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pathlen🔗

pathlen::ee-with-intermediate-pathlen-0🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> intermediate (pathlen:0) -> EE

This is a "trivial" verification: the intermediate has a pathlen:0 constraint, but the leaf is an end entity and is therefore allowed.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A N/A undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ N/A
rustls-webpki ✅ N/A
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ N/A
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ N/A
openssl-1.1 ✅ N/A
rust-webpki ✅ N/A

pathlen::ee-with-intermediate-pathlen-1🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> intermediate (pathlen:1) -> EE

This is a "trivial" verification: the intermediate has a pathlen:1 constraint, but the leaf is an end entity and is therefore allowed.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A N/A undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ N/A
rustls-webpki ✅ N/A
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ N/A
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ N/A
openssl-1.1 ✅ N/A
rust-webpki ✅ N/A

pathlen::ee-with-intermediate-pathlen-2🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> intermediate (pathlen:2) -> EE

This is a "trivial" verification: the intermediate has a pathlen:2 constraint, but the leaf is an end entity and is therefore allowed.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A N/A undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ N/A
rustls-webpki ✅ N/A
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ N/A
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ N/A
openssl-1.1 ✅ N/A
rust-webpki ✅ N/A

pathlen::validation-ignores-pathlen-in-leaf🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> intermediate (pathlen:0) -> intermediate (pathlen:0)

This is, unintuitively, a valid chain construction: RFC 5280 4.2.1.9 notes that the leaf certificate in a validation path is definitionally not an intermediate, meaning that it is not included in the maximum number of intermediate certificates that may follow a path length constrained CA certificate:

Note: The last certificate in the certification path is not an intermediate certificate, and is not included in this limit. Usually, the last certificate is an end entity certificate, but it can be a CA certificate.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A N/A undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ N/A
rustls-webpki ❌ (unexpected failure) CaUsedAsEndEntity
certvalidator-0.11.1 ❌ (unexpected failure) The X.509 certificate provided is not valid for securing TLS connections
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ N/A
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 🚧 testcase skipped (explicitly unsupported case)
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ N/A
openssl-1.1 ✅ N/A
rust-webpki ❌ (unexpected failure) CaUsedAsEndEntity

pathlen::intermediate-violates-pathlen-0🔗

Produces the following invalid chain:

root -> intermediate (pathlen:0) -> intermediate (pathlen:0) -> EE

This violates the first intermediate's pathlen:0 constraint, which requires that any subsequent certificate be an end-entity and not a CA itself.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
FAILURE SERVER N/A N/A undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ❌ (unexpected success) Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
rustls-webpki ✅ PathLenConstraintViolated
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ The path could not be validated because it exceeds the maximum path length
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ validation failed: CandidatesExhausted(Other("path length constraint violated"))
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
openssl-1.1 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
rust-webpki ✅ UnknownIssuer

pathlen::intermediate-pathlen-may-increase🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> intermediate (pathlen:1) -> intermediate (pathlen:2) -> EE

This is a less straightforward case as the second intermediate's pathlen:2 constraint seems to contradict the first intermediate's pathlen:1 constraint.

RFC 5280 permits this as part of supporting multiple validation paths.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A N/A undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ N/A
rustls-webpki ✅ N/A
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ N/A
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ N/A
openssl-1.1 ✅ N/A
rust-webpki ✅ N/A

pathlen::intermediate-pathlen-too-long🔗

Produces the following invalid chain:

root -> intermediate (pathlen:1) -> intermediate (pathlen:0) -> intermediate (pathlen:0) -> EE

This violates the second intermediate's pathlen:0 constraint, which forbids any subsequent issuing certificates (which the third intermediate is).

