How to Fix NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID

Why “NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID” Appears in Google Chrome ... A common name mismatch error occurs when the domain the SSL certificate is ... SSL&PKI HowtoFixNET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID By SavvySecurity May27,2019 7MinsRead Share ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter Pinterest Email WhatthisNET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALIDerrorentailsandwhatyoucandotoaddressit Ifyouareawebsiteownerandhavingtheproblemwhenopeningyoursiteandyoufollowupwiththe“NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID”error,don’tpanic.We’reheretohelpyouwiththiserroryouarefacing.Inthisarticle,we’lldiscusswhatthe“NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID”messageisandwhyitoccurs.Wealsowillprovidepracticalsolutionstofixthiserror. WhatisaCommonNameonanSSLCertificateandHowdoesittriggerHowtoFixNET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID? ThecommonnameonanSSLcertificateisyourdomainname,whichshouldmatchwiththewebaddressinyourhost.Forexample,ifyouwanttosecureyoursite.com,withanSSLcertificate,yourcommonnameshouldbeyoursite.com. CommonversionsyoumayseeboththeWWWandnon-WWWversionsofthedomain.Acommonnamealsocanincludeasubdomainlikemail.yoursite.com. WhatAreSubjectAlternativeNamesorWildcards? yoursite.com, www.yoursite.com https://yoursite.comandhttps://www.yoursite.com http://youtsite.comandhttp://www.yoursite.com Thecommonnamemightbethesameasthewebaddressyouareenclosedinyourwebserverandsearchconsole.TherecanbecommonnamemismatcherroroccurswhenthenameofyourSSLcertificatedoesnotmatchwiththewebaddressinthesearch/addressbar. WhatisanSANcertificate? Subjectalternativename,orSANcertificates,refertocertificatesthatcoverotherdomainsinadditiontothedomainthatislistedasthecommonname.Forexample: Commonname:yoursite.com SAN1:mail.yoursite.com SAN2:www.yoursite.org SAN3:mysite.com Awildcardisacertificatethatprotectsallofthesubdomainsataspecifiedlevelinthecommonnamedomain.Commonnamesforwildcardcertificatesuseanasterisktospecifytheunlimitedlevelandareformattedassuch—*.yoursite.com.AwildCardfor*.yoursite.comwouldcoveranysubdomainatthatlevel:blog.yoursite.com,mail.yoursite.com,live.yoursite.com,etc. ExamplesofsomewildcardSSLcertificatesinclude: GeoTrustQuickSSLPremiumWildcard(Itoffersquick&cost-efficientsolutionforbusinessestoquicklysecuretheirsinglemaindomain) ThawteSSL123Wildcard(YoucanusethiscertificateforonedomainandanunlimitednumberofsubdomainswiththeThawteSSL123Wildcardcertificate) ThawteWildcardSSL(Usingthis,youcanprotectupto250domains) GeoTrustTrueBusinessIDMulti-DomainWildcard(Itsecuresmultipledomainsonyourcompany’swebsite) GeoTrustWildcardSSL(ThisWildcardisforprotectingsubdomains,allwithinonebasedomainname.) Saveupto75%onWildcardSSLcertificates WeofferthelowestpricesonWildcardSSLCertificatesfromComodo,GeoTrust,Thawte,Sectigo,Symantec,andRapidSSL.Saveupto75%bypurchasingdirectfromus! BuyWildcardSSLCertificateat$49.74 Why“NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID”AppearsinGoogleChrome AcommonnamemismatcherroroccurswhenthedomaintheSSLcertificateisinstalledonisnotlistedonthecertificate(eitherasthecommonname,subjectalternativename,orcoveredbyawildcard).It’sessentiallylikeyoursiteiswearingthewronghat. Inadditiontothesepotentialcausesof”NET:ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID”errors,thereareotherreasonsthismessagecanpopup,suchasamisconfiguredredirect. HereareafewwaysyoucaneliminateNET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALIDError 2WaystoFixERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALIDinGoogleChrome First,youneedtoidentifywhatiscausingtheerror.Ifyoufindthereason,thenyoucanquicklyimplementoneofthesetechniquesasasolution: 1.EnsuretheDomainHastheCorrectCertificateInstalled Thisisthemostcommonreasonthe“NET:ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID”erroroccurs.Ifthedomainacertificateisinstalledonisnotcoveredbythecert,thereisamismatchbetweenthecertificateandthedomain. Theeasiestwaytocheckwhetherthisistoinspectthecertificateandcomparethe“issuedto”domaininformationtothedomainthecertificateisinstalledon.However,inthecaseofSANandwildcardcertificates,asmentionedabove,youwouldneedtoalsocheckthelistofSANsonthecertificate(orchecktoseewhetherthedomainthecertificateisinstalledunderqualifiesascoveredunderthewildcard). 