GitHub Pages custom domain SSL certificate provisioning issue #211792

mahdishin · 2026-11-01T11:59:02Z

mahdishin
Nov 1, 2026

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

Body

GitHub Pages custom domain SSL certificate provisioning issue

Hello

I'm experiencing an SSL certificate provisioning issue with my GitHub Pages website.

Repository: mahdishin/kingfood_stat
Custom domain: kingfood.ca

The website is accessible over HTTP, but HTTPS is not working.

Here are the details:

All four recommended GitHub Pages IPv4 A records are configured correctly.
The www CNAME points to mahdishin.github.io.
DNS records are set to DNS only in Cloudflare.
No CAA records are configured.
The CNAME file exists in the repository root and contains kingfood.ca.
GitHub Pages reports DNS check unsuccessful and NotServedByPagesError.
The certificate status displays: Certificate already exists for kingfood.ca in state 'new'. Resuming the process.
Both kingfood.ca and www.kingfood.ca return ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID when accessed over HTTPS.
The Enforce HTTPS option is disabled.

The issue has persisted for more than 14 hours despite the DNS configuration being verified.

Could you please investigate the custom domain verification and SSL certificate provisioning process?

Thank you.

Answered by kk376

Nov 1, 2026

Cloudflare proxying (Orange Cloud) is currently enabled on your domain.

Running dig +short kingfood.ca A returns 172.67.143.162 and 104.21.47.15. Those are Cloudflare proxy anycast IPs rather than GitHub's Pages IPs (185.199.108.153, etc.). Because Cloudflare terminates the connection at its edge, GitHub's Let's Encrypt ACME verification check cannot reach the GitHub challenge endpoint, resulting in NotServedByPagesError.

To fix it:

Set Cloudflare records to DNS Only (Grey Cloud)
In your Cloudflare dashboard under DNS -> Records, edit the apex @ A records and www CNAME record. Switch Proxy status from "Proxied" to "DNS only".
Reset the GitHub Pages verification state
In your repositor…

View full answer

2026-11-01T11:59:32Z

github-actions[bot]
Bot Nov 1, 2026

💬 Your Product Feedback Has Been Submitted 🎉

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights with us! Your feedback is invaluable as we build a better GitHub experience for all our users.

Here's what you can expect moving forward ⏩

Your input will be carefully reviewed and cataloged by members of our product teams.
- Due to the high volume of submissions, we may not always be able to provide individual responses.
- Rest assured, your feedback will help chart our course for product improvements.
Other users may engage with your post, sharing their own perspectives or experiences.
GitHub staff may reach out for further clarification or insight.
- We may 'Answer' your discussion if there is a current solution, workaround, or roadmap/changelog post related to the feedback.

Where to look to see what's shipping 👀

Read the Changelog for real-time updates on the latest GitHub features, enhancements, and calls for feedback.
Explore our Product Roadmap, which details upcoming major releases and initiatives.

What you can do in the meantime 💻

Upvote and comment on other user feedback Discussions that resonate with you.
Add more information at any point! Useful details include: use cases, relevant labels, desired outcomes, and any accompanying screenshots.

As a member of the GitHub community, your participation is essential. While we can't promise that every suggestion will be implemented, we want to emphasize that your feedback is instrumental in guiding our decisions and priorities.

Thank you once again for your contribution to making GitHub even better! We're grateful for your ongoing support and collaboration in shaping the future of our platform. ⭐

0 replies

kk376 · 2026-11-01T21:07:15Z

kk376
Nov 1, 2026

Cloudflare proxying (Orange Cloud) is currently enabled on your domain.

Running dig +short kingfood.ca A returns 172.67.143.162 and 104.21.47.15. Those are Cloudflare proxy anycast IPs rather than GitHub's Pages IPs (185.199.108.153, etc.). Because Cloudflare terminates the connection at its edge, GitHub's Let's Encrypt ACME verification check cannot reach the GitHub challenge endpoint, resulting in NotServedByPagesError.

