Signed extension shows "could not be verified for use in Firefox" message

Add-ons Development
#1

I have an extension that has been signed by Mozilla that shows up as “could not be verified for use in Firefox. Proceed with caution” in the add-ons manager. I’m trying to install my extension programmatically by copying the file to ~/Library/Application Support//Extensions/{id}/@name.xpi on OSX and to %appdata%\Mozilla\Extensions{id}@name.xpi on Windows. Upon restart of Firefox 42 the extension gets installed and works fine, except for the worrying message. However, when I install the extension by dragging it onto the Firefox window it gets installed fine and does NOT show the worrying message.

Is this a bug in Firefox or am I installing my extension incorrectly and is the documentation at https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Add-ons/Installing_extensions incomplete?

#2

Any change to the XPI will invalidate the signing checksums.

#3

I have not made any changes to the file (except for the filename which has to have a particular format or Firefox will not even consider installing the extension).

When I install the exact same file by dragging and dropping it onto the Firefox window everything is okay. If I install it through the Extensions folder as described in the documentation, Firefox will install the extension and it will work, but the add-ons manager shows an alarming message.

#4

Extensions that were signed after November 10th and before November 18th were incorrectly signed, which would lead to the error you see. If this is your case, you’ll need to submit a new version of your add-on or wait until we automatically sign the incorrectly-signed files again (should happen in the coming couple of weeks).

Addon listed but not signed
#5

That’s indeed the case. I’ll wait for the correctly signed files. Thank you for letting me know, because this was driving me nuts. :slight_smile:

#6

I am experiencing the same error with my add-on. my add-on is unlisted and submitted for signing via add-on hub, and installed via registry key silently.

However it shows "could not be verified for use in Firefox” message. And if I drag & drop exactly the same XPI, it will pass the verification and good to use.

Any idea?

#7

We submitted a new version of our add-on. After it was signed (correctly, this time) the problem went away. As jorgev pointed out you have to resubmit your add-on to get it fixed.

#8

Thank you. We just found that it’s different scenario. Our add-on is installed via registry key, and it must be full reviewed. So the it’s fixed after full review (very efficient, done in one day :slight_smile: )

#9

We are experiencing the same issue ,
The extension is successfully Preliminary reviewed by the AMO and when we install it for the first time it gets installed successfully, However as soon as the browser is restarted the extension got disabled.
We are not sure why this is happening and as Firefox 48 will be released next week and after that our extension will stop working on firefox due to signing issue as the signature override will be disabled.

We have developed the same extension for Mac OS also and same thing works fine on Mac.

Please let us know what measures we can take to resolve this issue. We tried by submitting the new version for review and still facing the same issue.

#10

Which extension are you referring to, and how is it installed?

#11

Extension is hosted on our site and we allow user to install the extension in a normal way , browser downloads the extension xpi file and then installs it , However while installation if the signature check is set as true on Firefox on windows system, it shows the popup to the user that “the add-on downloaded from this site could not be installed because it appears to be corrupted” , However the same extension works fine on Mac.

Our extension are used up by many corporate companies and they are using it regularly , But as from Firefox 48 that signature override will be disabled and we are not sure whether our extension will work or not after that.

We tried again on this Monday by signing the new version of extension but still same issue.
Whenever we install the extension for the first time either by dragging and dropping xpi file or by installing from AMO site. it works fine for the first and as soon as the browser restarts it gets blocked up by the browser due to the signing issue.

Please let us know if you can provide any support email id for this case where we can have a one to one conversation in place of public forum , we will be able to provide you more details about the extension .

#12

You can email us at amo-admins AT mozilla DOT org and we’ll help you out. Getting the signature error after a restart suggests the add-on install folder is being modified by the add-on, but we can look into that if you send us the file or point us to the add-on page.

#13

Hi Jorge ,
I have sent the mail to amo-admins with all the details of extension and extension file as well. Please have a look whenever time permits you.