Firefox and SSL: sec_error_unknown_issuer

Question

My client gets a sec_error_unknown_issuer error message when visiting https://mediant.ipmail.nl with firefox. I can't reproduce the error myself. I installed ff on a vista and a xp machine and had no problems. FF on Ubuntu also works fine.

Does anyone get the same error and does anyone have some clues for me so i can tell my isp to change some settings? The certificate is a so called wild-card ssl certificate that works for all subdomains (*.ipmail.nl). Was i wrong to pick the cheapest one?

Regards, Pieter

Answer 1

Just had the same problem with a Comodo Wildcard SSL cert. After reading the docs the solution is to ensure you include the certificate chain file they send you in your config i.e.

SSLCertificateChainFile /etc/ssl/crt/yourSERVERNAME.ca-bundle

Full details on Comodo site

Answer 2

We had this problem and it was very much Firefox specific -- could only repro in that browser, Safari, IE8, Chrome, etc were all fine.

Fixing it required getting an updated cert from Comodo and installing it.

No idea what magic they changed, but it was definitely something in the cert that Firefox did NOT like.

Answer 3

I had this problem with Firefox and my server. I contacted GoDaddy customer support, and they had me install the intermediate server certificate:

http://help.godaddy.com/article/5346

After a re-start of the World Wide Web Publishing Service, everything worked perfectly.

If you do not have full access to your server, your ISP will have to do this for you.

Answer 4

Firefox is more stringent than other browsers and will require proper installation of an intermediate server certificate. This can be supplied by the cert authority the certificate was purchased from. the intermediate cert is typically installed in the same location as the server cert and requires the proper entry in the httpd.conf file.

while many are chastising Firefox for it's (generally) exclusive 'flagging' of this, it's actually demonstrating a higher level of security standards.