diff --git a/pingora-cache/src/cache_control.rs b/pingora-cache/src/cache_control.rs
index f8612080..584d8b29 100644
--- a/pingora-cache/src/cache_control.rs
+++ b/pingora-cache/src/cache_control.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-// Copyright 2026 Cloudflare, Inc.
+//! Copyright 2026 Cloudflare, Inc.
 //
 // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@
 // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 // limitations under the License.
 
-//! Functions and utilities to help parse Cache-Control headers
-
+/// Functions and utilities to help parse Cache-Control headers
 use super::*;
 
 use http::header::HeaderName;
diff --git a/pingora-core/src/listeners/mod.rs b/pingora-core/src/listeners/mod.rs
index db799765..ebcc9471 100644
--- a/pingora-core/src/listeners/mod.rs
+++ b/pingora-core/src/listeners/mod.rs
@@ -188,9 +188,14 @@ impl TransportStackBuilder {
         #[cfg(windows)]
         let l4 = builder.listen().await?;
 
+        let tls_val = match self.tls.take() {
+            Some(tls) => Some(Arc::new(tls.build()?)),
+            None => None,
+        };
+
         Ok(TransportStack {
             l4,
-            tls: self.tls.take().map(|tls| Arc::new(tls.build())),
+            tls: tls_val,
             l4_buffer: self.l4_buffer,
             pre_tls_callback: self.pre_tls_callback.clone(),
         })
diff --git a/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/boringssl_openssl/mod.rs b/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/boringssl_openssl/mod.rs
index d957cac4..17ed8b94 100644
--- a/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/boringssl_openssl/mod.rs
+++ b/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/boringssl_openssl/mod.rs
@@ -129,11 +129,11 @@ impl TlsSettings {
         }
     }
 
-    pub(crate) fn build(self) -> Acceptor {
-        Acceptor {
+    pub(crate) fn build(self) -> Result<Acceptor> {
+        Ok(Acceptor {
             ssl_acceptor: self.accept_builder.build(),
             callbacks: self.callbacks,
-        }
+        })
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/rustls/mod.rs b/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/rustls/mod.rs
index e7376fc0..e1fa52c8 100644
--- a/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/rustls/mod.rs
+++ b/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/rustls/mod.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ use crate::listeners::TlsAcceptCallbacks;
 use crate::protocols::tls::{server::handshake, server::handshake_with_callback, TlsStream};
 use log::debug;
 use pingora_error::ErrorType::InternalError;
-use pingora_error::{Error, OrErr, Result};
+use pingora_error::{Error, ErrorSource, ErrorType, ImmutStr, OrErr, Result, RetryType};
 use pingora_rustls::load_certs_and_key_files;
 use pingora_rustls::ClientCertVerifier;
 use pingora_rustls::ServerConfig;
@@ -46,17 +46,24 @@ impl TlsSettings {
     /// _NOTE_ This function will panic if there is an error in loading
     /// certificate files or constructing the builder
     ///
-    /// Todo: Return a result instead of panicking XD
-    pub fn build(self) -> Acceptor {
+    pub fn build(self) -> Result<Acceptor> {
         // rustls 0.23+ requires an explicit CryptoProvider.
         pingora_rustls::install_default_crypto_provider();
 
         let Ok(Some((certs, key))) = load_certs_and_key_files(&self.cert_path, &self.key_path)
         else {
-            panic!(
+            let error_message = format!(
                 "Failed to load provided certificates \"{}\" or key \"{}\".",
                 self.cert_path, self.key_path
-            )
+            );
+
+            return Err(Box::new(Error {
+                etype: ErrorType::InternalError,
+                esource: ErrorSource::Internal,
+                retry: RetryType::Decided(false),
+                cause: None,
+                context: Some(ImmutStr::Owned(error_message.into_boxed_str())),
+            }));
         };
 
         let builder =
@@ -77,10 +84,10 @@ impl TlsSettings {
             config.alpn_protocols = alpn_protocols;
         }
 
-        Acceptor {
+        Ok(Acceptor {
             acceptor: RusTlsAcceptor::from(Arc::new(config)),
             callbacks: None,
-        }
+        })
     }
 
     /// Enable HTTP/2 support for this endpoint, which is default off.
diff --git a/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/s2n/mod.rs b/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/s2n/mod.rs
index af547bbe..e9cfc091 100644
--- a/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/s2n/mod.rs
+++ b/pingora-core/src/listeners/tls/s2n/mod.rs
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use log::debug;
-use pingora_error::Result;
+use pingora_error::{Error, ErrorSource, ErrorType, ImmutStr, Result, RetryType};
 use pingora_s2n::{
     load_certs_and_key_files, ClientAuthType, Config, IgnoreVerifyHostnameCallback, S2NPolicy,
     TlsAcceptor, DEFAULT_TLS13,
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ pub struct Acceptor {
 }
 
 impl TlsSettings {
-    pub fn build(self) -> Acceptor {
+    pub fn build(self) -> Result<Acceptor> {
         let mut builder = Config::builder();
 
         // Default security policy with TLS 1.3 support
@@ -82,9 +82,15 @@ impl TlsSettings {
         }
 
         if !self.verify_client_hostname {
-            builder
-                .set_verify_host_callback(IgnoreVerifyHostnameCallback::new())
-                .unwrap();
+            if let Err(_) = builder.set_verify_host_callback(IgnoreVerifyHostnameCallback::new()) {
+                return Err(Box::new(Error {
+                    etype: ErrorType::InternalError,
+                    esource: ErrorSource::Internal,
+                    retry: RetryType::Decided(false),
+                    cause: None,
+                    context: Some(ImmutStr::from("Failed to verify client hostname")),
+                }));
+            }
         }
 
         let config = builder.build().unwrap();
@@ -94,9 +100,9 @@ impl TlsSettings {
             security_policy: Some(policy.clone()),
         };
 
-        Acceptor {
+        Ok(Acceptor {
             acceptor: TlsAcceptor::new(connection_builder),
-        }
+        })
     }
 
     /// Enable HTTP/2 support for this endpoint, which is default off.
diff --git a/pingora-core/src/protocols/tls/noop_tls/mod.rs b/pingora-core/src/protocols/tls/noop_tls/mod.rs
index d7632e13..b24a5b35 100644
--- a/pingora-core/src/protocols/tls/noop_tls/mod.rs
+++ b/pingora-core/src/protocols/tls/noop_tls/mod.rs
@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ pub mod listeners {
     pub struct TlsSettings;
 
     impl TlsSettings {
-        pub fn build(&self) -> Acceptor {
-            Acceptor
+        pub fn build(&self) -> Result<Acceptor> {
+            Ok(Acceptor)
         }
 
         pub fn intermediate(_: &str, _: &str) -> Result<Self> {