To fix it:

Set Cloudflare records to DNS Only (Grey Cloud)
In your Cloudflare dashboard under DNS -> Records, edit the apex @ A records and www CNAME record. Switch Proxy status from "Proxied" to "DNS only".
Reset the GitHub Pages verification state
In your repository Settings -> Pages:

Remove kingfood.ca and click Save.
Re-type kingfood.ca and click Save.

Wait for certificate issuance and enforce HTTPS
Give it roughly 5 to 10 minutes. Once the DNS check turns green and the certificate status reports provisioned, check "Enforce HTTPS".
(Optional) If you want Cloudflare's CDN proxying back on later, set your Cloudflare SSL/TLS mode to Full (Strict) before switching the records back to Proxied.

3 replies

mahdishin Nov 1, 2026
Author

Thank you for your suggestions.

Unfortunately, I had already spent more than 14 hours troubleshooting this issue without any success. I checked my DNS configuration multiple times, and the relevant Cloudflare DNS records were already set to DNS Only (Grey Cloud), not Proxied.

Despite having the recommended DNS records configured correctly, GitHub Pages continued to report NotServedByPagesError, and the SSL certificate was never provisioned. I also waited for an extended period, but nothing changed.

Eventually, I decided to stop using GitHub Pages altogether and moved my website to Cloudflare Pages instead.

I appreciate your help, but I would still like to understand whether the DNS records or GitHub Pages certificate provisioning process could have been responsible for this issue.

Could the problem have been on GitHub's side rather than my DNS configuration?

Thank you.

kk376 Nov 1, 2026

Makes sense. Honestly, moving to Cloudflare Pages was probably the best decision here anyway. Having DNS and hosting under one roof saves so much headache since SSL just works at their edge without the origin handshake.

To answer your question about whether GitHub or DNS was to blame, it was actually both of them.

On the DNS side, apex domains on Cloudflare can be tricky. Even when your IPv4 A records are set to DNS only, Cloudflare's automatic CNAME flattening or leftover proxied IPv6 records often still broadcast Cloudflare anycast IPs. When GitHub's verification bot checked, it saw those proxy IPs instead of its own, which threw that NotServedByPagesError.

GitHub is definitely at fault on the cert side though. That log line you saw (Certificate already exists in state 'new') means their background worker failed the first challenge and got stuck in an internal backoff loop.

It does not recheck right away even after DNS is sorted out. The only way to break that state is completely removing the custom domain from your repo settings and adding it back to force a brand new request.

mahdishin Nov 4, 2026
Author

Thank you for taking the time to explain this in such detail!

Your insights into the DNS configuration and GitHub's certificate provisioning process were really helpful. I appreciate your help in understanding what might have caused the issue.

Ultimately, moving to Cloudflare Pages seems to have been the right decision for my project.

Thanks again for your time and assistance!

Navigation Menu

GitHub Community

GitHub Pages custom domain SSL certificate provisioning issue #211792

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{editor}}'s edit

{{editor}}'s edit

Uh oh!

Replies: 2 comments 3 replies

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

{{title}}

Uh oh!

Select a reply

Uh oh!

GitHub Community

GitHub Pages custom domain SSL certificate provisioning issue #211792

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

mahdishin Nov 1, 2026

🏷️ Discussion Type

Body

Replies: 2 comments · 3 replies

Uh oh!

github-actions[bot] Bot Nov 1, 2026

Uh oh!

kk376 Nov 1, 2026

Uh oh!

mahdishin Nov 1, 2026 Author

Uh oh!

kk376 Nov 1, 2026

Uh oh!

mahdishin Nov 4, 2026 Author

mahdishin
Nov 1, 2026

Replies: 2 comments 3 replies

github-actions[bot]
Bot Nov 1, 2026

kk376
Nov 1, 2026

mahdishin Nov 1, 2026
Author

mahdishin Nov 4, 2026
Author