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I was looking at this site, and out of interest, I was having a look at the certificate in Chrome 32, on Windows 8.1, and I had a look at the certificate.

I saw this really strange intention, Apart from the usual:

Ensures the identity of a remote computer

Proves your identity to a remote computer

I saw this one too:

2.16.840.1.113733.1.7.23.6

enter image description here

What is this intention/permission for, and what does it do?

George
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1 Answers1

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It is an OID, not random numbers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Validation_Certificate

According to wikipedia:

Extended Validation certificate identification

EV certificates are standard x.509 digital certificates. The primary way to identify an EV certificate is by referencing the Certificate Policies extension field. Each issuer uses a different object identifier (OID) in this field to identify their EV certificates, and each OID is documented in the issuer's Certification Practice Statement. As with root certificate authorities in general, browsers may not recognize all issuers.

In the case of this OID:

VeriSign 2.16.840.1.113733.1.7.23.6 VeriSign EV CPS v. 3.3, p. 87

Zoredache
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Matthew Ife
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  • Thanks for the fast answer. So is this just like a unique ID for the company/site that is vending/issuing the certificate? Sorry, but I don't really know much about certificates! – George Feb 11 '14 at 22:07
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    Yes, these ID's are typically identified by validation software (probably hardcoded, but dont know) as a means to identify it as a EV certificate rather than a standard certificate. – Matthew Ife Feb 11 '14 at 22:13