diff --git a/NWN.Anvil/src/main/AnvilCore.cs b/NWN.Anvil/src/main/AnvilCore.cs
index cb4ab792e..ce04f64c9 100644
--- a/NWN.Anvil/src/main/AnvilCore.cs
+++ b/NWN.Anvil/src/main/AnvilCore.cs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ namespace Anvil
   /// </summary>
   public sealed partial class AnvilCore
   {
+    private const string ExpectedOpenSslEnvironmentValue = "1.1";
     private const int ExpectedOpenSslVersion = 269488463;
 
     private static readonly Logger Log = LogManager.GetCurrentClassLogger();
@@ -131,6 +132,14 @@ private void CheckOpenSslVersion()
       }
 
       Log.Info("Checking OpenSSL version. If the server crashes, see this page for troubleshooting: https://github.com/nwn-dotnet/Anvil/wiki/Troubleshooting-OpenSSL-Issues");
+
+      if (EnvironmentConfig.OpenSslVersionOverride != ExpectedOpenSslEnvironmentValue)
+      {
+        const string message = "Environment variable 'DOTNET_OPENSSL_VERSION_OVERRIDE' is not set. Please see the OpenSSL troubleshooting page for more info.";
+        Log.Fatal(message);
+        throw new Exception(message);
+      }
+
       LogManager.Flush();
 
       long version = SafeEvpPKeyHandle.OpenSslVersion;
diff --git a/NWN.Anvil/src/main/Internal/EnvironmentConfig.cs b/NWN.Anvil/src/main/Internal/EnvironmentConfig.cs
index 0dec8f720..fb3a74388 100644
--- a/NWN.Anvil/src/main/Internal/EnvironmentConfig.cs
+++ b/NWN.Anvil/src/main/Internal/EnvironmentConfig.cs
@@ -12,19 +12,18 @@ public static class EnvironmentConfig
   {
     private static readonly string[] VariablePrefixes = ["ANVIL_", "NWM_"];
 
+    public static readonly string? OpenSslVersionOverride = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("DOTNET_OPENSSL_VERSION_OVERRIDE");
+
     public static readonly string AnvilHome = GetAnvilVariableString("HOME", "./anvil");
     public static readonly string Encoding = GetAnvilVariableString("ENCODING", "windows-1252");
+
     public static readonly LogMode LogMode = GetAnvilVariableEnum("LOG_MODE", LogMode.Default);
+
     public static readonly bool NativePrelinkEnabled = GetAnvilVariableBool("PRELINK_ENABLED", true);
     public static readonly bool PreventStartNoPlugin = GetAnvilVariableBool("PREVENT_START_NO_PLUGIN");
     public static readonly bool ReloadEnabled = GetAnvilVariableBool("RELOAD_ENABLED");
-    public static readonly string[] AdditionalPluginPaths = GetAnvilVariableArrayString("ADD_PLUGIN_PATHS");
 
-    static EnvironmentConfig()
-    {
-      ValidateUnset("NLOG_CONFIG");
-      ValidateUnset("PLUGIN_PATH");
-    }
+    public static readonly string[] AdditionalPluginPaths = GetAnvilVariableArrayString("ADD_PLUGIN_PATHS");
 
     public static bool GetIsPluginDisabled(string pluginName)
     {
@@ -65,13 +64,5 @@ private static string[] GetAnvilVariableArrayString(string key, string[]? defaul
 
       return value != null ? value.Split(Path.PathSeparator) : defaultValue;
     }
-
-    private static void ValidateUnset(string key)
-    {
-      if (Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(key) != null)
-      {
-        throw new Exception($"Unsupported environment variable {key}. Please see the changelog for more information.");
-      }
-    }
   }
 }