ee..0c2d605c3 100644
--- a/lib/Makefile
+++ b/lib/Makefile
@@ -47,8 +47,20 @@ COREDUMPER_IDIR := $(COREDUMPER_DIR)/include
 CURL_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/curl/curl
 CURL_IDIR := $(CURL_DIR)/include
 
-SSL_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/
-SSL_IDIR := $(SSL_DIR)/include
+DISTRO := $(shell lsb_release -si 2>/dev/null || grep '^ID=' /etc/os-release | cut -d= -f2 | tr -d '"')
+
+ifeq ($(DISTRO), almalinux)
+	ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl3/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+else
+	ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+endif
+
+ifneq ($(ssl_header_path),)
+	SSL_IDIR := $(shell dirname $(shell dirname $(ssl_header_path)))
+    $(info Found yash OpenSSL headers at $(SSL_IDIR))
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL headers not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
 
 EV_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/libev/libev/
 EV_IDIR := $(EV_DIR)
diff --git a/lib/PgSQL_Data_Stream.cpp b/lib/PgSQL_Data_Stream.cpp
index 740320fcc..9967878a4 100644
--- a/lib/PgSQL_Data_Stream.cpp
+++ b/lib/PgSQL_Data_Stream.cpp
@@ -11,61 +11,6 @@
 
 #include "openssl/x509v3.h"
 
-/*
-
-in libssl 1.1.0
-struct bio_st {
-	const BIO_METHOD *method;
-	long (*callback) (struct bio_st *, int, const char *, int, long, long);
-	char *cb_arg;
-	int init;
-	int shutdown;
-	int flags;
-	int retry_reason;
-	int num;
-	void *ptr;
-	struct bio_st *next_bio;
-	struct bio_st *prev_bio;
-	int references;
-	uint64_t num_read;
-	uint64_t num_write;
-	CRYPTO_EX_DATA ex_data;
-	CRYPTO_RWLOCK *lock;
-};
-*/
-
-typedef int CRYPTO_REF_COUNT;
-
-/**
- * @brief This is the 'bio_st' struct definition from libssl 3.0.0. NOTE: This is an internal struct from
- *   OpenSSL library, currently it's used for performing checks on the reads/writes performed on the BIO objects.
- *   It's extremely important to keep this struct up to date with each OpenSSL dependency update.
- */
-struct bio_st {
-	OSSL_LIB_CTX* libctx;
-	const BIO_METHOD* method;
-	/* bio, mode, argp, argi, argl, ret */
-#ifndef OPENSSL_NO_DEPRECATED_3_0
-	BIO_callback_fn callback;
-#endif
-	BIO_callback_fn_ex callback_ex;
-	char* cb_arg;               /* first argument for the callback */
-	int init;
-	int shutdown;
-	int flags;                  /* extra storage */
-	int retry_reason;
-	int num;
-	void* ptr;
-	struct bio_st* next_bio;    /* used by filter BIOs */
-	struct bio_st* prev_bio;    /* used by filter BIOs */
-	CRYPTO_REF_COUNT references;
-	uint64_t num_read;
-	uint64_t num_write;
-	CRYPTO_EX_DATA ex_data;
-	CRYPTO_RWLOCK* lock;
-};
-
-
 #define RESULTSET_BUFLEN_DS_16K 16000
 #define RESULTSET_BUFLEN_DS_1M 1000*1024
 
@@ -602,8 +547,8 @@ int PgSQL_Data_Stream::read_from_net() {
 		//ssize_t n = read(fd, buf, sizeof(buf));
 		int n = recv(fd, buf, sizeof(buf), 0);
 		//proxy_info("SSL recv of %d bytes\n", n);
-		proxy_debug(PROXY_DEBUG_NET, 7, "Session=%p: recv() read %d bytes. num_write: %lu ,  num_read: %lu\n", sess, n, rbio_ssl->num_write, rbio_ssl->num_read);
-		if (n > 0 || rbio_ssl->num_write > rbio_ssl->num_read) {
+		proxy_debug(PROXY_DEBUG_NET, 7, "Session=%p: recv() read %d bytes. num_write: %lu ,  num_read: %lu\n", sess, n, BIO_number_written(rbio_ssl), BIO_number_read(rbio_ssl));
+		if (n > 0 || BIO_number_written(rbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(rbio_ssl)) {
 			//on_read_cb(buf, (size_t)n);
 
