diff --git a/core/pom.xml b/core/pom.xml
index 77c2dd875..61185da3f 100644
--- a/core/pom.xml
+++ b/core/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>core</name>
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/ArangoDB.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/ArangoDB.java
index 7ebdb2e7e..56efa4758 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/ArangoDB.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/ArangoDB.java
@@ -356,6 +356,7 @@ public interface ArangoDB extends ArangoSerdeAccessor {
     /**
      * Reset the server log levels
      * Revert the server's log level settings to the values they had at startup, as determined by the startup options specified on the command-line, a configuration file, and the factory defaults.
+     *
      * @since ArangoDB 3.12
      */
     LogLevelEntity resetLogLevels(LogLevelOptions options);
@@ -484,6 +485,39 @@ public Builder useSsl(final Boolean useSsl) {
             return this;
         }
 
+        /**
+         * Sets the SSL certificate value as Base64 encoded String
+         *
+         * @param sslCertValue the SSL certificate value as Base64 encoded String
+         * @return {@link ArangoDB.Builder}
+         */
+        public Builder sslCertValue(final String sslCertValue) {
+            config.setSslCertValue(sslCertValue);
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        /**
+         * Sets the SSL Trust manager algorithm
+         *
+         * @param sslAlgorithm the name of the SSL Trust manager algorithm
+         * @return {@link ArangoDB.Builder}
+         */
+        public Builder sslAlgorithm(final String sslAlgorithm) {
+            config.setSslAlgorithm(sslAlgorithm);
+            return this;
+        }
+
+        /**
+         * Sets the SSLContext protocol, default: {@code TLS}
+         *
+         * @param sslProtocol the name of the SSLContext protocol
+         * @return {@link ArangoDB.Builder}
+         */
+        public Builder sslProtocol(final String sslProtocol) {
+            config.setSslProtocol(sslProtocol);
+            return this;
+        }
+
         /**
          * Sets the SSL context to be used when {@code true} is passed through {@link #useSsl(Boolean)}.
          *
@@ -716,6 +750,7 @@ public Builder compressionLevel(Integer level) {
 
         /**
          * Configuration specific for {@link com.arangodb.internal.net.ProtocolProvider}.
+         *
          * @return {@link ArangoDB.Builder}
          */
         public Builder protocolConfig(ProtocolConfig protocolConfig) {
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/config/ArangoConfigProperties.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/config/ArangoConfigProperties.java
index 832c8862d..ee961acf1 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/config/ArangoConfigProperties.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/config/ArangoConfigProperties.java
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ public interface ArangoConfigProperties {
     String KEY_JWT = "jwt";
     String KEY_TIMEOUT = "timeout";
     String KEY_USE_SSL = "useSsl";
+    String KEY_SSL_CERT_VALUE = "sslCertValue";
+    String KEY_SSL_ALGORITHM = "sslAlgorithm";
+    String KEY_SSL_PROTOCOL = "sslProtocol";
     String KEY_VERIFY_HOST = "verifyHost";
     String KEY_CHUNK_SIZE = "chunkSize";
     String KEY_PIPELINING = "pipelining";
@@ -103,6 +106,18 @@ default Optional<Boolean> getUseSsl() {
         return Optional.empty();
     }
 
+    default Optional<String> getSslCertValue() {
+        return Optional.empty();
+    }
+
+    default Optional<String> getSslAlgorithm() {
+        return Optional.empty();
+    }
+
+    default Optional<String> getSslProtocol() {
+        return Optional.empty();
+    }
+
     default Optional<Boolean> getVerifyHost() {
         return Optional.empty();
     }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/ArangoDefaults.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/ArangoDefaults.java
index 25448187c..2f68fd53e 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/ArangoDefaults.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/ArangoDefaults.java
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ public final class ArangoDefaults {
     public static final Integer DEFAULT_TIMEOUT = 0;
     public static final Long DEFAULT_CONNECTION_TTL_HTTP = 30_000L;
     public static final Boolean DEFAULT_USE_SSL = false;
+    public static final String DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL = "TLS";
     public static final Boolean DEFAULT_VERIFY_HOST = true;
     public static final Integer DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE = 30_000;
     public static final Boolean DEFAULT_PIPELINING = false;
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfig.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfig.java
index f95e0a4e2..a13d41cdb 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfig.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfig.java
@@ -16,7 +16,12 @@
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.Module;
 
