Additional Prompts for a Client Certificate with Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1

When you are using Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (SP1), you may be prompted multiple times to select a client certificate. This issue typically occurs when you open an unsecured document (with an HTTP address) that hosts one or more IFRAMEs, with each IFRAME pointing to a secured document (with an HTTPS address). This issue does not occur with Internet Explorer 6 or Internet Explorer 5.5.

You receive multiple prompts because the certificate is not put in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) cache after you select the certificate.

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

This problem is a side-effect of a security fix in Internet Explorer 6 SP1. The hotfix that is described in this article installs a new registry key to disable the code that is added by the security fix: For security reasons, Microsoft recommends that you implement a server-side solution instead of using this hotfix. To use a server-side solution, avoid hosting HTTPS frames in pages that are accessed from an HTTP address.