 			char buf2[MY_SSL_BUFFER];
@@ -728,7 +673,7 @@ int PgSQL_Data_Stream::write_to_net() {
 		if (encrypted == false) {
 			return 0;
 		}
-		if (ssl_write_len == 0 && wbio_ssl->num_write == wbio_ssl->num_read) {
+		if (ssl_write_len == 0 && BIO_number_written(wbio_ssl) == BIO_number_read(wbio_ssl)) {
 			return 0;
 		}
 	}
@@ -738,7 +683,7 @@ int PgSQL_Data_Stream::write_to_net() {
 		bytes_io = SSL_write(ssl, queue_r_ptr(queueOUT), s);
 		//proxy_info("Used SSL_write to write %d bytes\n", bytes_io);
 		proxy_debug(PROXY_DEBUG_NET, 7, "Session=%p, Datastream=%p: SSL_write() wrote %d bytes . queueOUT before: %u\n", sess, this, bytes_io, queue_data(queueOUT));
-		if (ssl_write_len || wbio_ssl->num_write > wbio_ssl->num_read) {
+		if (ssl_write_len || BIO_number_written(wbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(wbio_ssl)) {
 			//proxy_info("ssl_write_len = %d , num_write = %d , num_read = %d\n", ssl_write_len , wbio_ssl->num_write , wbio_ssl->num_read);
 			char buf[MY_SSL_BUFFER];
 			do {
@@ -861,7 +806,7 @@ void PgSQL_Data_Stream::set_pollout() {
 			_pollfd->events |= POLLOUT;
 		}
 		if (encrypted) {
-			if (ssl_write_len || wbio_ssl->num_write > wbio_ssl->num_read) {
+			if (ssl_write_len || BIO_number_written(wbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(wbio_ssl)) {
 				_pollfd->events |= POLLOUT;
 			}
 			else {
@@ -966,7 +911,7 @@ int PgSQL_Data_Stream::write_to_net_poll() {
 	}
 	if (call_write_to_net == false) {
 		if (encrypted) {
-			if (ssl_write_len || wbio_ssl->num_write > wbio_ssl->num_read) {
+			if (ssl_write_len || BIO_number_written(wbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(wbio_ssl)) {
 				call_write_to_net = true;
 			}
 		}
@@ -1362,7 +1307,7 @@ void PgSQL_Data_Stream::destroy_MySQL_Connection_From_Pool(bool sq) {
 }
 
 bool PgSQL_Data_Stream::data_in_rbio() {
-	if (rbio_ssl->num_write > rbio_ssl->num_read) {
+	if (BIO_number_written(rbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(rbio_ssl)) {
 		return true;
 	}
 	return false;
diff --git a/lib/mysql_data_stream.cpp b/lib/mysql_data_stream.cpp
index 594bc617f..986541f77 100644
--- a/lib/mysql_data_stream.cpp
+++ b/lib/mysql_data_stream.cpp
@@ -14,93 +14,6 @@ using json = nlohmann::json;
 
 #include "openssl/x509v3.h"
 