 import javax.net.ssl.SSLContext;
+import javax.net.ssl.TrustManagerFactory;
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
 import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
+import java.security.KeyStore;
+import java.security.cert.Certificate;
+import java.security.cert.CertificateFactory;
 import java.util.*;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
@@ -30,6 +35,9 @@ public class ArangoConfig {
     private String password;
     private String jwt;
     private Boolean useSsl;
+    private Optional<String> sslCertValue;
+    private Optional<String> sslAlgorithm;
+    private String sslProtocol;
     private SSLContext sslContext;
     private Boolean verifyHost;
     private Integer chunkSize;
@@ -69,6 +77,9 @@ public void loadProperties(final ArangoConfigProperties properties) {
         // FIXME: make jwt field Optional
         jwt = properties.getJwt().orElse(null);
         useSsl = properties.getUseSsl().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_USE_SSL);
+        sslCertValue = properties.getSslCertValue();
+        sslAlgorithm = properties.getSslAlgorithm();
+        sslProtocol = properties.getSslProtocol().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_SSL_PROTOCOL);
         verifyHost = properties.getVerifyHost().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_VERIFY_HOST);
         chunkSize = properties.getChunkSize().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE);
         pipelining = properties.getPipelining().orElse(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_PIPELINING);
@@ -151,7 +162,22 @@ public void setUseSsl(Boolean useSsl) {
         this.useSsl = useSsl;
     }
 
+    public void setSslCertValue(String sslCertValue) {
+        this.sslCertValue = Optional.ofNullable(sslCertValue);
+    }
+
+    public void setSslAlgorithm(String sslAlgorithm) {
+        this.sslAlgorithm = Optional.ofNullable(sslAlgorithm);
+    }
+
+    public void setSslProtocol(String sslProtocol) {
+        this.sslProtocol = sslProtocol;
+    }
+
     public SSLContext getSslContext() {
+        if (sslContext == null) {
+            sslContext = createSslContext();
+        }
         return sslContext;
     }
 
@@ -342,4 +368,26 @@ public ProtocolConfig getProtocolConfig() {
     public void setProtocolConfig(ProtocolConfig protocolConfig) {
         this.protocolConfig = protocolConfig;
     }
+
+    private SSLContext createSslContext() {
+        try {
+            if (sslCertValue.isPresent()) {
+                ByteArrayInputStream is = new ByteArrayInputStream(Base64.getDecoder().decode(sslCertValue.get()));
+                Certificate cert = CertificateFactory.getInstance("X.509").generateCertificate(is);
+                KeyStore ks = KeyStore.getInstance(KeyStore.getDefaultType());
+                ks.load(null);
+                ks.setCertificateEntry("arangodb", cert);
+                TrustManagerFactory tmf = TrustManagerFactory.getInstance(sslAlgorithm.orElseGet(TrustManagerFactory::getDefaultAlgorithm));
+                tmf.init(ks);
+                SSLContext sc = SSLContext.getInstance(sslProtocol);
+                sc.init(null, tmf.getTrustManagers(), null);
+                return sc;
+            } else {
+                return SSLContext.getDefault();
+            }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            throw new RuntimeException(e);
+        }
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfigPropertiesImpl.java b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfigPropertiesImpl.java
index f7d865f81..c1eadb402 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfigPropertiesImpl.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/com/arangodb/internal/config/ArangoConfigPropertiesImpl.java
@@ -109,6 +109,21 @@ public Optional<Boolean> getUseSsl() {
         return Optional.ofNullable(getProperty(KEY_USE_SSL)).map(Boolean::valueOf);
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Optional<String> getSslCertValue() {
+        return Optional.ofNullable(getProperty(KEY_SSL_CERT_VALUE));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Optional<String> getSslAlgorithm() {
+        return Optional.ofNullable(getProperty(KEY_SSL_ALGORITHM));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Optional<String> getSslProtocol() {
+        return Optional.ofNullable(getProperty(KEY_SSL_PROTOCOL));
+    }
+
     @Override
     public Optional<Boolean> getVerifyHost() {
         return Optional.ofNullable(getProperty(KEY_VERIFY_HOST)).map(Boolean::valueOf);
diff --git a/driver/pom.xml b/driver/pom.xml
index a8a3a7cd3..ca8b33bd0 100644
--- a/driver/pom.xml
+++ b/driver/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>arangodb-java-driver</name>
diff --git a/http-protocol/pom.xml b/http-protocol/pom.xml
index 514e99c34..68b797140 100644
--- a/http-protocol/pom.xml
+++ b/http-protocol/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>http-protocol</name>
diff --git a/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnection.java b/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnection.java
index d777f0e3f..f75c3639b 100644
--- a/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnection.java
+++ b/http-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/http/HttpConnection.java
@@ -55,7 +55,6 @@
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import javax.net.ssl.SSLContext;
-import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
@@ -169,17 +168,7 @@ private static String getUserAgent() {
         }
 
