iOS Universal Links NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust kAuthenticationErr

Question

I've set up Universal Links in our app, and I'm unable to retrieve the apple-app-site-association file from my server on app install. The device console is giving the following error where it attempts to retrieve the file during the install:

Rejecting URL 'https://example.com/apple-app-site-association' for auth method 'NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust': -6754/0xFFFFE59E kAuthenticationErr

I'm able to retrieve the file successfully in Safari using the same device. It's hosted via https with a standard verisign issued EV cert. I don't get any SSL errors when retrieving the file outside of app install, so I'm confident the cert is configured correctly on the server side.

What could be causing this error?

Answer 1

As it turns out this issue was caused by having Worx by Citrix installed on the phone. This app installed a profile by XenMobile on the phone that was interfering with the ssl handshake between our server and apple. This was only the case when installing test apps on the phone. Our production app downloaded from the App Store works just fine. Also, if I remove the Citrix apps and the associated XenMobile profile, it works. Very annoying.