Article: Q198683
Product(s): Internet Information Server
Version(s): winnt:1.0,3.0,4.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s):
Last Modified: 28-JUN-2001
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Certificate Server version 1.0
- Microsoft Internet Information Server versions 3.0, 4.0
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SYMPTOMS
========
When you use a server certificate issued by Microsoft Certificate Server, the
following error may occur in Netscape Navigator and Netscape Communicator when
you connect to a secure Web server using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL):
The security library has encountered an improperly formatted DER-encoded
message.
CAUSE
=====
This error occurs because the browser is unable to correctly parse the server
certificate.
WORKAROUND
==========
To work around this problem, correct the certificate by re-issuing the server
certificate and making sure the Distinguished Name (DN) uses only valid
PrintableString characters.
MORE INFORMATION
================
Most X.509 certificates use strings called PrintableString to represent text
information. PrintableStrings are strings of characters contained within the set
{ a-zA-Z0-9'()+,-./:=? } and the space character. Microsoft Certificate Server
is not restricted to using these characters however. If any part of the DN in
the certificate is not a PrintableString, then Certificate Server will use
another string type such as Unicode. The Netscape parser cannot understand
Unicode, and therefore, issues the above error.
The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent
of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these
products' performance or reliability.
Additional query words:
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Keywords :
Technology : kbiisSearch kbiis400 kbiis300 kbCertServSearch kbZNotKeyword3 kbCertServ100
Version : winnt:1.0,3.0,4.0
Issue type : kbhowto
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