         if (Boolean.TRUE.equals(config.getUseSsl())) {
-            SSLContext ctx;
-            if (config.getSslContext() != null) {
-                ctx = config.getSslContext();
-            } else {
-                try {
-                    ctx = SSLContext.getDefault();
-                } catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
-                    throw ArangoDBException.of(e);
-                }
-            }
-
+            SSLContext ctx = config.getSslContext();
             webClientOptions
                     .setSsl(true)
                     .setUseAlpn(true)
diff --git a/jackson-serde-json/pom.xml b/jackson-serde-json/pom.xml
index 948c175d4..b757b6ba2 100644
--- a/jackson-serde-json/pom.xml
+++ b/jackson-serde-json/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>jackson-serde-json</name>
diff --git a/jackson-serde-vpack/pom.xml b/jackson-serde-vpack/pom.xml
index b2d068133..ab2d368ac 100644
--- a/jackson-serde-vpack/pom.xml
+++ b/jackson-serde-vpack/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>jackson-serde-vpack</name>
diff --git a/jsonb-serde/pom.xml b/jsonb-serde/pom.xml
index 7027b9d02..85797fc32 100644
--- a/jsonb-serde/pom.xml
+++ b/jsonb-serde/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>jsonb-serde</name>
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index a574ba455..85c3dfb7d 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 
     <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
     <artifactId>arangodb-java-driver-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>7.20.0</version>
+    <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     <inceptionYear>2016</inceptionYear>
     <modules>
         <module>release-parent</module>
diff --git a/release-parent/pom.xml b/release-parent/pom.xml
index 6a65de066..b05eab4f2 100644
--- a/release-parent/pom.xml
+++ b/release-parent/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>arangodb-java-driver-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
 
diff --git a/shaded/pom.xml b/shaded/pom.xml
index a7be647e1..e3808b565 100644
--- a/shaded/pom.xml
+++ b/shaded/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>arangodb-java-driver-shaded</name>
diff --git a/test-functional/pom.xml b/test-functional/pom.xml
index d1b319e7d..7f54df83a 100644
--- a/test-functional/pom.xml
+++ b/test-functional/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../test-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>test-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>test-functional</artifactId>
diff --git a/test-functional/src/test-ssl/java/com/arangodb/ArangoSslTest.java b/test-functional/src/test-ssl/java/com/arangodb/ArangoSslTest.java
index 092276a81..b454c6111 100644
--- a/test-functional/src/test-ssl/java/com/arangodb/ArangoSslTest.java
+++ b/test-functional/src/test-ssl/java/com/arangodb/ArangoSslTest.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 package com.arangodb;
 