-
-/**
- * @brief This is the 'bio_st' struct definition from libssl. NOTE: This is an internal struct from
- *   OpenSSL library, currently it's used for performing checks on the reads/writes performed on the BIO objects.
- *   It's extremely important to keep this struct up to date with each OpenSSL dependency update.
- */
-typedef int CRYPTO_REF_COUNT;
-
-#if (OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER & 0xFFFF0000) == 0x10100000
-#pragma message "libssl 1.1.x detected"
-struct bio_st {
-    const BIO_METHOD *method;
-    /* bio, mode, argp, argi, argl, ret */
-    BIO_callback_fn callback;
-    BIO_callback_fn_ex callback_ex;
-    char *cb_arg;               /* first argument for the callback */
-    int init;
-    int shutdown;
-    int flags;                  /* extra storage */
-    int retry_reason;
-    int num;
-    void *ptr;
-    struct bio_st *next_bio;    /* used by filter BIOs */
-    struct bio_st *prev_bio;    /* used by filter BIOs */
-    CRYPTO_REF_COUNT references;
-    uint64_t num_read;
-    uint64_t num_write;
-    CRYPTO_EX_DATA ex_data;
-    CRYPTO_RWLOCK *lock;
-};
-
-#elif (OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER & 0xFFFF0000) == 0x30000000 || (OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER & 0xFFFF0000) == 0x30100000
-#pragma message "libssl 3.0.x / 3.1.x detected"
-struct bio_st {
-    OSSL_LIB_CTX *libctx;
-    const BIO_METHOD *method;
-    /* bio, mode, argp, argi, argl, ret */
-#ifndef OPENSSL_NO_DEPRECATED_3_0
-    BIO_callback_fn callback;
-#endif
-    BIO_callback_fn_ex callback_ex;
-    char *cb_arg;               /* first argument for the callback */
-    int init;
-    int shutdown;
-    int flags;                  /* extra storage */
-    int retry_reason;
-    int num;
-    void *ptr;
-    struct bio_st *next_bio;    /* used by filter BIOs */
-    struct bio_st *prev_bio;    /* used by filter BIOs */
-    CRYPTO_REF_COUNT references;
-    uint64_t num_read;
-    uint64_t num_write;
-    CRYPTO_EX_DATA ex_data;
-    CRYPTO_RWLOCK *lock;
-};
-
-#elif (OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER & 0xFFFF0000) == 0x30200000 || (OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER & 0xFFFF0000) == 0x30300000
-#pragma message "libssl 3.2.x / 3.3.x detected"
-struct bio_st {
-    OSSL_LIB_CTX *libctx;
-    const BIO_METHOD *method;
-    /* bio, mode, argp, argi, argl, ret */
-#ifndef OPENSSL_NO_DEPRECATED_3_0
-    BIO_callback_fn callback;
-#endif
-    BIO_callback_fn_ex callback_ex;
-    char *cb_arg;               /* first argument for the callback */
-    int init;
-    int shutdown;
-    int flags;                  /* extra storage */
-    int retry_reason;
-    int num;
-    void *ptr;
-    struct bio_st *next_bio;    /* used by filter BIOs */
-    struct bio_st *prev_bio;    /* used by filter BIOs */
-    CRYPTO_REF_COUNT references;
-    uint64_t num_read;
-    uint64_t num_write;
-    CRYPTO_EX_DATA ex_data;
-};
-
-#else
-#error "libssl version not supported: OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER = " ##OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER
-#endif
-
-
 #define RESULTSET_BUFLEN_DS_16K 16000
 #define RESULTSET_BUFLEN_DS_1M 1000*1024
 
@@ -606,9 +519,9 @@ int MySQL_Data_Stream::read_from_net() {
 		}
 		char buf[MY_SSL_BUFFER];
 		int ssl_recv_bytes = recv(fd, buf, sizeof(buf), 0);
-		proxy_debug(PROXY_DEBUG_NET, 7, "Session=%p: recv() read %d bytes. num_write: %lu ,  num_read: %lu\n", sess, ssl_recv_bytes,  rbio_ssl->num_write , rbio_ssl->num_read);
+		proxy_debug(PROXY_DEBUG_NET, 7, "Session=%p: recv() read %d bytes. num_write: %lu ,  num_read: %lu\n", sess, ssl_recv_bytes,  BIO_number_written(rbio_ssl) , BIO_number_read(rbio_ssl));
 
-		if (ssl_recv_bytes > 0 || rbio_ssl->num_write > rbio_ssl->num_read) {
+		if (ssl_recv_bytes > 0 || BIO_number_written(rbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(rbio_ssl)) {
 			char buf2[MY_SSL_BUFFER];
 			int n2;
 			enum sslstatus status;
@@ -731,7 +644,7 @@ int MySQL_Data_Stream::write_to_net() {
 		if (encrypted == false) {
 			return 0;
 		}
-		if (ssl_write_len == 0 && wbio_ssl->num_write == wbio_ssl->num_read) {
+		if (ssl_write_len == 0 && BIO_number_written(wbio_ssl) == BIO_number_read(wbio_ssl)) {
 			return 0;
 		}
 	}
@@ -741,7 +654,7 @@ int MySQL_Data_Stream::write_to_net() {
 		bytes_io = SSL_write (ssl, queue_r_ptr(queueOUT), s);
 		//proxy_info("Used SSL_write to write %d bytes\n", bytes_io);
 		proxy_debug(PROXY_DEBUG_NET, 7, "Session=%p, Datastream=%p: SSL_write() wrote %d bytes . queueOUT before: %u\n", sess, this, bytes_io, queue_data(queueOUT));
-		if (ssl_write_len || wbio_ssl->num_write > wbio_ssl->num_read) {
+		if (ssl_write_len || BIO_number_written(wbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(wbio_ssl)) {
 			//proxy_info("ssl_write_len = %d , num_write = %d , num_read = %d\n", ssl_write_len , wbio_ssl->num_write , wbio_ssl->num_read);
 			char buf[MY_SSL_BUFFER];
 			do {
@@ -857,7 +770,7 @@ void MySQL_Data_Stream::set_pollout() {
 			_pollfd->events |= POLLOUT;
 		}
 		if (encrypted) {
-			if (ssl_write_len || wbio_ssl->num_write > wbio_ssl->num_read) {
+			if (ssl_write_len || BIO_number_written(wbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(wbio_ssl)) {
 				_pollfd->events |= POLLOUT;
 			} else {
 				if (!SSL_is_init_finished(ssl)) {
@@ -955,7 +868,7 @@ int MySQL_Data_Stream::write_to_net_poll() {
 	}
 	if (call_write_to_net == false) {
 		if (encrypted) {
-			if (ssl_write_len || wbio_ssl->num_write > wbio_ssl->num_read) {
+			if (ssl_write_len || BIO_number_written(wbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(wbio_ssl)) {
 				call_write_to_net = true;
 			}
 		}
@@ -1629,7 +1542,7 @@ void MySQL_Data_Stream::destroy_MySQL_Connection_From_Pool(bool sq) {
 }
 
 bool MySQL_Data_Stream::data_in_rbio() {
-	if (rbio_ssl->num_write > rbio_ssl->num_read) {
+	if (BIO_number_written(rbio_ssl) > BIO_number_read(rbio_ssl)) {
 		return true;
 	}
 	return false;
diff --git a/src/Makefile b/src/Makefile
index ee7b9f50f..4da9e31e6 100644
--- a/src/Makefile
+++ b/src/Makefile
@@ -81,9 +81,28 @@ CURL_PATH := $(DEPS_PATH)/curl/curl
 CURL_IDIR := $(CURL_PATH)/include
 CURL_LDIR := $(CURL_PATH)/lib/.libs
 
-SSL_PATH := $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/
-SSL_IDIR := $(SSL_PATH)/include
-SSL_LDIR := $(SSL_PATH)
+DISTRO := $(shell lsb_release -si 2>/dev/null || grep '^ID=' /etc/os-release | cut -d= -f2 | tr -d '"')
+
+ifeq ($(DISTRO), almalinux)
+	ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl3/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+	LIB_SSL_PATH := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libssl.so.3" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+	LIB_CRYPTO_PATH := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libcrypto.so.3" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+    SSL_LDIR := $(dir $(LIB_SSL_PATH))
+else
+	ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+	LIB_SSL_PATH := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libssl.so" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+	LIB_CRYPTO_PATH := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libcrypto.so" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+    SSL_LDIR := $(dir $(LIB_SSL_PATH))
+endif
+
+ifneq ($(ssl_header_path),)
+	SSL_IDIR := $(shell dirname $(shell dirname $(ssl_header_path)))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL headers at $(SSL_IDIR))
+    $(info OpenSSL lib full path is $(LIB_SSL_PATH))
+    $(info OpenSSL libs directory is $(SSL_LDIR))	
+else
+	$(error Warning: OpenSSL headers not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
 