2.CheckforRedirectsandWWWvs.Non-WWW Determinewhetheryourbrowserisforcefullyredirectingvisitorstotheotherversionofyourwebsite.Ifitis,thenyoushouldadjustyoursettingstoeliminatetheredirect.Iftheredirectisnecessary,youmayneedtoacquireanothercertificatetocoverthedomainyouareredirectingtrafficto. You’llalsowanttocheckwhetheryou’reforcingtrafficthroughaWWWornon-WWWversionofthedomain.ThisisimportantbecausenotallSSLcertificatescoverboththeWWWandnon-WWWversionsofawebsitebydefault;youwillneedtoconfirmthecertificateyouhavecoverswhicheverversionofthedomainyourwebsitedefaultsto. HereistheGooglewebmastertoolscreenshot(oldversion) AdditionalTroubleshootingStepsforWordPressandcPanel 1.EnsureYourWebsiteAddressisSetAppropriatelyintheSettings Sometimes,peoplearecuriousaboutthesecuredversionoftheURLand,withoutpurchasingand/orinstallinganSSLcertificate,theychangetheirsite’sprotocolfromanunsecuredHTTPtoasecuredHTTPS.WhentheyclickSaveChanges,itwillcausethisNET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALIDmessagetoappear.Luckily,youcaneasilyrevertthesiteaddressbacktotheoldURLtoremovethiserrormessage. IfyouhaveaWordPresssite,thenextthingyoucandoisheadbacktoyourWordPressaccountgeneralsettingsandthenlookfortheURL.Ifyou’veenteredthesecuredversion(e.g.,addingan‘s’toyoursite’sHTTP)withoutfirstpurchasingorinstallinganSSLcertificate,itwouldcausethiserror. 2.ChangeYourURLInformationThroughphpMyAdmininHosting OnceyouchangetheaddressintheWordPresssettingsareawithoutthesecuredversion(HTTPS),youwanttogetaccessbacktoyourdashboard.Youcannotevenaccesstheloginpageinmostofthecases.Andthisistheworstscenarioforbeginners,andnowitistimetoplaywithyourhostingfiles. NavigatetothecPanelandthenclick‘phpMyAdmin’fromtheoptionsyoucansee. Andthen,headovertoyourdesireddatabase.(Becarefulhere:Ifyouhavemultiplesiteshostingin,besuretoselecttherightdatabase). Now,selecttheWPoptions—thisistheplacewhereyoucanedityourthemespluginsandsettingsofyourWordPresswebsite(ChooseWp_options). YouhavetochoosetheeditsiteURLandhomeURL.Ifeitherofthesetwosectionshasadifferentaddress,thenyoursitewillcausetheerrormessage.Simplyput,thewebaddressmustbeidenticalinbothlocations.WhenyouhaveaccidentallychangedtheURLintheWordPresssettingsarea,thisisanalternativeplacethroughwhichyoucanaccessthesettingsindirectlyandchangetheaddress. EdittheURLcorrectly.IfyouwantyoursitetouseasecureprotocolandyouhaveaproperSSLcertificate,thenyoucanchangeittoHTTPS.Ifyoudon’thaveSSLyet,andyouhavetheproblemofprivacyerror,thenyoumustchangetheHTTPStoHTTPinthemeantimeuntilyougetSSLimplemented. BesuretosaveyourchangesaftereditingtheURL.Aftermakingchanges,verifythechangeshavebeencorrectlyimplementedonyoursitebyvisitingtheURLviaChrome’sIncognitowindow. BuySSLCertificatesandSave89% GetanSSLcertificateoftrustedSSLbrandslikeComodo,Sectigo,RapidSSL,Thawte,GeoTrust,andSymantec.Youcansaveupto89%onalltypesofSSLcertificateslikeDV,OV,EV,Wildcard,andMulti-DomainSSLCertificates. BuySSLCertificatesatOnly$4.97 RelatedResources Guideforthe“SSLCertificateProblem:UnabletogetLocalIssuerCertificate” SSL_Error_rx_record_too_long–TheTroubleShootingGuide ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSEDinChrome–FixingGuidebySSLSecurity HowtoFixERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCHError YourConnectionisnotPrivateError–AFixingGuideforalldevices ApacheServer:CommonSSLErrorsandTroubleshootingGuide WhatisMixedContentError&HowtoDisableitonChrome Troubleshoot‘SecureConnectionFailed’ErrorinFirefox FacebookTwitterLinkedin 0 Author SavvySecurity WelcometoSavvySecurity,ablogfocusedonprovidingpracticalcybersecurityadviceforwebsiteownersandsmallbusinesses.Ourteambringsyouthelatestnews,bestpracticesandtipsyoucanusetoprotectyourbusiness...withoutamulti-milliondollarbudgetor24/7securityteams. RelatedPosts WhatIsanSSLCertificate(andWhyDoYouNeedIt?) 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