+import com.arangodb.config.ArangoConfigProperties;
 import com.arangodb.entity.ArangoDBVersion;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.EnumSource;
@@ -55,6 +56,36 @@ void connect(Protocol protocol) {
         assertThat(version).isNotNull();
     }
 
+    @ParameterizedTest
+    @EnumSource(Protocol.class)
+    void connectWithCertConf(Protocol protocol) {
+        assumeTrue(protocol != Protocol.VST);
+
+        final ArangoDB arangoDB = new ArangoDB.Builder()
+                .protocol(protocol)
+                .host("172.28.0.1", 8529)
+                .password("test")
+                .useSsl(true)
+                .sslCertValue("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")
+                .verifyHost(false)
+                .build();
+        final ArangoDBVersion version = arangoDB.getVersion();
+        assertThat(version).isNotNull();
+    }
+
+    @ParameterizedTest
+    @EnumSource(Protocol.class)
+    void connectWithFileProperties(Protocol protocol) {
+        assumeTrue(protocol != Protocol.VST);
+
+        final ArangoDB arangoDB = new ArangoDB.Builder()
+                .loadProperties(ArangoConfigProperties.fromFile("arangodb-ssl.properties"))
+                .protocol(protocol)
+                .build();
+        final ArangoDBVersion version = arangoDB.getVersion();
+        assertThat(version).isNotNull();
+    }
+
     @ParameterizedTest
     @EnumSource(Protocol.class)
     void connectWithoutValidSslContext(Protocol protocol) {
diff --git a/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/ArangoConfigTest.java b/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/ArangoConfigTest.java
index 2e00339a0..c017ef718 100644
--- a/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/ArangoConfigTest.java
+++ b/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/ArangoConfigTest.java
@@ -5,11 +5,15 @@
 import com.arangodb.internal.config.ArangoConfig;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
+import javax.net.ssl.SSLContext;
+
+import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException;
+
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 
 public class ArangoConfigTest {
     @Test
-    void ArangoConfigDefaultValues() {
+    void ArangoConfigDefaultValues() throws NoSuchAlgorithmException {
         ArangoConfig cfg = new ArangoConfig();
         assertThat(cfg.getHosts()).isEqualTo(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_HOSTS);
         assertThat(cfg.getProtocol()).isEqualTo(Protocol.HTTP2_JSON);
@@ -18,7 +22,7 @@ void ArangoConfigDefaultValues() {
         assertThat(cfg.getPassword()).isNull();
         assertThat(cfg.getJwt()).isNull();
         assertThat(cfg.getUseSsl()).isEqualTo(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_USE_SSL);
-        assertThat(cfg.getSslContext()).isNull();
+        assertThat(cfg.getSslContext()).isEqualTo(SSLContext.getDefault());
         assertThat(cfg.getVerifyHost()).isEqualTo(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_VERIFY_HOST);
         assertThat(cfg.getChunkSize()).isEqualTo(ArangoDefaults.DEFAULT_CHUNK_SIZE);
         assertThat(cfg.getMaxConnections()).isEqualTo(ArangoDefaults.MAX_CONNECTIONS_HTTP2_DEFAULT);
diff --git a/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/UserAgentTest.java b/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/UserAgentTest.java
index f8d1008ff..6a7ea2555 100644
--- a/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/UserAgentTest.java
+++ b/test-functional/src/test/java/com/arangodb/UserAgentTest.java
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 
 class UserAgentTest extends BaseJunit5 {
 
