A Simple Way to Fix ssl_error_rx_record_too_long in IIS Express

After deleting the developer certificate in IIS Express I could recreate a new one as described in this post. This approach worked, even when I needed to run the IisExpressAdminCmd for every port I use. At least, that was how I could fix all problems with SSL and IIS Express on my machine until a few weeks ago. I finally gave up as I got this error:

Error code: SSL_ERROR_RX_RECORD_TOO_LONG

Google showed me this answer on my question what the meaning of this error message is:

Your SSL website may fail to load and display the error. Error code: ssl_error_rx_record_too_long. This usually means the implementation of SSL on your server is not correct. The error is usually caused by a server side problem which the server administrator will need to investigate. (from servertastic.com)

I finally got my IIS Express in a state where all hope was lost. Reinstalling it was less work than expected and a lot faster than attempting to fix yet another TLS problem:

  1. Close all Visual Studio instances
  2. Delete localhost certificate in the Certificate Manager tool
  3. Deinstall IIS Express in Programs and Features
  4. Reboot
  5. Download IIS Express from Microsoft
  6. Install IIS Express
  7. Start a .Net web application to create a new certificate for localhost

In the weeks since this reinstallation I had no problems with IIS Express and SSL/TLS. Should you run into the same problem I suggest you reinstall your IIS Express without much delay.

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