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Firefox does not work with https

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Hello,

I have the latest firefox version, without any plugins or add ons, and I'm having troubles to connect to some https websites (not all of them), one of which is none other than Wikipedia. In the network panel, I can see the HTTP get request is marked with a 200 status code, 'connection established', but the response body is empty and the connection times out after roughly 30 seconds with the error 'secure connection failed'. This is probably not due to Firefox itself (I can access Wikipedia just fine from another location with the same Firefox version), but rather some misconfigured firewall or company proxy, over which I have no control. However, and that's why I'm still posting here, it works fine with Firefox 31. So something must have changed, and it is not just the user agent which I tried to change.

I tried changing various SSL options in the about:config following other people who had similar issues, but none worked for me. I fall back to the default options after each unsuccessful try.

Please help me to solve this issue, at least by configuring the latest Firefox so that it has the same security level as firefox 31.

Thanks

Hello, I have the latest firefox version, without any plugins or add ons, and I'm having troubles to connect to some https websites (not all of them), one of which is none other than Wikipedia. In the network panel, I can see the HTTP get request is marked with a 200 status code, 'connection established', but the response body is empty and the connection times out after roughly 30 seconds with the error 'secure connection failed'. This is probably not due to Firefox itself (I can access Wikipedia just fine from another location with the same Firefox version), but rather some misconfigured firewall or company proxy, over which I have no control. However, and that's why I'm still posting here, it works fine with Firefox 31. So something must have changed, and it is not just the user agent which I tried to change. I tried changing various SSL options in the about:config following other people who had similar issues, but none worked for me. I fall back to the default options after each unsuccessful try. Please help me to solve this issue, at least by configuring the latest Firefox so that it has the same security level as firefox 31. Thanks

All Replies (6)

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What operating system in the Firefox with the problem -- your question was submitted under Android. I will assume Windows.

How are you comparing Firefox 45 with Firefox 31? Is this on the same system using the same Windows user profile and same Firefox profile (settings folder) or on a different system/user profile/Firefox profile?

Could you inspect the certificate for Wikipedia in Firefox 31 and see whether the proxy is identified in the Issued by section? You can access the certificate through the Page info dialog, either:

  • right-click a blank area of the page and choose View Page Info > Security > "View Certificate"
  • (menu bar) Tools > Page Info > Security > "View Certificate"
  • click the padlock or globe icon in the address bar, then the ">" button, then More Information, and finally the "View Certificate" button

This should pop up the Certificate Viewer. Look at the "Issued by" section, and on the Details tab, the Certificate Hierarchy. What do you see there? I have attached an older screen shot from Google as an example of where to look.

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It's Windows, yes. The environment is the same between ff45 and ff31 (same profile, OS, etc). Yes, the proxy is identified, and it's the company proxy. The certificate is signed by the company (which is not what I'd like to get into, all I want is to change some variables in about config so that it works as it used to in ff31)

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As far as I know, there is no variable in about:config which causes Firefox not to validate security certificates for websites!! More likely, your Firefox 31 is set to trust the proxy to issue fake certificates for real websites. You can check on that as follows:

In your Firefox 31, open the Certificate Manager as follows:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options

In the left column, click Advanced. Then on the right side, click the Certificates mini-tab along the top. Then click the "View Certificates" button.

This should open the Certificate Manager. Click the "Authorities" tab, and here you should find a saved certificate that matches the Issued by information on the certificate your Firefox 31 accepted. True?

The process to import that same signing/authority certificate into your Firefox 45 has a few steps:

  • Export the signing certificate from a working browser
  • Import it into the Certificate Manager of the Firefox that needs it, on the Authorities tab

We've had a couple threads on the Zscaler proxy that show how to do it from Chrome or IE to Firefox, which might be easiest so you don't need to copy between computers. For example: https://support.mozilla.org/questions/1068675#answer-745280

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You're right, the Wikipedia certificate authority is shown in the list of allowed certificates, and it's issued by my company. However, the uptodate browser also has that certificate authority.

To be more technical, here's what I did: on ff31, go to the Wikipedia website, then the url icon, then info, then show certificate, then details (here I can see it is issued by my company) then export as crt. And from ff45, go to options, then advanced, then certificates, then view certificates, then import, then choose the previously exported CRT file. A dialog box appears and reads 'certificate already imported as certificate authority'.

Are you sure we are on the right track, looking for certificates issues?

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Hi sunyyy, you don't want to import a single server's certificate. You want to import your proxy's signing certificate. As shown in the other thread, that's one level up from the server's certificate in the dialog if you are exporting from IE/Chrome.

If you are using Firefox's Certificate Manager, find the signing certificate on the Authorities tab and export from there.

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Firefox's Certificate Viewer dialog that you opened from the address bar works similarly. As shown in the attached screen shot, you'll need to click the signing certificate, then Export, then choose the DER format.

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer