slackhq/nebula · error

error while parsing ca-crt: %s

Error message

error while parsing ca-crt: %s

What it means

Wrapping error in signCert: cert.UnmarshalCertificateFromPEM could not parse the CA certificate bytes from the ca-crt input. The file was read but is not a valid Nebula certificate (wrong PEM banner, corruption, or unrecognized version); cause included via %s.

Source

Thrown at cmd/nebula-cert/sign.go:183

				}
			}
			curve, caKey, _, err = cert.DecryptAndUnmarshalSigningPrivateKey(passphrase, rawCAKey)
			if err != nil {
				return fmt.Errorf("error while parsing encrypted ca-key: %s", err)
			}
		} else if err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("error while parsing ca-key: %s", err)
		}
	}

	rawCACert, err := readInput("ca-crt", *sf.caCertPath, &claims)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error while reading ca-crt: %s", err)
	}

	caCert, _, err := cert.UnmarshalCertificateFromPEM(rawCACert)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("error while parsing ca-crt: %s", err)
	}

	if !isP11 {
		if err := caCert.VerifyPrivateKey(curve, caKey); err != nil {
			return fmt.Errorf("refusing to sign, root certificate does not match private key")
		}
	}

	if caCert.Expired(time.Now()) {
		return fmt.Errorf("ca certificate is expired")
	}

	if version == 0 {
		version = caCert.Version()
	}

	// if no duration is given, expire one second before the root expires
	if *sf.duration <= 0 {

View on GitHub (pinned to dd8f660c0a)

Solutions

1. Confirm the ca-crt file is a certificate produced by nebula-cert ca
2. Re-export or regenerate the CA certificate
3. Check for truncation or copy/paste corruption of the PEM

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at cmd/nebula-cert/sign.go:183 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of slackhq/nebula@dd8f660c0a (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/298cddd79b12e436. Report an issue: GitHub.