diff --git a/kong/cli/utils/utils.lua b/kong/cli/utils/utils.lua
index f47574d60ac..9fa9f99df5a 100644
--- a/kong/cli/utils/utils.lua
+++ b/kong/cli/utils/utils.lua
@@ -125,10 +125,10 @@ end
 local function get_ssl_cert_and_key(kong_config)
   local ssl_cert_path, ssl_key_path
 
-  if (kong_config.ssl_cert and not kong_config.ssl_key) or
-    (kong_config.ssl_key and not kong_config.ssl_cert) then
+  if (kong_config.ssl_cert_path and not kong_config.ssl_key_path) or
+    (kong_config.ssl_key_path and not kong_config.ssl_cert_path) then
     logger:error_exit("Both \"ssl_cert_path\" and \"ssl_key_path\" need to be specified in the configuration, or none of them")
-  elseif kong_config.ssl_cert and kong_config.ssl_key then
+  elseif kong_config.ssl_cert_path and kong_config.ssl_key_path then
     ssl_cert_path = kong_config.ssl_cert_path
     ssl_key_path = kong_config.ssl_key_path
   else