 EV_PATH := $(DEPS_PATH)/libev/libev/
 EV_IDIR := $(EV_PATH)
@@ -174,7 +193,7 @@ endif
 MYCXXFLAGS += $(IDIRS) $(OPTZ) $(DEBUG) $(PSQLCH) -DGITVERSION=\"$(GIT_VERSION)\" $(NOJEM) $(WGCOV) $(WASAN)
 
 
-STATICMYLIBS := -Wl,-Bstatic -lconfig -lproxysql -ldaemon -lconfig++ -lre2 -lpcrecpp -lpcre -lmariadbclient -lhttpserver -lmicrohttpd -linjection -lcurl -lssl -lcrypto -lev -lscram -lusual -lpq -lpgcommon -lpgport
+STATICMYLIBS := -Wl,-Bstatic -lconfig -lproxysql -ldaemon -lconfig++ -lre2 -lpcrecpp -lpcre -lmariadbclient -lhttpserver -lmicrohttpd -linjection -lcurl -lev -lscram -lusual -lpq -lpgcommon -lpgport
 ifneq ($(NOJEMALLOC),1)
 	STATICMYLIBS += -ljemalloc
 endif
@@ -182,7 +201,12 @@ ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Linux)
 	STATICMYLIBS += -lcoredumper
 endif
 
-MYLIBS := -Wl,--export-dynamic $(STATICMYLIBS) -Wl,-Bdynamic -lgnutls -lpthread -lm -lz -lrt -lprometheus-cpp-pull -lprometheus-cpp-core -luuid $(EXTRALINK)
+ifeq ($(DISTRO), almalinux)
+	MYLIBS := -Wl,--export-dynamic $(STATICMYLIBS) -Wl,-Bdynamic -lgnutls -lpthread $(LIB_SSL_PATH) $(LIB_CRYPTO_PATH) -lm -lz -lrt -lprometheus-cpp-pull -lprometheus-cpp-core -luuid $(EXTRALINK)
+else
+	MYLIBS := -Wl,--export-dynamic $(STATICMYLIBS) -Wl,-Bdynamic -lgnutls -lpthread -lssl -lcrypto -lm -lz -lrt -lprometheus-cpp-pull -lprometheus-cpp-core -luuid $(EXTRALINK)
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Darwin)
 	MYLIBS :=-lre2 -lmariadbclient -lpq -lpthread -lm -lz -liconv -lgnutls -lprometheus-cpp-pull -lprometheus-cpp-core -luuid
 else
@@ -215,8 +239,6 @@ ifeq ($(UNAME_S),Darwin)
 	LIBPROXYSQLAR += $(LIBINJECTION_LDIR)/libinjection.a
 	LIBPROXYSQLAR += $(EV_LDIR)/libev.a
 endif
-LIBPROXYSQLAR += $(SSL_LDIR)/libssl.a
-LIBPROXYSQLAR += $(SSL_LDIR)/libcrypto.a
 LIBPROXYSQLAR += $(CITYHASH_LDIR)/libcityhash.a
 
 ODIR := obj
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 4a60035fe..f195bea15 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -338,6 +338,17 @@ static void init_locks(void) {
 }
 
