FIX: Error message when you try to generate a certificate request in IIS 6: "An Input Field contains an invalid X500 characters" (293485)

RESOLUTION

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows Server 2003 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

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

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

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, IA-64

File name	File version	File size	Date	Time
Certwiz.ocx	6.0.3790.124	702,976	27-Jan-2004	16:20

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, x86

File name	File version	File size	Date	Time
Certwiz.ocx	6.0.3790.124	287,232	27-Jan-2004	18:23

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 "Microsoft, Inc." 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.