"An error occurred while sending an authentication request to the PSC Single Sign-On server - null" while connecting to PSC Client after upgrading vCenter Server to 6.5

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• After upgrading vCenter Server, connecting to the Platform Service Controller UI https://PSC-FQDN/PSC fails with the error:

HTTP Status 400 - An error occurred while sending an authentication request to the PSC Single Sign-On server - null

type Status report

message An error occurred while sending an authentication request to the PSC Single Sign-On server - null

description The request sent by the client was syntactically incorrect.

For vSphere 7.0, see: Logging in to vSphere Client "An error occurred while sending an authentication request" using vCenter Server shortname

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x

Cause

This HTTP Status 400 error occurs because the VECS store STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT copied over the certificate chain during an upgrade or possibly improper certificate replacement.

Resolution

To resolve the  HTTP Status 400 - An error occurred while sending an authentication request to the PSC Single Sign-On server - null issue, update the STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT to the leaf certificate from MACHINE_SSL_CERT certificate store.

To update the STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT to the leaf certificate:

1. Validation:​​​​
   1. Check the STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT store. This should be a single leaf certificate. If the store contains the chain certificate or an invalid certificate, this will need to be corrected.

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT

 

2. Backup:
   1. ​​Export the certificate from MACHINE_SSL_CERT store.

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --output ~/entry__MACHINE_CERT-getcert.txt

2. Export the private key from MACHINE_SSL_CERT store.

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getkey --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --output ~/entry__MACHINE_CERT-getkey.txt
 

3. Copy certificate leaf:​
   1. The certificate leaf is the top most certificate of the chain file. Use preferred text editor to the first certificate denoted by and including -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- -----END CERTIFICATE-----. Save this to the file leaf_MACHINE_CERT.pem.
   2. Validate the certificate is correct.

openssl x509 -in ~/leaf_MACHINE_CERT.pem -noout -text

3. Validate public keys are matching using openssl.

openssl pkey -in ~/entry__MACHINE_CERT-getkey.txt -pubout -outform pem | sha256sum

openssl x509 -in ~/leaf_MACHINE_CERT.pem -pubkey -noout -outform pem | sha256sum

If validation is correct proceed, else troubleshoot any errors and mismatches regenerating certificates as needed.

4. Recreate the entry in the VECS store:
   1. Create backup of ​​STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT and Delete the existing entry.​​

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --output ~/sts_internal_Cert_backup.crt

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getkey --store STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --output ~/sts_internal_Cert_backup.key

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete --store STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT

2. Create a new entry of the same name pointing to the same key (from step 2.b) and leaf certificate (from step 3.a).

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store STS_INTERNAL_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --cert ~/leaf_MACHINE_CERT.pem --key entry__MACHINE_CERT-getkey.txt

3. Stop and start all services (Alternative reboot VCSA)

service-control --stop --all

service-control --start --all 

Additional Information

"An error occurred while sending an authentication request to the vCenter Single Sign-On server", VMware vSphere Web Client fails on vCenter Server 6.0 connected to PSC HA