 
+static bool check_openssl_version() {
+	unsigned long version = OpenSSL_version_num();
+	const unsigned long OPENSSL_3_0_0 = 0x30000000L;
+
+	proxy_info("Using OpenSSL version: %s\n", OpenSSL_version(OPENSSL_VERSION));
+	if (version < OPENSSL_3_0_0) {
+		proxy_error("%s\n", "ProxySQL server required openssl version 3.0.0 or above");
+		return false;
+	}
+	return true;
+}
 
 
 void ProxySQL_Main_init_SSL_module() {
@@ -346,7 +357,6 @@ void ProxySQL_Main_init_SSL_module() {
 		proxy_error("%s\n", SSL_alert_desc_string_long(rc));
 	}
 	init_locks();
-	proxy_info("Using OpenSSL version: %s\n", OpenSSL_version(OPENSSL_VERSION));
 	SSL_METHOD *ssl_method;
 	OpenSSL_add_all_algorithms();
 	SSL_load_error_strings();
@@ -2289,6 +2299,9 @@ int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) {
 		if (rc) { exit(EXIT_FAILURE); }
 	}
 
+	if (check_openssl_version() == false) {
+		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+	}
 
 #ifdef DEBUG
 	{
diff --git a/test/Makefile b/test/Makefile
index 9842ffd59..7b1ece3d9 100644
--- a/test/Makefile
+++ b/test/Makefile
@@ -43,8 +43,14 @@ MICROHTTPD_IDIR := $(MICROHTTPD_PATH)/src/include
 CURL_PATH := $(DEPS_PATH)/curl/curl
 CURL_IDIR := -I$(CURL_PATH)/include
 
-SSL_PATH := $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/
-SSL_IDIR := $(SSL_PATH)/include
+ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+
+ifneq ($(ssl_header_path),)
+    SSL_IDIR := $(shell dirname $(ssl_header_path))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL headers at $(SSL_IDIR))
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL headers not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
 
 EV_PATH := $(DEPS_PATH)/libev/libev/
 EV_IDIR := $(EV_PATH)
diff --git a/test/deps/Makefile b/test/deps/Makefile
index 90c2bcb34..0eabf53c1 100644
--- a/test/deps/Makefile
+++ b/test/deps/Makefile
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ mariadb-connector-c/mariadb-connector-c/libmariadb/libmariadbclient.a:
 	cd mariadb-connector-c && tar -zxf mariadb-connector-c-*.tar.gz
 	cd mariadb-connector-c/mariadb-connector-c && patch -p0 < ../CMakeLists.txt.patch
 	cd mariadb-connector-c/mariadb-connector-c && patch -p0 < ../ConnectorName.cmake.patch
-	cd mariadb-connector-c/mariadb-connector-c && cmake . -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo -DOPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=$(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/
+	cd mariadb-connector-c/mariadb-connector-c && cmake . -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo
 	cd mariadb-connector-c/mariadb-connector-c && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE} mariadbclient
 
 mariadb_client: mariadb-connector-c/mariadb-connector-c/libmariadb/libmariadbclient.a
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ mysql-connector-c/mysql-connector-c/libmysql/libmysqlclient.a: mysql-connector-c
 	cd mysql-connector-c && rm -rf mysql-*/ || true
 	cd mysql-connector-c && tar -zxf mysql-boost-5.7.*.tar.gz
 	cd mysql-connector-c && ln -fsT $$(ls -1d mysql-5.7.*/) mysql-connector-c
-	cd mysql-connector-c/mysql-connector-c && cmake . -DWITH_BOOST=./boost -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELWITHDEBINFO="-O0 -ggdb -DNDEBUG -fPIC" -DOPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=$(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl
+	cd mysql-connector-c/mysql-connector-c && cmake . -DWITH_BOOST=./boost -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELWITHDEBINFO="-O0 -ggdb -DNDEBUG -fPIC"
 	cd mysql-connector-c/mysql-connector-c && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE} mysqlclient mysql
 	cd mysql-connector-c/mysql-connector-c && cp archive_output_directory/libmysqlclient.a libmysql/
 
