Overview 💥
The 3CX Inspector may fail during inspection with an error indicating an invalid, missing, or untrusted certificate. This typically occurs when Liongard cannot establish a secure HTTPS connection with the 3CX server.
This article explains why the error occurs, how to validate certificate issues, and the recommended troubleshooting steps to successfully resolve the inspection failure.
Why This Happens 🤔
Cause Category | Description | Common Indicators |
Expired or Invalid SSL Certificate | The public certificate has expired or is not trusted | “Expired”, “Untrusted issuer”, “Revoked” |
Self-Signed Certificate | Internal 3CX servers sometimes use self-signed certs | SSL checker shows “Self-signed” |
Hostname Mismatch | URL entered into Liongard doesn’t match the cert CN/SAN | “Hostname mismatch”, “Common name invalid” |
Missing Port for On-Prem 3CX | On-prem 3CX requires port 5001 or custom port | Connection refused or handshake failure |
Incorrect URL Format | Missing HTTPS or trailing slash breaks validation | Debug: “URL parse error” |
Steps to Resolve 🧑🏫
1️⃣ Verify the 3CX SSL Certificate (2-minute test)
Enter your 3CX instance URL
Example:
liongard.com
Review the SSL status report
✅ Expected Valid Results
❌ If anything appears red, You must resolve the certificate before the Inspector can run.
‼️Note: This third-party link is provided as an additional helpful resource. Since it’s not managed by Liongard, we can’t verify its functionality or reliability. Please use it at your own discretion.
2️⃣ Re-run the Inspector in Clear Cache + Debug Mode
This helps confirm whether SSL is the true root cause.
Go to Admin → Inspectors → 3CX
Select the System / Launchpoint
Click Run → Clear Cache + Debug
Review the logs for:
Common SSL debug errors:
Error Phrase | Meaning |
| Certificate past validity period |
| Chain incomplete |
| Self-signed or internal cert |
| Host mismatch or bad chain |
| Wrong URL, port, or firewall |
3️⃣ Verify Credentials (Admin Username & Password)
Although this error is about certificates, connection failures can look similar.
Confirm:
Setting | Expected Value |
Username | 3CX Admin account |
Password | Matching admin password |
Account Active | Must not be disabled/locked |
If the admin password changed recently, update it in Liongard.
Additional Troubleshooting 👨💻
1️⃣ Check Server Time and Date
Incorrect system time on the 3CX host can invalidate certificates.
2️⃣ If Using Reverse Proxy or Load Balancer
Ensure:
SSL passthrough is correctly configured
Certificate chain is complete
No TLS version mismatch
Contact Liongard Support 🦁
When submitting a ticket, include:
Environment name
Inspector name
Logs from Clear Cache + Debug
The 3CX URL you are inspecting
Screenshot of SSL checker results
Steps already taken
Our Support team is happy to help 😇
💬 Start a chat with Leo (Our AI Assistant) or connect with a live support engineer.
📧 Email: support@liongard.com
Quick Summary
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3CX Inspector Error: Invalid Cert │
└───────────────────────┬──────────────┘
▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Verify SSL Certificate (SSLShopper/any other source)│
└───────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┘
│
┌────Yes──────────────┴─────────────── No ────┐
▼ ▼
┌──────────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────────────┐
│ Certificate Invalid │ │ 2. Run Clear Cache + Debug │
│ (expired/mismatch/etc.) │ └───────────────┬────────────┘
└───────────────┬──────────┘ ▼
▼ ┌─────────────────────────┐
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 3. Validate URL Format │
│ Fix/replace SSL certificate │ └───────────────┬─────────┘
└──────────────────────────────────────┘ ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐
│4. Verify Admin Login │
└─────────────────────────┘