Cloudflare Cipher suites: A Guide for Website Owners

Cloudflare cipher suites are the cryptographic settings negotiated during the SSL/TLS handshake between a visitor and Cloudflare’s network. If you are responding to a security scanner or a compliance requirement, treat the setting as a targeted per-hostname choice: review compatibility and the minimum TLS version before narrowing it. This edge setting does not configure the separate connection between Cloudflare and your origin server.

What a cipher suite means#

A cipher suite is a group of cryptographic settings negotiated during an SSL/TLS handshake. Cloudflare distinguishes cipher suites from the broader SSL/TLS protocol, so suite selection and protocol-version settings are related but separate parts of TLS configuration.

Where Cloudflare applies the setting#

• Visitor to Cloudflare: The documented cipher-suite setting applies to connections between visitors and Cloudflare’s network.
• Cloudflare to origin: This connection is configured separately. Changing edge cipher suites does not configure the TLS connection to your origin server.
• Hostname scope: Cipher-suite customization is applied per hostname and affects all edge certificates serving that hostname.
• Cloudflare Pages: Cipher suites cannot be configured for Cloudflare Pages hostnames.

Defaults, minimum TLS, and TLS 1.3#

Cloudflare says its default edge configuration balances security and compatibility, but it may include older algorithms that security-testing tools flag. A scanner finding should therefore be mapped to the connection it evaluated before you change the edge setting.

Cloudflare also notes that stricter cipher choices can interact with the minimum TLS version. Review those settings together and consider client compatibility before applying a narrower choice to a public hostname.

TLS 1.3 cipher suites cannot be selected individually in Cloudflare. When TLS 1.3 is enabled, the applicable TLS 1.3 suites are used rather than being chosen one at a time.

A practical review process#

1. Identify the exact hostname and determine whether the concern involves visitor-to-Cloudflare traffic or Cloudflare-to-origin traffic.
2. Record the reason for the change, such as a specific scanner finding or compliance requirement.
3. Check which edge certificates serve the hostname, because the customization applies to all of them.
4. Review the minimum TLS version alongside any stricter cipher-suite choice.
5. Validate expected client compatibility before relying on the change for public traffic, then recheck the relevant security requirement.
6. If the hostname is a Cloudflare Pages hostname, use the documented limitation as the deciding condition: cipher-suite configuration is unavailable there.

See Cloudflare’s cipher suites documentation and broader SSL/TLS documentation for the vendor’s current configuration details.