Certificate Record (CERT)
The Certificate Record (CERT) provides a standardized way to store digital certificates—such as PKIX, SPKI, and PGP—directly within the Domain Name System.
While the web predominantly uses the CA (Certificate Authority) model for SSL/TLS, the CERT record was designed to provide a decentralized way to distribute public keys for various protocols. It allows a client to verify the identity of a server or a user by retrieving their certificate directly from the DNS, rather than relying solely on a third-party repository.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Standard browsers do not use the CERT record to validate website SSL certificates. They use the Certificate Authority (CA) bundle built into the operating system. CERT records are more common in specialized security implementations or legacy PGP email systems.
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