Error "certificate verify failed" returned from curl command

Symptom

A curl command to the switch URL fails with an error similar to the following:

SSL3_GET_SERVER_CERTIFICATE:certificate verify failed

Cause

The curl program could not verify the switch server certificate against the CA certificate bundle that comes with the curl installation, and you did not include the -k option in the curl command.

Action

Retry the command with the -k option included.

The switch HTTPS server uses self-signed certificates, which cannot be verified against a certificate authority. The -k option disables curl certificate validation.

For example:

$ curl GET -k -b /tmp/auth_cookie \
"https://192.0.2.5/rest/v1/system/bridge/vlans"