SharePoint unable to connect to SSL-secured Confluence

Owned by Almuth Boehme [Communardo]
Last updated: Sept 23, 2016Version comment
2 min read

Problem

  1. Your Confluence server is configured to use HTTPS for client access, using a self-signed server certificate, or a server certificate issued from a trusted third-party Certification Authority (CA)
  2. When configuring SharePoint to connect to Confluence on the "Confluence Settings" Administration page, you are unable to make a successful test connection. The following appears on SharePoint Screen:

Cause

You must ensure that the SharePoint server is configured to trust the certificate from Confluence.  If the certificate is a self-signed certificate, the certificate itself must be installed into SharePoint's list of Trusted Root Certification Authorities. If the certificate is issued from a third-party CA, then that third-party's root certificate must be in the trusted root list, and all other certificates in the certification chain must also be trusted.

Resolution

Resolution for a self-signed server certificate

  1. Export your Confluence server's certificate as an X.509 Certificate file (with a .cer file extension, details can be found here, steps 1-6)
  2. On the SharePoint Server, import the certificate into the Windows certificate store. Store the certificate in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store for the Local Computer Account.
  3. As per Microsoft's instructions, log into your SharePoint farm's Central Administration site, and go to the Security -> Manage Trust section.
  4. Select to Add a new Trust and import the certificate file into SharePoint. Example: 

Resolution for an issued server certificate

For a certificate issued from a 3rd-party authority, you must ensure that every certificate in the certification path is trusted. An easy way to view the certification path for your certificate is to load the Confluence site in your web browser, and then click on the 'padlock' or 'secure' icon in the address bar to view the certificate information from the Confluence server as the following example:

  1. For each certificate in the certification path, perform the same steps as for the self-signed server certificate as above. Note the following:
    1. For a well-known third-party authority (such as Verisign or Thawte), the root certificate will probably already be installed in the Windows certificate store.
    2. For intermediate certificates in the certification path, store the certificates in the Intermediate Certification Authorities list.

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