• OpenSSL is initialized using OPENSSL_add_all_algorithms_conf()
• This API is broken: If OpenSSL/Qt are compiled on the drive E: and on the customer site E: is a removable drive, the application will simply exit on startup without any chance for the application developer to handle this error
• This issue is known (http://rt.openssl.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=3263), but rejected on OpenSSLs side ("it's working as designed" - haha)

Frankly, I don't know why people who believe that exit()ing from a library call is an appropriate way of error handling are allowed to contribute to OpenSSL, but in any case, that puts users of Qt in a bad position:

• the only workaround is to either patch Qt or patch OpenSSL, or set OPENSSL_CONF to a drive which is known to exist (e. g. C:) - providing that the application developer knows this problem at all
• the bug is likely to arise only in a customer installation, making it difficult to reproduce for the application developer

Proposal: Do one of:

• Replace OpenSSL by something that works
• Revert https://qt.gitorious.org/qt/qtbase-winrt/commit/82f9ad6295fb35e138841810a05075214a2f2690 (I don't know how that change was relevant - I don't find any documentation for the application developer about where to put the config file)
• Document the shortcomings and the relevance of its config file clearly