Fixing Magento error:14077410:SSL routines:SSL23_GET_SERVER_HELLO:sslv3 alert handshake failure

This is just a quick fix post in case you are experiencing the error

error:14077410:SSL routines:SSL23_GET_SERVER_HELLO:sslv3 alert handshake failure

Check file downloader/lib/Mage/HTTP/Client/Curl.php for a proper secure transportation protocol supported by Magento Connect (SSLv3 vs. TLSv1):

$this->curlOption(CURLOPT_URL, $uri);
$this->curlOption(CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, FALSE);
$this->curlOption(CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, 2);

Solution

In order to overcome this error simply add the cUrl option TLSV1:

$this->curlOption(CURLOPT_SSL_CIPHER_LIST, 'TLSv1');

Background info

Magento Connect (finally) canceled support for SSLv3. Thus, when Magento downloader tries to communicate with Magento Connect server it fails due to incompatible security protocols. You can easily fix this error by specifying TLSv1 as alternative security protocol.