Microsoft KB Archive/293485

= FIX: Error message when you try to generate a certificate request in IIS 6: &quot;An Input Field contains an invalid X500 characters&quot; =

Article ID: 293485

Article Last Modified on 12/3/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Internet Information Services 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Information Services 5.0

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This article was previously published under Q293485





SYMPTOMS
When you use the Web Server Certificate Wizard to generate a certificate request in Microsoft Internet Information Services 6, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

An Input Field contains an invalid X500 characters.

This problem does not occur on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computer.



CAUSE
This problem occurs if the Organization field in the certificate request contains an X500 character. For example, this problem occurs if the Organization field contains a comma.



Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now 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 this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451

Note If additional issues occur or 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. To create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

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

Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement
You do not have to 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.

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, x86


STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section.



MORE INFORMATION
When you use the Web Server Certificate Wizard to create a certificate request in Microsoft Internet Information Services 5, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

Failed to Generate the Certificate Request.

The string contains an invalid X500 name attribute key, oid, value or delimiter.

This error occurs when the Organization or Organizational Unit field in the certificate request contains an invalid character, such as a hyphen or comma. The most common cause of this problem is the use of a comma.

A successful certificate request can only contain the characters A through Z and 0 through 9 in the fields of the request. You can use a period (.) in the common name of the key request to specify a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).

If you must use a comma or a period (.) in the Organization Name field, you must enclose the Organization Name field in quotation marks. The quotation marks allow for X500 to enable the generation of the request. For example, you may use &quot;Microsoft, Inc.&quot; in the Organization Name field.

Note This workaround is not required on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3)-based computers and on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4)-based computers. This workaround will cause certificate generation to fail on Windows 2000 SP3-based computers and on Windows 2000 SP4-based computers.

Keywords: kbbug kbfix kbqfe kbprb kbpending kbpubtypekc kbhotfixserver KB293485

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