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SSL Certificate error

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Getting an SSL Certificate error on firefox after turning on DPI SSL on our SonicWALL. When I use Edge or IE, the issue doesn't happen.

Getting an SSL Certificate error on firefox after turning on DPI SSL on our SonicWALL. When I use Edge or IE, the issue doesn't happen.

Chosen solution

According to a randomly selected help article:

Deep Packet Inspection of Secure Socket Layer (DPI-SSL) extends SonicWall's Deep Packet Inspection technology to allow for the inspection of encrypted HTTPS traffic and other SSL-based traffic. The SSL traffic is decrypted transparently, scanned for threats and then re-encrypted and sent along to its destination if no threats or vulnerabilities are found. DPI-SSL provides additional security, application control, and data leakage prevention for analyzing encrypted HTTPS and other SSL-based traffic.

To make that possible, the filter needs to set up as a "man in the middle" and present Firefox with fake site certificates. Not surprisingly, Firefox does not like that.

If you can confirm that this is in fact the reason you get connection errors in Firefox, and it's not (unauthorized) spyware intercepting your internet traffic, here are two workarounds to get Firefox to trust all of the fake certificates DPI-SSL will generate:

Option #1: Import the Signing Certificate

If you import the DPI-SSL signing certificate into Firefox's certificate store, then all of its fake certificates will be trusted.

(A) If you do not already have a certificate file ready to import, you can export it from IE or Chrome.

  • This may appear in IE's Certificates dialog OR it may appear when you view the certificate details on any secure page you load in IE/chrome
  • The Export or Copy to file button starts the Export Wizard. Use the DER format and save to a convenient location

Example screenshots: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1199797#answer-1064849

(B) When finished with all the necessary exports to complete the chain in the Certification Path, you can import the certificates into the Firefox Authorities tab:

  • Windows: "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options
  • Mac: "3-bar" menu button (or Firefox menu) > Preferences
  • Linux: "3-bar" menu button (or Edit menu) > Preferences
  • Any system: type or paste about:preferences into the address bar and press Enter/Return to load it

In the search box at the top of the page, type cert and Firefox should filter the list. Click "View Certificates" to open the Certificate Manager and click the "Authorities" tab. Then you can use the "Import" button to import the proxy server's certificate.

(Fourth and fifth screenshots in the above-linked post.)

When asked, I suggest allowing the certificate for websites only unless your IT suggests otherwise.

It's a bit of pain, but the advantage of that approach is that you are making the minimal compromise of security.

Option #2: Trust all Signing Certificates in the Windows Cert Store

(A) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful.

(B) In the search box above the list, type or paste root and pause while the list is filtered

(C) Double-click the security.enterprise_roots.enabled preference to switch the value from false to true

I'm not sure whether that will start working immediately or after the next time to exit Firefox and start it up again. I guess you'll know if you visit an HTTPS address and Firefox no longer objects.

The disadvantage of this method is that any security compromise of the system certificate store will affect Firefox, too.

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Chosen Solution

According to a randomly selected help article:

Deep Packet Inspection of Secure Socket Layer (DPI-SSL) extends SonicWall's Deep Packet Inspection technology to allow for the inspection of encrypted HTTPS traffic and other SSL-based traffic. The SSL traffic is decrypted transparently, scanned for threats and then re-encrypted and sent along to its destination if no threats or vulnerabilities are found. DPI-SSL provides additional security, application control, and data leakage prevention for analyzing encrypted HTTPS and other SSL-based traffic.

To make that possible, the filter needs to set up as a "man in the middle" and present Firefox with fake site certificates. Not surprisingly, Firefox does not like that.

If you can confirm that this is in fact the reason you get connection errors in Firefox, and it's not (unauthorized) spyware intercepting your internet traffic, here are two workarounds to get Firefox to trust all of the fake certificates DPI-SSL will generate:

Option #1: Import the Signing Certificate

If you import the DPI-SSL signing certificate into Firefox's certificate store, then all of its fake certificates will be trusted.

(A) If you do not already have a certificate file ready to import, you can export it from IE or Chrome.

  • This may appear in IE's Certificates dialog OR it may appear when you view the certificate details on any secure page you load in IE/chrome
  • The Export or Copy to file button starts the Export Wizard. Use the DER format and save to a convenient location

Example screenshots: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1199797#answer-1064849

(B) When finished with all the necessary exports to complete the chain in the Certification Path, you can import the certificates into the Firefox Authorities tab:

  • Windows: "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options
  • Mac: "3-bar" menu button (or Firefox menu) > Preferences
  • Linux: "3-bar" menu button (or Edit menu) > Preferences
  • Any system: type or paste about:preferences into the address bar and press Enter/Return to load it

In the search box at the top of the page, type cert and Firefox should filter the list. Click "View Certificates" to open the Certificate Manager and click the "Authorities" tab. Then you can use the "Import" button to import the proxy server's certificate.

(Fourth and fifth screenshots in the above-linked post.)

When asked, I suggest allowing the certificate for websites only unless your IT suggests otherwise.

It's a bit of pain, but the advantage of that approach is that you are making the minimal compromise of security.

Option #2: Trust all Signing Certificates in the Windows Cert Store

(A) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful.

(B) In the search box above the list, type or paste root and pause while the list is filtered

(C) Double-click the security.enterprise_roots.enabled preference to switch the value from false to true

I'm not sure whether that will start working immediately or after the next time to exit Firefox and start it up again. I guess you'll know if you visit an HTTPS address and Firefox no longer objects.

The disadvantage of this method is that any security compromise of the system certificate store will affect Firefox, too.