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Firefox Root Certificate Expiration: Questions & Tips for Updating

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  • 44 have this problem
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  • Last reply by James

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Important update! On March 14, 2025, a critical root certificate in Firefox will expire. If you’re still using an older version (before Firefox 128 or ESR 115.13+), it’s crucial to update to Firefox 128 or newer to avoid issues with add-ons, DRM-protected content, and other features.

For full details, check out Update Firefox to prevent add-ons issues from root certificate expiration.

If you have questions about the update or need help with the process, this is the place to ask! Whether you’re just starting or you’ve already updated and want to share your experience, we’d love to hear from you.

Let’s come together, share tips, and ensure we’re all prepared. Drop your questions or insights below!

'''Important update!''' On '''March 14, 2025''', a critical [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/root-certificate-expiration#w_what-is-a-root-certificate-and-why-is-its-expiration-important root certificate] in Firefox will expire. If you’re still using an older version (before Firefox 128 or ESR 115.13+), it’s crucial to update to Firefox 128 or newer to avoid issues with add-ons, DRM-protected content, and other features. For full details, check out [[Update Firefox to prevent add-ons issues from root certificate expiration]]. If you have questions about the update or need help with the process, this is the place to ask! Whether you’re just starting or you’ve already updated and want to share your experience, we’d love to hear from you. Let’s come together, share tips, and ensure we’re all prepared. Drop your questions or insights below!

Modified by Lucas Siebert

All Replies (13)

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Here! Hear!

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fictoproductions said

Basilisk is getting a new user on March 14, 2025

Thanks for pointing me to this browser. I'm going to test it out.

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Hello, I'm having some problems with updating firefox. It started a few months ago that I got a Pop-up every time I started Firefox about needing to update it. But when I click on the prompt to update it, it leads me to this website: https://www.mozilla.org/de/firefox/new/?reason=manual-update , and after clicking on the download button I get to this site for about a second: https://www.mozilla.org/de/firefox/download/thanks/ after which it loads this site: https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-stub&os=win&lang=de which my browser can't connect to (aka just gives me the standard error message as if you entered an invalid URL). Today I got this website pop-up when starting Firefox: https://www.mozilla.org/de/firefox/welcome/21/ which leads to the same outcome as above. After that I tried to update Firefox by going to the menu -> help -> about Firefox, which searches for updates but then tells me that I have the newest version installed already??? Even when I try to manually install a new version through this site: https://www.mozilla.org/de/firefox/all/ I still get the same result. Please somebody help me out here!

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if i see correctly, only year value needs to be changed from 2025 to 2099 in order to delay that certificat expiration bullshit? so maybe hexedit would do the trick? can anyone tell me what file i need to hexedit in order to change that expiration date in both firefox 56 on windows 7 (64 bit ultimate) and in linux mint 19 (64 bit)?

if no hexedit possible i repeat my question: is there any hack available to keep addons active on firefox 56 (windows 7) and on firefox 90 (linux mint) after that silly certificate expired?

there is a good reason for sticking on old firefox 56 on windows 7, such as chatzilla and other addons which don't work anymore on firefox versions 57 and newer. the ability to download from ftp sources (later versions of firefox don't support ftp anymore) is another important reason i'm depending on firefox 56. and firefox 56 is old enough to be able to download pictures as .jpg and/or as .png instead of these silly webp or avif formats newer browsers force me to download.

and on linux i'm sticking with firefox 90 because firefox 90 is the last version allowing me to disable that ugly proton bullshit you had to shove down our throats. thus i'm also NOT going to downgrade firefox 90 on linux mint to anything newer. for a similar reason i'm sticking with thunderbird 102 forever to avoid that ugly supernova ui change coming with thunderbird 115.

so i need to be able to use my browsers INCLUDING all my installed addons. just DO NOT deactivate my installed addons! i don't mind if you disable the ability to update installed addons or remove the ability to install new addons but DO NOT deacivate my addons! DO NOT TOUCH already installed addons!

Modified by ahonx.n21

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ahonx.n21 said

there is a good reason for sticking on old firefox 56 on windows 7, such as chatzilla and other addons which don't work anymore on firefox versions 57 and newer. the ability to download from ftp sources (later versions of firefox don't support ftp anymore) is another important reason i'm depending on firefox 56.

