"Page Cannot be displayed" accessing pages via SSL

  • 3342512
  • 22-May-2007
  • 26-Apr-2012

Environment

Novell Apache on NetWare 2.0.48
Novell NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 5
Novell NetWare 6.5 Support Pack 6

Situation

Web pages via the Apache server over SSL cannot be accessed. Internet Explorer returns the error: "Page cannot be displayed" while Firefox returns the error:" has sent an incorrect or unexpected message. Error code -12258"

Resolution

Extended ASCII characters and/or spaces in the certificate subject name are the cause for this. The customer had O=Hφgskole in the certificate subject name. The problem exists with both a self-signed certificate and one from GlobalSign.
Note: If you provide the subject name when creating the CSR, the NDS object name (ie - the name of the KMO, Key Material Object) can contain spaces. For example: "SSL CertificateIP"
Creating a certificate without space or using an "o" instead of "φ" fixed the problem