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ mysql-connector-c-8.4.0/mysql-connector-c/libmysql/libmysqlclient.a: mysql-conne
 	cd mysql-connector-c-8.4.0 && ln -fsT $$(ls -1d mysql-8.4.*/) mysql-connector-c
 	cd mysql-connector-c-8.4.0/mysql-connector-c && cmake . -DFORCE_INSOURCE_BUILD=1 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo \
 		-DWITHOUT_SERVER=ON -DDOWNLOAD_BOOST=1 -DWITH_BOOST=./mysql-server/downloads/ -DWITH_UNIT_TESTS=OFF \
-		-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELWITHDEBINFO="-O0 -ggdb -DNDEBUG -fPIC" -DOPENSSL_ROOT_DIR=$(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl
+		-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELWITHDEBINFO="-O0 -ggdb -DNDEBUG -fPIC"
 	cd mysql-connector-c-8.4.0/mysql-connector-c && CC=${CC} CXX=${CXX} ${MAKE}
 	cd mysql-connector-c-8.4.0/mysql-connector-c && cp archive_output_directory/libmysqlclient.a libmysql/
 
diff --git a/test/tap/tap/Makefile b/test/tap/tap/Makefile
index aa7fb3486..a39395352 100644
--- a/test/tap/tap/Makefile
+++ b/test/tap/tap/Makefile
@@ -92,27 +92,26 @@ default: all
 
 .PHONY: all
 all: libtap_mariadb.a libtap_mysql57.a libtap_mysql8.a \
-	libtap.so libssl.so.3 libcrypto.so.3 libcpp_dotenv.so libre2.so
+	libtap.so libcpp_dotenv.so libre2.so
 
 debug: OPT := $(STDCPP) -O0 -DDEBUG -ggdb -Wl,--no-as-needed $(WASAN)
 debug: libtap_mariadb.a libtap_mysql57.a libtap_mysql8.a libtap.so
 
-
 ### helper targets
 
-command_line.o: command_line.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so libssl.so.3 libcrypto.so.3 libcpp_dotenv.so
+command_line.o: command_line.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so -lssl -lcrypto libcpp_dotenv.so
 	$(CXX) -fPIC -c command_line.cpp $(IDIRS) $(OPT)
 
-utils_mariadb.o: utils.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so libssl.so.3 libcrypto.so.3 libcpp_dotenv.so
+utils_mariadb.o: utils.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so -lssl -lcrypto libcpp_dotenv.so
 	$(CXX) -fPIC -c utils.cpp $(IDIRS) -I$(MARIADB_IDIR) $(OPT) -o $@
 
-utils_mysql57.o: utils.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so libssl.so.3 libcrypto.so.3 libcpp_dotenv.so
+utils_mysql57.o: utils.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so -lssl -lcrypto libcpp_dotenv.so
 	$(CXX) -DDISABLE_WARNING_COUNT_LOGGING -fPIC -c utils.cpp $(IDIRS) -I$(TEST_MYSQL_IDIR) -I$(TEST_MYSQL_EDIR) $(OPT) -o $@
 
-utils_mysql8.o: utils.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so libssl.so.3 libcrypto.so.3 libcpp_dotenv.so
+utils_mysql8.o: utils.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so -lssl -lcrypto libcpp_dotenv.so
 	$(CXX) -DDISABLE_WARNING_COUNT_LOGGING -fPIC -c utils.cpp $(IDIRS) -I$(TEST_MYSQL8_IDIR) -I$(TEST_MYSQL_EDIR) $(OPT) -o $@
 
-tap.o: tap.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so libssl.so.3 libcrypto.so.3 libcpp_dotenv.so
+tap.o: tap.cpp cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a libcurl.so -lssl -lcrypto libcpp_dotenv.so
 	$(CXX) -fPIC -c tap.cpp $(IDIRS) $(OPT)
 
 libtap_mariadb.a: tap.o command_line.o utils_mariadb.o cpp-dotenv/static/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.a
@@ -130,12 +129,6 @@ libtap.so: libtap_mariadb.a cpp-dotenv/dynamic/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.so libre
 