-    private static final String EXPECTED_VERSION = "7.20.0";
+    private static final String EXPECTED_VERSION = "7.21.0-SNAPSHOT";
 
     private static final boolean SHADED = Boolean.parseBoolean(System.getProperty("shaded"));
 
diff --git a/test-functional/src/test/resources/META-INF/native-image/resource-config.json b/test-functional/src/test/resources/META-INF/native-image/resource-config.json
index a603a885a..9d96e052d 100644
--- a/test-functional/src/test/resources/META-INF/native-image/resource-config.json
+++ b/test-functional/src/test/resources/META-INF/native-image/resource-config.json
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@
       {
         "pattern": "\\Qarangodb.properties\\E"
       },
+      {
+        "pattern": "\\Qarangodb-ssl.properties\\E"
+      },
       {
         "pattern": "\\Qarangodb-bad.properties\\E"
       },
diff --git a/test-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-ssl.properties b/test-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-ssl.properties
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..eb0c74f48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-ssl.properties
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+arangodb.hosts=172.28.0.1:8529
+arangodb.password=test
+arangodb.useSsl=true
+arangodb.sslCertValue=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
+arangodb.sslAlgorithm=SunX509
+arangodb.sslProtocol=TLS
+arangodb.verifyHost=false
diff --git a/test-non-functional/pom.xml b/test-non-functional/pom.xml
index cc802d7f8..f78b035a9 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/pom.xml
+++ b/test-non-functional/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../test-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>test-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>test-non-functional</artifactId>
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl.java b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl.java
index 4cac7a647..136869308 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl.java
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl.java
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ public final class ArangoConfigPropertiesMPImpl implements ArangoConfigPropertie
     private Optional<String> jwt;
     private Optional<Integer> timeout;
     private Optional<Boolean> useSsl;
+    private Optional<String> sslCertValue;
+    private Optional<String> sslAlgorithm;
+    private Optional<String> sslProtocol;
     private Optional<Boolean> verifyHost;
     private Optional<Integer> chunkSize;
     private Optional<Boolean> pipelining;
@@ -71,6 +74,21 @@ public Optional<Boolean> getUseSsl() {
         return useSsl;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Optional<String> getSslCertValue() {
+        return sslCertValue;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Optional<String> getSslAlgorithm() {
+        return sslAlgorithm;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Optional<String> getSslProtocol() {
+        return sslProtocol;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public Optional<Boolean> getVerifyHost() {
         return verifyHost;
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPDefaultsTest.java b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPDefaultsTest.java
index 5a8f861ef..ad98ea4e9 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPDefaultsTest.java
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPDefaultsTest.java
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ private void checkResult(ArangoConfigProperties config) {
         assertThat(config.getJwt()).isNotPresent();
         assertThat(config.getTimeout()).isEmpty();
         assertThat(config.getUseSsl()).isEmpty();
+        assertThat(config.getSslCertValue()).isEmpty();
+        assertThat(config.getSslAlgorithm()).isEmpty();
+        assertThat(config.getSslProtocol()).isEmpty();
         assertThat(config.getVerifyHost()).isEmpty();
         assertThat(config.getChunkSize()).isEmpty();
         assertThat(config.getPipelining()).isEmpty();
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPTest.java b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPTest.java
index 5d5f605e3..38a556be0 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPTest.java
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/java/mp/ConfigMPTest.java
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ class ConfigMPTest {
     private final String jwt = "testJwt";
     private final Integer timeout = 9876;
     private final Boolean useSsl = true;
+    private final String sslCertValue = "sslCertValue";
+    private final String sslAlgorithm = "sslAlgorithm";
+    private final String sslProtocol = "sslProtocol";
     private final Boolean verifyHost = false;
     private final Integer vstChunkSize = 1234;
     private final Boolean pipelining = true;
@@ -57,6 +60,9 @@ private void checkResult(ArangoConfigProperties config) {
                 .hasValue(jwt);
         assertThat(config.getTimeout()).hasValue(timeout);
         assertThat(config.getUseSsl()).hasValue(useSsl);
+        assertThat(config.getSslCertValue()).hasValue(sslCertValue);
+        assertThat(config.getSslAlgorithm()).hasValue(sslAlgorithm);
+        assertThat(config.getSslProtocol()).hasValue(sslProtocol);
         assertThat(config.getVerifyHost()).hasValue(verifyHost);
         assertThat(config.getChunkSize()).hasValue(vstChunkSize);
         assertThat(config.getPipelining()).hasValue(pipelining);
diff --git a/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-config-test.properties b/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-config-test.properties
index 1d5e675af..251b348ae 100644
--- a/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-config-test.properties
+++ b/test-non-functional/src/test/resources/arangodb-config-test.properties
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ adb.password=testPassword
 adb.jwt=testJwt
 adb.timeout=9876
 adb.useSsl=true
+adb.sslCertValue=sslCertValue
+adb.sslAlgorithm=sslAlgorithm
+adb.sslProtocol=sslProtocol
 adb.verifyHost=false
 adb.chunkSize=1234
 adb.pipelining=true
diff --git a/test-parent/pom.xml b/test-parent/pom.xml
index c17fcb594..87e93ea8a 100644
--- a/test-parent/pom.xml
+++ b/test-parent/pom.xml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     <parent>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>arangodb-java-driver-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
 
