As a part of our Server Management Services, we help webmasters, web hosts, and other online service providers resolve errors in accessing their web services. A support request we recently received was to fix a Secure Connection Failed error with code PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR.

The website owner was unable to access the site from Firefox.

Today, we will go through the causes of this error, and how to fix it.

Common causes for PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR in Firefox

The error PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR can be triggered due to a variety of reasons. It ranges from incorrect cipher suites to corrupted Firefox profile.

Let us now look at each reason separately and the possible measures to fix it.

VPN, Proxy or similar software Interference

It is common to use software like VPN or proxy in middle while connecting to the internet.  It helps in ensuring security as well as protecting privacy. At times the interference from this software can trigger  PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR.

If you are using one such software, it is always a good idea to try connecting directly to the internet. Disabling the proxy server or uninstalling the VPN application can confirm if they were actually causing the trouble.

Corrupted Firefox profile 

Corrupted firefox profile occasionally triggers the error  PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR. Accessing the website over a new profile can verify if it is actually an issue with the Firefox profile.

To create a new profile, access about:profiles in the browser and click on Create a New Profile.

Setting the new profile as the default one will normally make the website accessible.

We can now export the bookmarks from the old profile to a new profile. Steps below will help to export the bookmarks in Firefox easily:

1. Firstly to export the bookmarks, in the old profile, click on the Show All Bookmarks option in the Bookmark icon. This will open the Library section.

2. Secondly, from the Library section, click on the Import and Backup option. From there,to create a backup of the bookmarks, use the Export Bookmarks to HTML option.

3. Now its time set the profile that we created earlier as the default profile. We can use the Set as default profile option below the new profile name in about:profiles tab to make it the default one.

4. The final step here is to import the bookmark backup that we generated earlier to the new default profile. We can use the Import Bookmarks from  HTML at the Library section similar to the one mentioned in step 2 for it.

5. Also ensure to restart your browser from the about:profiles tab.

Incorrect cipher suites

At times we receive requests where firefox start to trigger the error message PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR after users make changes to the SSL settings. These settings may try to enforce cipher suites that are not supported by Firefox or the website.

The obvious fix here is to revert it to the initial state. At times refreshing Firefox may also help to fix the issue.

To refresh Firefox, navigate to  Help > Troubleshooting Information section and simply click on the Refresh Firefox option.

Antivirus/Security Suite Interference

Overprotective antivirus/similar third-party security suites can trigger the PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR error easily. For instance, anti-virus Softwares like Avast, Kaspersky etc send their own certificates by intercepting the connection. As a result, this may trigger the Secure Connection Failed error.

The solution for this scenario would be to disable the anti-virus software. For the most part, this helps to avoid their interception and thereby fixes the Secure Connection Failed error.

Firewall restrictions 

In rare cases, Firewall restrictions can also trigger the error PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR. We recently received a support request with  Secure Connection Failed error on Firefox. The port 443 used for secure web browser communication was blocked at the server end. Our Support Engineers immediately opened this port on the server firewall, which fixed the error.

Thus it is equally important to ensure that there are no firewall/other configuration restrictions at the server end.

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Conclusion

In short,  “PR_END_OF_FILE_ERROR” is triggered when Firefox is unable to establish a secure connection to the website. Similarly, we also discussed how our Support Engineers helps users to fix this error at their end.