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
FAILURE SERVER N/A N/A undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ❌ (unexpected success) Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
rustls-webpki ✅ PathLenConstraintViolated
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ The path could not be validated because it exceeds the maximum path length
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ validation failed: CandidatesExhausted(Other("path length constraint violated"))
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
openssl-1.1 ✅ path length constraint exceeded
rust-webpki ✅ UnknownIssuer

pathlen::self-issued-certs-pathlen🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> ICA' (pathlen:1) -> ICA' (pathlen:1) -> ICA'' (pathlen:0) -> EE

The second ICA' intermediate is a self-issued certificate. Self-issued certificates are certificates with identical issuers and subjects. While this chain trivially seems to violate the assigned path length constraints, the RFC 5280 4.2.1.9 states that self issued certificates should not be counted.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A N/A undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ N/A
rustls-webpki ❌ (unexpected failure) InvalidSignatureForPublicKey
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 ❌ (unexpected failure) validation: x509: too many intermediates for path length constraint
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ N/A
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 🚧 testcase skipped (explicitly unsupported case)
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ N/A
openssl-1.1 ✅ N/A
rust-webpki ❌ (unexpected failure) UnknownIssuer

pathlen::max-chain-depth-0🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> leaf

When validating with a maximum chain depth of 0, there may not be any intermediates.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A max-chain-depth undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ N/A
rustls-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 🚧 max chain depth not supported
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ N/A
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ N/A
openssl-1.1 ✅ N/A
rust-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API

pathlen::max-chain-depth-0-exhausted🔗

Produces the following invalid chain:

root -> ICA' -> leaf

When validating with a maximum chain depth of 0, there may not be any intermediates.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
FAILURE SERVER N/A max-chain-depth undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ❌ (unexpected success) Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ certificate chain too long
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ certificate chain too long
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ certificate chain too long
rustls-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API
certvalidator-0.11.1 ❌ (unexpected success) N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 🚧 max chain depth not supported
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ certificate chain too long
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ❌ (unexpected success) N/A
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ certificate chain too long
openssl-1.1 ✅ certificate chain too long
rust-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API

pathlen::max-chain-depth-1🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> ICA' -> leaf

When validating with a maximum chain depth of 1, there may only be one logical intermediate.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A max-chain-depth undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ N/A
rustls-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 🚧 max chain depth not supported
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ N/A
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ N/A
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ N/A
openssl-1.1 ✅ N/A
rust-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API

pathlen::max-chain-depth-1-exhausted🔗

Produces the following invalid chain:

root -> ICA' -> ICA'' -> leaf

When validating with a maximum chain depth of 1, there may only be one logical intermediate.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
FAILURE SERVER N/A max-chain-depth undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ❌ (unexpected success) Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ✅ certificate chain too long
openssl-3.3.2 ✅ certificate chain too long
openssl-3.2.3 ✅ certificate chain too long
rustls-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API
certvalidator-0.11.1 ❌ (unexpected success) N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 🚧 max chain depth not supported
openssl-3.4.0 ✅ certificate chain too long
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 ✅ validation failed: CandidatesExhausted(Other("chain construction exceeds max depth"))
openssl-3.1.7 ✅ certificate chain too long
openssl-1.1 ✅ certificate chain too long
rust-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API

pathlen::max-chain-depth-1-self-issued🔗

Produces the following valid chain:

root -> ICA' -> ICA' -> leaf

When validating with a maximum chain depth of 1, there may only be one logical intermediate.

Expected result Validation kind Validation time Features Importance Conflicts Download
SUCCESS SERVER N/A max-chain-depth undetermined N/A PEM bundle
Harness Result Context
gnutls-certtool-3.7.3 ✅ Chain verification output: Verified. The certificate is trusted.
openssl-3.0.15 ❌ (unexpected failure) certificate chain too long
openssl-3.3.2 ❌ (unexpected failure) certificate chain too long
openssl-3.2.3 ❌ (unexpected failure) certificate chain too long
rustls-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API
certvalidator-0.11.1 ✅ N/A
gocryptox509-go1.23.3 🚧 max chain depth not supported
openssl-3.4.0 ❌ (unexpected failure) certificate chain too long
pyca-cryptography-43.0.3 🚧 testcase skipped (explicitly unsupported case)
openssl-3.1.7 ❌ (unexpected failure) certificate chain too long
openssl-1.1 ❌ (unexpected failure) certificate chain too long
rust-webpki 🚧 max-chain-depth testcases are not supported by this API