There are IRC software you can use instead of using a old vulnerable version of Firefox just for IRC.

There were good reasons to stop supporting FTP in Firefox. https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2021/07/20/stopping-ftp-support-in-firefox-90/

Even Mozilla dropped the ftp:// protocol on their ftp.mozilla.org (now only https://, http://) server back on August 5th, 2015.

If you need to do some FTP downloads why not use a proper FTP client as a long running open source FTP client is https://filezilla-project.org/ which has no relations to Mozilla as the Filezilla name existed before Mozilla.

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filezilla is way too complicated. i never successfully downloaded anything using filezilla. using a good old browser to download ftp content is easier, much more inutitive thus much more convenient. using browser for ftp is way better than that filezilla thingamajigs i never successfully got to download anything...

and why should i switch to third party software anyway when browser (+addons) used to be able to offer all such things? i absolutely have no understanding for such shenanigans!

Modified by ahonx.n21

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FTP has many security weaknesses, no support for encrypted connections, outdated and insecure protocol.

Pretty much every current web browser has dropped the very old outdated insecure FTP protocol including Chrome, Chromium, Edge, Opera etc and not just Firefox since early to mid 2021.

Besides Firefox had only been able to view and download on FTP:// sites as uploading was not a option for a long time as the ability was rather basic if I recall without using the old FireFTP extension.

For example the files on https://ftp.mozilla.org and ftp://ftp.mozilla.org were downloaded the same way in web browsers and which do you think was much more secure ;).

Plus the Firefox 90 and especially 56 is rather vulnerable as they do not have the patches for the many critical security vulnerabilities that has been fixed since https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/security/known-vulnerabilities/firefox/


Anyways we are getting off-topic for the thread.

Modified by James

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i couldn't care less about this "security" fuss while software is getting UGLIER (such as ugly proton bullshit - "change" for the sake of change) and WORSE in terms of usability, losing features present in earlier versions! keeping good old ui and keeping good old features from the past are the really important things, much more important than so called "security"! the term "security" always is misused as justification for switching uglier designs (ugly proton bullshit on firefox or ugly supernova=shittynova on thunderbird) and removal of useful features. in short, "security" always serves as justification for software getting worse! even shorter: "security" serves as justification for ENSHITTIFICATION!!! - fck "security"!!!

so i repeat: i am going to keep using good old firefox 56 on windows 7 and ff90 on linux mint. thus i need any kind of hack to keep my addons active!!!

Modified by ahonx.n21

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The best hack that I can suggest is to update your copy of Firefox as well as update anything under that such as the operating system nessescary for that to happen.

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as i already told, i will NOT downgrade to anything newer than 56 on windows 7 and 90 on linux mint! thus i need a hack for these two versions to keep addons active!

besides, windows 7 was the last good windows microsoft ever released. every windows after 7 is [redacted]! 8/8.1 are ugly as hell, 10 is more spyware than "operating system" and [redacted]ware 11 isn't even worth being mentioned!

Modified by Paul

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Hi

I am going to edit that post as we try to keep things family friendly around here.

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I'm also running Firefox 78.15.0esr because I am on Mac OS X 10.10.5 to run software that won't run on newer OSes, and I need a working browser for the task.

I have tried downloading later esr releases, but they have said that they won't run on my OS. Will an esr release be updated to the new certificates that will run on 10.10 Yosemite?

Modified by tking13

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tking13 said

I'm also running Firefox 78.15.0esr because I am on Mac OS X 10.10.5 to run software that won't run on newer OSes, and I need a working browser for the task. I have tried downloading later esr releases, but they have said that they won't run on my OS. Will an esr release be updated to the new certificates that will run on 10.10 Yosemite?

Mozilla stopped supporting the already EOL macOS 10.9, 10.10, 10.11 back on October 5, 2021 when the last update Firefox 78.15.0esr was released. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-mac-osx-users-esr

Firefox 79.0 to Firefox 115 ESR requires macOS 10.12, 10.13, 10.14 at minimum to run while Firefox 116.0 and later requires macOS 10.15 or later to run. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-users-macos-1012-1013-1014-moving-to-extended-support

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