Mozilla Firefox allows a secure and private connection between websites and the browser; however, it will not allow the site to load if it detects security flaws. That is one of the reasons why Mozilla Firefox blocks website with invalid or failed SSL connection and certification. Discover how to fix mozilla firefox ssl certificate error
Sometimes this detection can be false positive. Therefore, we may try to bypass Mozilla security to access these sites.
Having a safe browsing environment is a priority for all users. In this regard, browsers like Firefox have done their part by incorporating different levels of enhanced tracking protection, but that’s halfway done.
Websites have an equally important role to play when it comes to protecting data between client and server. Two of the most crucial aspects in this regard are that websites must follow the HTTPS protocol and have an SSL Certificate.
The last one, Secure Socket Layer, verifies that the data transfer between two servers or a server and the user is being carried out in a secure and encrypted way.
If a site does not have this certificate, there is a good chance that data will be intercepted between the exchange process.
But what if a site does not have this certificate?
Well, in these cases, your browser will warn you and discourage you from proceeding. In the case of Firefox, you might get error messages like Secure connection error, This connection is not trusted .
Fortunately, there are some solutions through which you can fix these Mozilla Firefox SSL errors. And in this guide, we will let you know how to fix Mozilla Firefox SSL certificate error. So without further ado, let’s get started.
Clear SSL State
In some cases, when a website updates its SSL status, it can take a while before it finally reflects on your end. The reason for this could be due to the accumulation of quite a lot of cached SSL data.
Furthermore, corruption of this data could also lead to certificate-related issues. So, in all these cases, you should consider removing the stored SSL state from your PC.
- Go to the menu Start and search and open Internet Options .
- Switch to tab Contents and clickClear SSL State command option. It will update the SSL certificates of the websites that you had stored to date.
- Click on Apply for followed by okay to close.
Now launch Firefox and visit the concerned site, check if the SSL error is fixed or not.
Removing the SSL state would not negatively affect your interaction with that site. Instead, the next time you visit that website, the browser will look for the available SSL certificate again, and if it finds one, it will update its database accordingly. And this repopulation of the data could also fix the underlying problem.
Disable Firefox Proxy
If you are using a proxy server, your browser may not obtain the correct SSL certificate for your region and time zone. For those who don’t know, an incorrect system time is one of the most common culprits for this problem.
The issue is that when the publisher updates your SSL certificate, it may not sync with your PC if your PC uses the wrong time zone. Therefore, you should consider disabling Firefox’s proxy feature, which could be done as follows:
- start the .
- Click on the menu located at the top right.
- select menu Setting of the list.
- Scroll down to the section Network Configuration .
- click to open Settings… button.
- switch to mode No proxy and press okay.
Now restart Mozilla Firefox and check if the SSL error is fixed or not.
Disabling the proxy may restrict your ability to browse geo-restricted content, but at the same time, getting the correct SSL status of a site is just as important, so don’t hesitate to accept this trade-off.
Disable antivirus network scan
If you’re getting the SSL error on every other site you visit, you may need to do something with your antivirus software.
In some cases, it could act a little overprotective and could generate the wrong flag, even if the site follows all security protocols.
To check or verify the same, you should consider temporarily disabling the antivirus network scanning feature. If it fixes the underlying problem, it’s best to keep that functionality disabled.
With that being said, here is the list of top antivirus software and network feature you need to disable/enable to fix Mozilla Firefox SSL error.
- Avast and AVG: disable Enable HTTPS scanning.
- Bitdefender: disable encrypted web scanning
- Bullguard: Disable Show Safe Results
- ESET – Disable SSL/TLS protocol filtering
- Kaspersky: Enable Do not scan encrypted connections
If disabling the network scanning feature fixes the problem, you should consider keeping that feature disabled. When it comes to online protection, you might consider using security apps. Windows Defender and Firewall .
Change Firefox SSL settings
In addition to the root certificate that each site must have, an additional intermediate certificate acts as a bridge between the root and your system. And all websites must also give the same weight to this certificate.
If that is not the case, it is possible that the browser refuses to establish the connection with that site in question. While adding that certificate is entirely up to the developer, you might consider disabling intermediate certificate verification on your end.
Here are the steps to change SSL verification in Firefox browser :
- start the Firefox browser and go to the about:config page.
- Click on Accept the risk and continue command to continue.
- Look for the security.ssl.enable_ocsp_stapling setting.
- Change its value to Real a Fake using the toggle switch.
Once done, restart the browser and see if it fixes the Mozilla Firefox SSL error.
Although the intermediary certificate is used as a bridge between the root and the client, its importance cannot be overlooked from a security point of view. So it’s generally best to keep that flag enabled and only disable it when access to a site is crucial.
Add certificate manually
If you have a valid and authorized CA, you can manually add it to the browser. This way, you don’t have to wait for browsers to scan the site for certification or stamp their approval.
Here are the steps to add the certificate in Mozilla Firefox :
- start Firefox and go to its page Setting from the menu bar.
- Search of Certificates under the settings search bar.
- Click on the See Certificate… button from the search results that appear.
- Switch to section your certificates and click To import… button.
- Select the CA-approved certificate file from the local disk and press okay.
The SSL certificate will now be imported to the browser and you can now access the site without any problem.
Obtaining a valid SSL certificate can be a challenging task, even more so if you don’t have the necessary permissions. If that’s the case for you, consider trying our other fixes mentioned here.
Bypass SSL warning
Some sites have an embedded SSL certificate on their sites, but no authority has approved it. Rather, they are self-signed certificates.
Some browsers, including Firefox, may display an error message when finding such a certificate. But at the same time, they also give you the option to bypass this warning and access the required site.
So if you’re pretty sure about the validity and reliability of the site, and want to bypass that error message, click the Advanced…next to the error message. After that, clickAccept the risk and continueand you will be taken to that site.
Please note that accessing sites with a self-signed certificate can still present some security risks, so only access them if it is of the utmost importance.
Conclusion: Fix Firefox SSL Error
With this, we complete the guide on how you could fix Mozilla Firefox SSL error. We have shared six possible solutions for this problem.
In my case, the site had updated its certification on the backend. However, it was not reflected from my side. Clearing the SSL cache stored on my PC fixed the issue.
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