Root certificate missing (FNMT)

Mozillians
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1

Hello, I apologize for this being my first message and for not being in the right place or way.

While searching for a possible problem (which in the end had nothing to do with Firefox) I discovered that there are still problems accessing the Spanish government’s websites.

All government websites use FNMT certificates, which changed around mid-2024. And if the problem persists, it is because the database incorporated by the browser has not been updated.

I tried to report the error to the website’s maintenance team (around sept 2024), but you know how it is with bureaucracy. They kept asking me for additional information from a private domain I couldn’t access (they probably activated an internal communication system that didn’t allow for external participation).

All access problems are resolved by installing the certificates available on this page:

This operation must be done with another browser, since Firefox (correctly) prevents any access to a secure page without a valid root certificate.

Despite all this, the maintenance of secure access tools with Firefox is being carried out correctly, and it remains a perfectly valid means to perform any online administrative operation (with Debian/linux).

But it’s likely that this is limited to long-time users, since it’s unlikely that any new user (especially without advanced knowledge) will be able to correctly install the necessary root certificates.

2

Hi there,

Could you please share some links of the website inaccessible by default? As a new user (to Spanish government websites at least), I can load the link with the certificates at least without any additional action.

3

Well, I don’t discard that has been fixed in the most recent versions.I had the problem in 2024 with the version installed on Debian stable by default. And I was encouraged to comment on it after seeing that another user was complaining about the same thing, but if it’s about older versions then it would be understandable.

If you can access the FNMT link I provided earlier, then everything is correct. Another one you can try:

The missing root certificate was “AC Componentes Informáticos“ (Mon, 24 Jun 2013 10:52:59 GMT → Sat, 24 Jun 2028 10:52:59 GMT). Once installed manually, I regained access in 2024.

4

Thank you! I am able to access that link as well. Hope that this has indeed been resolved :slightly_smiling_face:

5

Excellent! Anyway, I hope that if anyone has access problems, they can find a solution here, even with older versions of Firefox. Haha, the years go by quickly, a similar problem could occur around 2028 if FNMT does not update the root certificate database soon. Regards.

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