Error 'Drift check failed' during drift status check under the Configuration Drifts section in Aria Operations

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• Navigating through Aria Operations UI > Operations > Configuration Drifts, the drift status check displays the error: "Drift check failed."

 

• /storage/log/vcops/log/adapter/configadapter/configadapter.log shows error SSLError('Fingerprints did not match')

[4349] 2025-05-13T05:11:02,160+0000 ERROR [TasksManager-AsyncNMPTaskThread--3] (10831) com.vmware.adapter3.vcf.unifiedconfig.client.vc.ConfigModuleClient.execute - Caught rest client exception while calling api https://######################/config-modules/api/vcenter/configuration/v1/scan-drifts: 500 Internal Server Error: "{"schema_version":"1.0-DRAFT","name":"Scan Drifts","timestamp":"2025-05-13T05:11:02.159592","description":"Exception fetching drifts.","status":"FAILED","errors":[{"timestamp":"2025-05-13T05:11:02.159592","source": {"server":"0.0.0.0","type":"ConfigModules","endpoint":"/config-modules/api/vcenter/configuration/v1/scan-drifts"} "error":{"message":"HTTPSConnectionPool(host='######################', port=443): Max retries exceeded with url: /rest/com/vmware/cis/session (Caused by SSLError('Fingerprints did not match. Expected \"######################\", got \"######################\"'))"}}],"target":{"hostname":"######################","type":"vcenter"}}"[4350] org.springframework.web.client.HttpServerErrorException$InternalServerError: 500 Internal Server Error: "{"schema_version":"1.0-DRAFT","name":"Scan Drifts","timestamp":"2025-05-13T05:11:02.159592","description":"Exception fetching drifts.","status":"FAILED","errors":[{"timestamp":"2025-05-13T05:11:02.159592","source":{"server":"0.0.0.0","type":"ConfigModules","endpoint":"/config-modules/api/vcenter/configuration/v1/scan-drifts"}

Environment

 Aria Operations 8.18.3

Cause

The issue was compounded by expired or unused certificates that remained in the certificate store within Aria Operations, which had not been cleaned up.

Resolution

Note: This is a known issue and has been addressed in VCF 9.0.

Please follow the workaround mentioned below 

1. Identify vCenter Adapter Certificates

• • Go to Aria Operations UI → Diagnostic → Certificates
•  
  • Click on View Details
•  
  • Use the filter/search bar to find certificates associated with the affected vCenter
•  
  • Identify the certificate related to the vCenter adapter.

2. Remove Expired/Unused Certificates 

• • Navigate to Aria Operations UI → Administrator → Control Panel → Trusted Certificates

  • Use the search bar to locate the vCenter adapter certificate identified earlier

  • Select the certificate and click Delete

3. Validate Adapter Connection

• • Re-test the vCenter adapter connection using steps in the KB

  • Related KB Article: VMware Aria Operations Plugin Not Connecting
•  
  • Ensure the vCenter adapter is in OK state

4. Perform Configuration Drift Check

• • Go to Aria Operations UI → Operations → Configuration Drift
•  
  • Select the affected vCenter
•  
  • Click Detect Drift to run the check again