ERR_TLS_CERT_ALTNAME_INVALID

The certificate is otherwise valid, but the hostname you requested isn’t listed in its Subject Alternative Names (SANs) — so the client rejects it as a possible misdirection.

Common causes

  • Connecting to a host (e.g. www.example.com) not included in the certificate’s SANs (example.com only).
  • A wildcard *.example.com certificate being used for a deeper subdomain like a.b.example.com.
  • The wrong certificate is bound to the virtual host or load balancer.

How to fix it

  1. 1

    List the SANs on the served certificate and compare against the hostname you’re using:

    echo | openssl s_client -servername example.com -connect example.com:443 2>/dev/null \
      | openssl x509 -noout -ext subjectAltName
  2. 2

    Reissue the certificate to include every hostname you serve (add the missing SAN).

  3. 3

    Or route the hostname to the endpoint whose certificate already covers it.

Catch these before your users do

SSLNudge detects ERR_TLS_CERT_ALTNAME_INVALID and expiry issues daily and alerts you.

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