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Untrusted or Misconfigured SSL Certificate

It indicates that the domain’s SSL/TLS certificate cannot be fully trusted due to issues such as expiration, incorrect configuration, mismatched hostname, or unrecognized certificate authority. This often signals either a misconfiguration or an attempt to mimic legitimate infrastructure.

Analyst Q&A

What this signal answers

Three questions every analyst asks before acting on this signal.

What it detects01

What does 'Untrusted or Misconfigured SSL Certificate' mean in SOC or threat analysis?

It indicates that the domain’s SSL/TLS certificate cannot be fully trusted due to issues such as expiration, incorrect configuration, mismatched hostname, or unrecognized certificate authority. This often signals either a misconfiguration or an attempt to mimic legitimate infrastructure.

Why it matters02

Why is an untrusted or misconfigured SSL certificate a concern for analysts?

Because legitimate organizations typically maintain valid, properly chained SSL certificates. Untrusted or invalid SSL setups are frequently associated with phishing pages, malicious proxies, or abandoned domains.

How analysts use it03

Can such SSL issues occur in legitimate systems?

Yes, but rarely. Temporary configuration errors or missed renewals may cause short-term certificate warnings. Persistent SSL trust failures, however, are strong indicators of poor hygiene or potentially malicious use.

Often paired with:block_domain
Evidence shape

What Untrusted or Misconfigured SSL Certificate looks like in the response

A realistic shape of the entry the engine appends to the risk_signals array when this signal fires. Evidence keys are subgroup-default; per-signal overrides documented in the API reference.

json
{
  "slug": "invalid_ssl_usage",
  "name": "Untrusted or Misconfigured SSL Certificate",
  "group": "http_crawling_history",
  "subgroup": "ssl_behavior",
  "direction": "malicious",
  "evidence": {
    "cert_issued_days_ago": 9,
    "issuer": "letsencrypt",
    "valid_for_days": 90,
    "rotation_count_90d": 3,
    "cert_type": "DV"
  }
}
See in API reference
Siblings

Peers in SSL Behavior

15 other signals share the same subgroup. They detect related behaviors and often co-fire on the same IOC.

Critical SSL Certificate Authentication Failure

It means that the SSL/TLS certificate presented by the domain failed critical validation checks. This can occur due to m

MaliciousCore
Invalid Hostname Validation (CN/SAN Mismatch)

It means the SSL/TLS certificate’s Common Name (CN) or Subject Alternative Name (SAN) does not match the accessed domain

MaliciousCore
Organization-Validated (OV) SSL Certificate Detected

It means the SSL/TLS certificate of the domain includes verified organizational details that have been authenticated by

SafeCore
Self-Signed SSL Certificate Detected

It means the domain is using an SSL/TLS certificate that was generated and signed by the same entity, without verificati

MaliciousCore
Show 11 more in SSL Behavior
In the wild

See Untrusted or Misconfigured SSL Certificate fire on real IOCs

The Verdict Gallery is a curated stream of real verdicts. Filter by this signal to see exactly which IOCs it caught, what other signals fired alongside it, and what the engine recommended.

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