Certificate Discovery

Certificate discovery is the process of finding certificates existing in an enterprise network. The first mitigation step to address the certificate expiry outages is to get visibility over the existing certificates and host information in the infrastructure. AppViewX CLM enables you to detect risk by discovering all the certificates hosted in the network by various applications.

The scan process involves collecting information about each certificate, such as its subject, issuer, validity period, key length, and usage. This data helps administrators keep track of certificates' expiration dates, identify potential vulnerabilities related to weak encryption algorithms or outdated certificate versions, and ensure compliance with industry standards and best practices.

Additionally, starting v2026.2.0.0, AppViewX has enabled automatic mapping of certificates initially discovered from endpoints to the correct CA account and CA connector, once the corresponding CA is onboarded and discovered. Previously, certificates discovered from endpoints (servers, devices, cloud services) were added to the inventory without a proper CA account or CA connector mapped. With this enhancement, such certificates are automatically associated with the correct CA, enabling a more streamlined certificate management and lifecycle automation.

The purpose is to provide an organization with an inventory of all certificates present within their network. This inventory helps in managing and monitoring the certificates effectively, ensuring their validity, and avoiding potential security risks associated with expired or compromised certificates.

AppViewX supports certificate discovery through different types of scans as explained in the following sections: