DigiCert Root and ICA updates
DigiCert announced updates to their root and intermediate CA certificates:
“On March 8, 2023, at 10:00 MST (17:00 UTC), DigiCert will begin updating the default public issuance of TLS/SSL certificate to our public, second-generation (G2) root, and intermediate CA (ICA) certificate hierarchies.”
DigiCert provides full details on the root and intermediate CA updates including timing, background, affected brands (all), as well as current and new root and ICA certificates:
DigiCert root and intermediate CA certificate updates 2023
DigiCert will update this article as new information becomes available.
What are root and ICA certificates used for?
Root certificates
Root certificates are the anchor of public certificate trust. Certificate Authorities (CAs) work with operating systems, browsers, and other applications to get their root certificates included in trust stores to ensure that your public certificates are trusted.
CAs use public root certificates to issue Intermediate CA certificates. They don't use root certificates to issue your public TLS certificates.
ICA certificates
CAs use ICA certificates to issue TLS and other digital certificates. The ICA certificate also links your TLS certificate to the root certificate in a trust store, enabling browsers and other applications to trust it.
For more information about certificate chains and how they work, see How Certificate Chains Work.
How do switching root and ICA certificates affect me?
Switching to a different certificate hierarchy typically doesn't require additional work as long as you always install the DigiCert-provided ICA certificate when installing your TLS certificate.
With the change to certificate hierarchies, no action is required unless you do any of the following:
- Pin ICA/Root certificates
- Hard-code the acceptance of ICA/Root certificates
- Operate a trust store
If you do any of the above, we recommend updating your environment before March 8, 2023.
Stop pinning or hard-coding root or ICA certificate acceptance or make the necessary changes to ensure certificates issued from the updated certificate hierarchy are trusted (in other words, they can chain up to their ICA trusted root certificates).
Further reference can be found in DigiCert’s knowledge base at DigiCert root and intermediate CA certificate updates 2023 If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your Account Manager or our Sales team.