Firefox Error: ssl_error_bad_cert_domain
Working on a customer’s hosting account today and had to login at the hosting admin panel, something like the following:
https://www.mycustomer.com:2222/
Turns out that the host uses a shared SSL certificate, tied to the hosting company’s domain, not to the domains hosted by the hosting company. Whew, that’s a mouthful of pebbles. Got all that?
OK, so who cares?
Well, my version of Firefox (3.5.3) has default settings that require the domain on the certificate to match the domain name on the request. Firefox then spits out the error:
https://www.mycustomer.com:2222/ uses an invalid security certificate.
The certificate is only valid for <a id=”cert_domain_link” title=”thehostingcompany.com”>thehostingcompany.com</a>
ssl_error_bad_cert_domain
In this case, I was pretty certain that the domain I was visiting was the one I wanted, so I was prepared to push through the issue, provided Firefox would let me. The technique for this is to create an Exception to Firefox’s security policy.
In Firefox 3.5, do the following:
Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Encryption -> View Certificates -> Servers -> Add exception.
Then enter the url you were trying to accesss. In my example above it was “https://www.mycustomer.com:2222/”
The new page should now be accessible.
Hope it helps!
Brian said,
Wrote on September 23, 2010 @ 8:59 pm
Thank man, worked like a charm.
david said,
Wrote on September 23, 2010 @ 9:26 pm
@Brian: You’re welcome. Glad it helped!
terry said,
Wrote on November 7, 2011 @ 1:32 am
Doesn’t work for me to approve the new certificate; just follows with the statement that “adding this is not necessary as this certificate is already approved.” And no options to override are available.
Mike said,
Wrote on December 3, 2011 @ 6:57 pm
In the newer versions of Firefox this is also possible when you get the “This Connection is Untrusted” page: Click “I Understand the Risks” and hit the “Add Exception…” button.
arun kumar said,
Wrote on December 22, 2011 @ 4:17 pm
i added the exception but it didn’t work. even though i have added the certificate to trusted root domains.
please help
david said,
Wrote on December 22, 2011 @ 4:29 pm
I have not tried it recently, but I recall bumping into some problem using later versions. When I have time to investigate, I’ll update the post to reflect the newer information.