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An SSL connection may fail when you use Internet Explorer to make the SSL connection to an HTTPS Web site on a Windows Server 2003-based computer

Article ID: 955807 - View products that this article applies to.

SYMPTOMS

On a Windows Server 2003-based computer, you use Windows Internet Explorer to make a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection to an HTTPS Web site. If this Web site is certified by a Digital Signature Standard (DSS) certificate, the SSL connection may fail, and you cannot access the Web site by using Internet Explorer.

This problem may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

The length of the prime modulus of the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) that is used on the Web server is less than 128 bits.
The length of the DSS key that is used on the Web server is less than 128 bits.

This problem does not occur on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista. For example, in Windows Server 2003 or in Windows XP, when you try to make an SSL connection from Internet Explorer to a server that has a baseboard management chipset that has an embedded DSS certificate, the connection fails. However, the connection succeeds in Windows Server 2008 and in Windows Vista. The connection also succeeds in Windows Server 2003 if you use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer.

This problem may also occur on a Windows XP-based computer on which you are running Windows Internet Explorer 7 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. For more information about this problem in Windows XP, see the "More information" section.

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CAUSE

This problem may occur when the length of the prime modulus of the DSA that is used on the Web server is greater than the length of the public key that is used for the key exchange in the SSL transaction.

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RESOLUTION

Hotfix information

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 the problem described in this article. 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:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

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.

Prerequisites

You must have one of the following installed to apply this hotfix:

Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2

For more information about Windows Server 2003 service packs, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

889100

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889100/ )

How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) 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 item in Control Panel.