Question

Cannot install certbot ssl cert for subdomain in nginx

I have a droplet running nodejs server and DNS configured with domain name and everything works fine through HTTP by calling the domain name i.e dev.example.com.

I have installed certbot and trying to install the cert for nginx and it fails.

Certbot failed to authenticate some domains (authenticator: nginx). The Certificate Authority reported these problems: Domain: dev.petconnectnow.net Type: dns Detail: DNS problem: SERVFAIL looking up CAA for petconnectnow.net - the domain’s nameservers may be malfunctioning

I have registered domain name at namecheap and entered the custom nameserver as ns1.digitalocean.com etc… I don’t see any issue with the DNS because all HTTP request are properly hitting the nodejs server running on droplet and if DNS is working fine why the certbot to fail saying DNS problem. Any help highly appreciated.


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Bobby Iliev
Site Moderator
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April 26, 2023

Hi there,

As you are getting a CAA error, what I could suggest is following the steps here on how to add a CAA record for Let’s Encrypt:

https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/networking/dns/how-to/create-caa-records/

Let me know how it goes!

Best,

Bobby

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