Archived: Firefox 35 Displaying Certificate Error Page

This section provides a tutorial example showing that Mozilla Firefox fails to validate an HTTPS server certificate and displays a certificate error page.

Now I want to see how Mozilla Firefox behaves after I deleted the root certificate "VeriSign Class 3 Public Primary Certification Authority - G5".

1. Open Mozilla Firefox to visit "https://login.yahoo.com".

2. Mozilla Firefox returns with an untrusted connection error page:

Certificate Error Page - Mozilla Firefox
Showing Certificate Validation Error in Mozilla Firefox

3. Read the error message:



This Connection is Untrusted

You have asked Firefox to connect securely to login.yahoo.com, but we
can't confirm that your connection is secure.

Normally, when you try to connect securely, sites will present trusted
identification to prove that you are going to the right place.
However, this site's identity can't be verified.

What Should I Do?

If you usually connect to this site without problems, this error could
mean that someone is trying to impersonate the site, and you shouldn't
continue.

Get me out of here!

Technical Details

I Understand the Risks

Mozilla Firefox fails to validate "login.yahoo.com" certificate as expected, because the root CA "VeriSign Class 3 Public Primary Certification Authority - G5" certificate has been deleted from Firefox.

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 Introduction of PKI (Public Key Infrastructure)

 Introduction of HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)

 Using HTTPS with Google Chrome

 Using HTTPS with Mozilla Firefox

 HTTPS with Microsoft Edge

 Using HTTPS with Apple Safari

 HTTPS with IE (Internet Explorer)

 Android and Server Certificate

 iPhone and Server Certificate

 Windows Certificate Stores and Console

 RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) and Server Certificate

 macOS Certificate Stores and Keychain Access

 Perl Scripts Communicating with HTTPS Servers

 PHP Scripts Communicating with HTTPS Servers

 Java Programs Communicating with HTTPS Servers

 .NET Programs Communicating with HTTPS Servers

 CAcert.org - Root CA Offering Free Certificates

 PKI CA Administration - Issuing Certificates

 Comodo Free Personal Certificate

 Digital Signature - Microsoft Word

 Digital Signature - OpenOffice.org 3

 S/MIME and Email Security

 PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) Terminology

Archived Tutorials

 Archived: Viewing Server Certificate in Chrome 40

 Archived: Viewing Server Certificate in Firefox 35

 Archived: Viewing Pre-Installed Certificates in Firefox 35

Archived: Firefox 35 Displaying Certificate Error Page

 Archived: Adding Security Exception in Firefox 35

 Archived: Windows XP Component "Update Root Certificates"

 Archived: Creating Certificates Console on Windows XP

 Archived: Applying Digital Signatures with Word 2007

 Archived: Creating a Digital ID and Sign Word Documents

 Archived: Viewing Digital ID Created by MS Word

 Archived: Obtaining a Trial Digital ID from ARX CoSign

 Archived: Viewing Digital ID Obtained from ARX CoSign

 Archived: Windows XP Component - Removing "Update Root Certificates"

 Archived: IE 8 Displaying Certificate Error Page

 Archived: IE 8 Displaying Certificate Error Icon

 Archived: Viewing Certificate Path Validation Error in IE 8

 Archived: Importing Root Certificate from a File to IE 8

 References

 Full Version in PDF/EPUB