diff --git a/test-perf/pom.xml b/test-perf/pom.xml
index e834ea725..dbb055779 100644
--- a/test-perf/pom.xml
+++ b/test-perf/pom.xml
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
         <relativePath>../test-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>test-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <artifactId>test-perf</artifactId>
diff --git a/test-resilience/pom.xml b/test-resilience/pom.xml
index ae662bb32..df922ca99 100644
--- a/test-resilience/pom.xml
+++ b/test-resilience/pom.xml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
         <relativePath>../test-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>test-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
     <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
 
diff --git a/tutorial/gradle/build.gradle b/tutorial/gradle/build.gradle
index 0047761d2..fb20f878d 100644
--- a/tutorial/gradle/build.gradle
+++ b/tutorial/gradle/build.gradle
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ repositories {
 }
 
 dependencies {
-    implementation 'com.arangodb:arangodb-java-driver:7.20.0'
+    implementation 'com.arangodb:arangodb-java-driver:7.21.0-SNAPSHOT'
 }
 
 ext {
diff --git a/tutorial/maven/pom.xml b/tutorial/maven/pom.xml
index a40773634..481baaa1c 100644
--- a/tutorial/maven/pom.xml
+++ b/tutorial/maven/pom.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
             <artifactId>arangodb-java-driver</artifactId>
-            <version>7.20.0</version>
+            <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
         </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
diff --git a/vst-protocol/pom.xml b/vst-protocol/pom.xml
index 262352ba2..e49eced8d 100644
--- a/vst-protocol/pom.xml
+++ b/vst-protocol/pom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
         <relativePath>../release-parent</relativePath>
         <groupId>com.arangodb</groupId>
         <artifactId>release-parent</artifactId>
-        <version>7.20.0</version>
+        <version>7.21.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     </parent>
 
     <name>vst-protocol</name>
diff --git a/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnection.java b/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnection.java
index 8b4cdc211..870051fa6 100644
--- a/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnection.java
+++ b/vst-protocol/src/main/java/com/arangodb/vst/internal/VstConnection.java
@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@
 import javax.net.SocketFactory;
 import javax.net.ssl.SSLContext;
 import javax.net.ssl.SSLSocket;
-import javax.net.ssl.SSLSocketFactory;
 import java.io.BufferedOutputStream;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
@@ -150,11 +149,7 @@ public synchronized void open() throws IOException {
             LOGGER.debug(String.format("[%s]: Open connection to %s", connectionName, host));
         }
         if (Boolean.TRUE.equals(useSsl)) {
-            if (sslContext != null) {
-                socket = sslContext.getSocketFactory().createSocket();
-            } else {
-                socket = SSLSocketFactory.getDefault().createSocket();
-            }
+            socket = sslContext.getSocketFactory().createSocket();
         } else {
             socket = SocketFactory.getDefault().createSocket();
         }