OCSP Stapling

Updated 28 Jul 2026

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def
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  an optimization to Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) where the certificate holder — not the CA — proves their own certificate's current status
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why it exists
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  having the CA respond to every client's OCSP request directly may not scale well
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  instead, the certificate holder's own server periodically obtains and stores its OCSP status, then "staples" (attaches) that digitally-signed status into the SSL/TLS handshake itself
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related
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  Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP)
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  Certificate Authority

Linked references 3