What we check
We validate your SSL certificate trust chain
We validate your SSL certificate trust chain to ensure it is properly configured and trusted by browsers. This includes checking the certificate chain, verifying the root CA is trusted, checking for proper intermediate certificates, and ensuring the certificate matches your domain.
Security Impact
Why SSL certificate validity is critical
Invalid certificates trigger browser warnings
Browsers show scary "Not Secure" warnings for invalid certificates, causing visitors to leave immediately and destroying conversion rates.
Security risks for your users
Invalid certificates mean connections might not be properly encrypted, exposing user data to interception and man-in-the-middle attacks.
SEO penalties
Search engines penalize sites with SSL errors. Google and other search engines will rank your site lower if certificates are invalid.
Brand reputation damage
Security warnings make your site appear unprofessional or compromised. Users lose trust and may never return.
Implementation
How to validate SSL certificates
With Httpeace
Httpeace automatically validates your SSL certificate trust chain daily:
- Add your domain to Httpeace
- We check certificate validity and trust chain automatically
- Get instant alerts when certificate issues are detected
- See detailed error messages and fix instructions in your dashboard
Without Httpeace
Manual SSL certificate validation requires multiple tools and technical expertise:
# Check certificate chain openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 \ -servername yourdomain.com < /dev/null # Verify certificate details echo | openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 \ -servername yourdomain.com 2>/dev/null | \ openssl x509 -noout -text # Check for intermediate certificates openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 \ -servername yourdomain.com -showcerts < /dev/null # Verify certificate matches domain openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443 \ -servername yourdomain.com 2>/dev/null | \ openssl x509 -noout -subject # Test with SSL Labs (wait 2-5 minutes for results) curl "https://api.ssllabs.com/api/v3/analyze?host=yourdomain.com"
You'll need to:
- Run these commands daily for every domain and subdomain
- Understand OpenSSL output and certificate chain validation
- Manually identify missing intermediate certificates
- Check if certificate subject matches your domain (including wildcards)
- Verify root CA is trusted by major browsers
- Test in multiple browsers to catch browser-specific issues
- Set up monitoring scripts to run these checks automatically
- Parse and interpret complex error messages
- Maintain alert thresholds and notification routing
- Keep SSL Labs API keys and monitor rate limits
This requires deep SSL/TLS knowledge, scripting skills, and constant maintenance. Certificate issues often appear suddenly due to renewals or configuration changes.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What makes an SSL certificate invalid?
An SSL certificate can be invalid for several reasons: it might be expired, not trusted by browsers (self-signed or from unknown CA), missing intermediate certificates in the chain, issued for a different domain name, or revoked by the issuing authority.
How often does Httpeace check certificate validity?
We check SSL certificate validity daily as part of our comprehensive SSL monitoring. We verify the entire certificate chain, not just expiration dates.
What are intermediate certificates?
Intermediate certificates link your SSL certificate to a trusted root CA. Browsers need the full chain to verify your certificate is legitimate. Missing intermediate certificates cause browser warnings even if your certificate is valid.
Can I use a self-signed certificate?
Self-signed certificates work for encryption but browsers don't trust them, showing security warnings. For production sites, always use certificates from trusted CAs like Let's Encrypt (free), DigiCert, or Sectigo.
What is certificate chain validation?
Certificate chain validation verifies that your SSL certificate connects through intermediate certificates to a root CA that browsers trust. If any link in this chain is broken or untrusted, browsers will show security warnings.
Related checks
Other checks in this category
SSL Certificate Expiry
Prevent browser warnings by monitoring certificate expiration dates.
HSTS Header
Force HTTPS to prevent downgrade attacks and man-in-the-middle attacks.
Content Security Policy
Block XSS attacks and code injection with CSP headers.
Subdomain Takeover
Prevent attackers from hijacking dangling subdomains.
Peace of mind for your domains.
Start monitoring today and prevent outages, hacks, and costly mistakes.