{"id":540,"date":"2019-08-16T17:19:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T17:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/p\/?p=540"},"modified":"2021-05-24T10:42:44","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T10:42:44","slug":"why-is-my-wildcard-ssl-not-working-on-a-second-level-subdomain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/p\/why-is-my-wildcard-ssl-not-working-on-a-second-level-subdomain\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is My Wildcard SSL Not Working on a Second Level Subdomain?"},"content":{"rendered":"

An In-Depth Look at Why a Wildcard SSL Certificate Causes a Domain Mismatch Error on a Second Level Subdomain<\/h2>\n

We know, you\u2019re here because your wildcard SSL is not working on a second level subdomain for some reason. To help you understand why, we first need to tell you a bit about wildcard SSL certificates<\/a> and what they do and don\u2019t secure. The digital certificate industry is, at times, needlessly opaque about what its products actually do. The wildcard is one of the biggest offenders. It\u2019s often marketed as securing \u201cunlimited subdomains.\u201d And that\u2019s partially true \u2014 with one important caveat:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wildcard SSL certificates secure unlimited subdomains at ONE domain level.<\/p>\n

How a Wildcard SSL Certificate Works<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s look at the construction of a URL:<\/p>\n

Subdomain3.subdomain2.subdomain1.domain.tld\/directory<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you get a wildcard issued, you place a wildcard character (*) at the subdomain level you\u2019re securing<\/a>. Generally, it occurs on the first level. The problem is if your first-level subdomain has its own subdomain, which is called a second-level subdomain, you can\u2019t use your wildcard on it. After all, as we stated earlier, the wildcard only works at one<\/em> URL level.<\/p>\n

If you DO try to install the wildcard on a subdomain at a level that\u2019s not designated, you\u2019re going to get a domain mismatch error.<\/p>\n

Again, wildcard SSL certificates ONLY secure subdomains on the designated level.<\/p>\n

Your issue is that your wildcard SSL isn’t working for the subdomains you need. So, how do you fix the domain mismatch error and secure your second-level subdomains?<\/p>\n

You\u2019re going to need to get creative. And, frankly, this is where a wildcard can be found wanting. That\u2019s because securing subdomains past the first level becomes even more complicated.<\/p>\n

\n

We offer the best prices for wildcard SSL certificates from major certificate authorities like Comodo CA, RapidSSL, Sectigo, Thawte, and GeoTrust starting as low as $52.95 per year.<\/p>\n

Shop Cheap Wildcard Certificates<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Let\u2019s say we have two first-level sub-domains, each with their own second-level sub-domain. Those second levels are exclusive to the first-level subdomain they\u2019re tacked on to. So, you can\u2019t just use a wildcard and secure ALL of those second-level subdomains at once. Rather, you\u2019d need to use two<\/em> wildcard SSL certificates, each listing the domain as well as the first-level sub-domain the second level one is associated with.<\/p>\n

For instance:<\/p>\n

*.FLsubdomain1.domain.com<\/strong><\/p>\n

*.FLsubdomain2.domain.com<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s going to add up pretty quickly. And securing them using individual certificates is also going to run up quite a tab \u2014not to mention be a pain in the butt to manage manually.<\/p>\n

So, when your wildcard SSL is not working on the subdomain level for the reasons we\u2019ve listed, how can you address the issue most effectively?<\/p>\n

Use Multi Domain Wildcard SSL to Fix Your Wildcard Domain Mismatch Error<\/h2>\n

This is a good use-case for a multi domain wildcard SSL certificate<\/a>, which can encrypt up to 250 different domains with wildcard functionality. A multi domain wildcard can also act as a multi-level wildcard<\/a><\/em>, giving you a chance to list the different permutations and secure all the various sub-domains at all levels of your URL. This is both the most cost-effective and convenient solution.<\/p>\n

The only drawback is there\u2019s not an extended validation (EV) variant \u2013 meaning that you can only secure your domain using domain validation<\/a> (DV) or organization validation<\/a> (OV). But if you\u2019re using a wildcard already, that\u2019s likely not news to you.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also some risk associated with using the same key pair across multiple web spaces, owing to a type of parallel brute force attack that can crack keys. Perfect Forward Secrecy helps mitigate some of the risk, but again, if you were already using wildcards, you\u2019re undoubtedly already aware of this.<\/p>\n

\n

Purchase a Multi Domain Wildcard Certificate & Save Up to 84%<\/h2>\n

We offer the best discount on all types of Multi Domain Wildcard SSL Certificates, including PositiveSSL, Comodo CA, and Sectigo Multi-Domain Wildcard SSL certificates.<\/p>\n

Shop All Multi Domain Wildcard SSL Certificates<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An In-Depth Look at Why a Wildcard SSL Certificate Causes a Domain Mismatch Error on a Second Level Subdomain We know, you\u2019re here because your wildcard SSL is not working on a second level subdomain for some reason. To help … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[15,36,27],"class_list":["post-540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ssl-advanced","tag-error-codes","tag-multi-domain-wildcard","tag-wildcard-ssl"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Is My Wildcard SSL Not Working on a Second Level Subdomain?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wildcard SSL not working on a subdomain? 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