ESXi Host Certificate page shows blank in vCenter UI client

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

vSphere Client -> Hosts and Clusters -> Host -> Configure ->System -> Certificate will display blank page instead of showing the host certificate details.

ESXi Host Client will display the host certificate successfully.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

VMware vCenter Server

Cause

Host was added to vCenter when vpxd.certmgmt.mode was set to thumbprint. In this mode, vCenter disables the host certificate verification check and the host continues to use the default VMware Installer Certificate 

Resolution

The vpxd.certmgmt.mode is located in the advanced settings of the vCenter, and can be edited with the steps below:

1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to the vCenter Server instance.
2. Select the Configure tab.
3. Select Advanced Settings.
4. Click Edit Settings.
5. In the Name field, type a name for the setting, in this situation it is: vpxd.certmgmt.mode
6. Edit the setting to either "vmca" or "custom" depending on your environment. 

7. Restart the vCenter services after saving the change

service-control --stop --all && service-control --start --all

 8.  If cert mode is set as "vmca" in step 6 please follow Switching from Thumbprint Mode to VMCA Mode Section mentioned in  Certificate Mode Switch Workflows

 9. If cert mode is set as "custom" in step 6 please follow Switching from Thumbprint Mode to Custom CA Mode Section mentioned in  Certificate Mode Switch Workflows

 Important: If the ESXi hosts use custom CA signed certificates, enabling vmca mode and renewing will overwrite the custom certificates. Please use caution before choosing the proper path.