 ### tap deps targets
 
-libssl.so.3: $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/libssl.so.3
-	cp -a $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/libssl.so* .
-
-libcrypto.so.3: $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/libcrypto.so.3
-	cp -a $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/libcrypto.so* .
-
 libcpp_dotenv.so: cpp-dotenv/dynamic/cpp-dotenv/libcpp_dotenv.so
 	find cpp-dotenv/dynamic/cpp-dotenv/ -name '*.so' -exec cp -a {} . \;
 
diff --git a/test/tap/tests/Makefile b/test/tap/tests/Makefile
index 76fb0b23e..488659cc8 100644
--- a/test/tap/tests/Makefile
+++ b/test/tap/tests/Makefile
@@ -62,9 +62,23 @@ LIBINJECTION_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/libinjection/libinjection
 LIBINJECTION_IDIR := $(LIBINJECTION_DIR)/src
 LIBINJECTION_LDIR := $(LIBINJECTION_DIR)/src
 
-SSL_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/
-SSL_IDIR := $(SSL_DIR)/include
-SSL_LDIR := $(SSL_DIR)
+libssl_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libssl.so" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+
+ifneq ($(libssl_path),)
+    SSL_LDIR := $(dir $(libssl_path))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL libs at $(SSL_LDIR))
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL library not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
+
+ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+
+ifneq ($(ssl_header_path),)
+    SSL_IDIR := $(shell dirname $(ssl_header_path))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL headers at $(SSL_IDIR))
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL headers not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
 
 EV_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/libev/libev/
 EV_IDIR := $(EV_DIR)
diff --git a/test/tap/tests_with_deps/common_defs.Makefile b/test/tap/tests_with_deps/common_defs.Makefile
index 41542d7a4..0ad21d3d7 100644
--- a/test/tap/tests_with_deps/common_defs.Makefile
+++ b/test/tap/tests_with_deps/common_defs.Makefile
@@ -44,9 +44,23 @@ LIBINJECTION_DIR=$(DEPS_PATH)/libinjection/libinjection
 LIBINJECTION_IDIR=$(LIBINJECTION_DIR)/src
 LIBINJECTION_LDIR=$(LIBINJECTION_DIR)/src
 
-SSL_DIR=$(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/
-SSL_IDIR=$(SSL_DIR)/include
-SSL_LDIR=$(SSL_DIR)
+libssl_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libssl.so" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+
+ifneq ($(libssl_path),)
+    SSL_LDIR := $(dir $(libssl_path))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL libs at $(SSL_LDIR))
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL library not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
+
+ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+
+ifneq ($(ssl_header_path),)
+    SSL_IDIR := $(shell dirname $(ssl_header_path))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL headers at $(SSL_IDIR))
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL headers not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
 
 EV_DIR=$(DEPS_PATH)/libev/libev/
 EV_IDIR=$(EV_DIR)
diff --git a/test/tap/tests_with_deps/deprecate_eof_support/Makefile b/test/tap/tests_with_deps/deprecate_eof_support/Makefile
index 32db6d762..f259ebc3d 100644
--- a/test/tap/tests_with_deps/deprecate_eof_support/Makefile
+++ b/test/tap/tests_with_deps/deprecate_eof_support/Makefile
@@ -50,9 +50,23 @@ MICROHTTPD_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/libmicrohttpd/libmicrohttpd/src
 MICROHTTPD_IDIR := $(MICROHTTPD_DIR)/include
 MICROHTTPD_LDIR := $(MICROHTTPD_DIR)/microhttpd/.libs
 
-SSL_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/libssl/openssl/
-SSL_IDIR := $(SSL_DIR)/include
-SSL_LDIR := $(SSL_DIR)
+libssl_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "libssl.so" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+
+ifneq ($(libssl_path),)
+    SSL_LDIR := $(dir $(libssl_path))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL libs at $(SSL_LDIR))
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL library not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
+
+ssl_header_path := $(shell find /usr /usr/local /opt -name "ssl.h" -path "*/openssl/*" 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
+
+ifneq ($(ssl_header_path),)
+    SSL_IDIR := $(shell dirname $(ssl_header_path))
+    $(info Found OpenSSL headers at $(SSL_IDIR))
+else
+    $(error Warning: OpenSSL headers not found. exiting, please install openssl.)
+endif
 
 EV_DIR := $(DEPS_PATH)/libev/libev/
 EV_IDIR := $(EV_DIR)