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Valid Hostname Validation (CN/SAN Match)

It indicates that the SSL/TLS certificate’s Common Name (CN) or Subject Alternative Name (SAN) correctly matches the accessed hostname. This ensures the certificate is legitimately issued for the specific domain, reinforcing trust in the connection.

See verdicts firing this signalOpen in API reference
Analyst Q&A

What this signal answers

The questions every analyst asks before acting on this signal.

What it detects01

What does 'Valid Hostname Validation (CN/SAN Match)' mean in SOC or domain analysis?

It indicates that the SSL/TLS certificate’s Common Name (CN) or Subject Alternative Name (SAN) correctly matches the accessed hostname. This ensures the certificate is legitimately issued for the specific domain, reinforcing trust in the connection.

Why it matters02

Why is hostname validation important for SSL/TLS security?

Hostname validation prevents man-in-the-middle attacks by ensuring that the presented certificate truly belongs to the domain being accessed. Without this verification, attackers could impersonate trusted sites using unrelated certificates.

How analysts use it03

How is this interpreted in SOC investigations?

Domains with valid CN/SAN matches are considered technically compliant and less likely to be involved in SSL spoofing or redirection abuse. However, analysts still correlate this with other behavioral indicators to rule out compromised infrastructure.

Evidence shape

What Valid Hostname Validation (CN/SAN Match) 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": "ssl_host_validation",
  "name": "Valid Hostname Validation (CN/SAN Match)",
  "group": "http_crawling_history",
  "subgroup": "ssl_behavior",
  "direction": "safe",
  "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

14 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 10 more in SSL Behavior
In the wild

See Valid Hostname Validation (CN/SAN Match) 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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Pre-filtered to Valid Hostname Validation (CN/SAN Match). See real IOCs this signal caught and the verdicts the engine returned.
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