User profile for user: Ric91
Ric91 Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Safari does not accept any certificate after Update to macOS 14.8

The is a MacBook Air in front of me which we upgrated from macOS 12 to macOS 14.8 (the last possible macOS on this model MacBook Air). All went smooth, MacBook is running fine with the new OS.


Except Safari: every website we open brings up a certificate error "The connection is not private". We click on "View the certificate" and see the error "certificate is not standards compliant".


It is possible to accept the certificate here and most of the sites do work then, but not all. Some websites cannot load parts from CDNs or CSS-stylesheets.


What we have done so far:

  • change DNS-Server
  • change to another WiFi at another site, another ISP
  • clear caches and settings
  • disabled all privacy-settings
  • reboot
  • check and date and time settings
  • check all network settings
  • no Safari extensions installed
  • no network or firewall programs installed


As a workaround we installed Firefox and this thing works like a charm on all websites.


We noticed Outlook does have problems with the certificate too.


Is there any thing we can do to get rid of this an use Safari again? Thanks in advance for any idea and help.


Ric




[Edited by Moderator]

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Sep 26, 2025 3:10 AM

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
155,246 points

Posted on Oct 1, 2025 11:51 AM

You are likely to be experiencing the same problem as described in this recent Discussion: Suddenly unable to log in to my Treasury Direct account, especially since you are using an older macOS version. It appears to be related to the recent expiration of certain commonly used security certificates. As the dialog states that certificate is not standards compliant because it isn't. The reason it works with Firefox (and probably other browsers) is that they have not yet imposed strict adherence to those standards. More about that later.


As you discovered clearing cache / cookies / date / time / network settings / etc won't help.


Scroll down to MrHoffman's reply referencing his User Tip Updating the Certificate Trust Store on macOS - Apple Community for a potential solution.


For some initial background information regarding strict certificate compliance start here: About upcoming limits on trusted certificates - Apple Support.


Pull quote:


"Connections to TLS servers violating these new requirements will fail. This might cause network and app failures and prevent websites from loading."


That time appears to have arrived.


Editorial comment, to be considered or disregarded as you see fit: All popular browsers and website developers are moving in the direction of imposing strict security protocols and shorter certificate duration. All of them voted unanimously in favor of the proposal. The likely short term result will be to require that everyone upgrade to more recent macOS versions, recent Macs, recent iPhones... etc. Since that is likely to be unpopular, the eventual long term solution will be the abandonment of browsers in general. In the future everything will be an app.

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User profile for user: John Galt
John Galt
User level: Level 10
155,246 points

Oct 1, 2025 11:51 AM in response to Ric91

You are likely to be experiencing the same problem as described in this recent Discussion: Suddenly unable to log in to my Treasury Direct account, especially since you are using an older macOS version. It appears to be related to the recent expiration of certain commonly used security certificates. As the dialog states that certificate is not standards compliant because it isn't. The reason it works with Firefox (and probably other browsers) is that they have not yet imposed strict adherence to those standards. More about that later.


As you discovered clearing cache / cookies / date / time / network settings / etc won't help.


Scroll down to MrHoffman's reply referencing his User Tip Updating the Certificate Trust Store on macOS - Apple Community for a potential solution.


For some initial background information regarding strict certificate compliance start here: About upcoming limits on trusted certificates - Apple Support.


Pull quote:


"Connections to TLS servers violating these new requirements will fail. This might cause network and app failures and prevent websites from loading."


That time appears to have arrived.


Editorial comment, to be considered or disregarded as you see fit: All popular browsers and website developers are moving in the direction of imposing strict security protocols and shorter certificate duration. All of them voted unanimously in favor of the proposal. The likely short term result will be to require that everyone upgrade to more recent macOS versions, recent Macs, recent iPhones... etc. Since that is likely to be unpopular, the eventual long term solution will be the abandonment of browsers in general. In the future everything will be an app.

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User profile for user: rawientje
rawientje
User level: Level 1
8 points

Oct 2, 2025 1:25 AM in response to rawientje

So tried it with trusting the Digicert Root CA, but still the same error message.


It also appears that the certificate is valid and compliant. The reference to the Apple article concerns certificates that do not contain a valid before and valid after date and have a validity greater than 397 days. That is not the case with this certificate (and several other examples).




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Safari does not accept any certificate after Update to macOS 14.8

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