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Details

The Fix

Adds support for the ALPN extension in the aiohttp client SSL context, enabling better compatibility with servers that require this extension.

Based on closed aio-libs/aiohttp issue #10152 · PR/commit linked

Production note: Most teams hit this during upgrades or environment changes. Roll out with a canary and smoke critical endpoints (health, OpenAPI/docs) before 100%.

Open PR/Commit
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +Enabled ALPN on default SSL contexts. This improves compatibility with some +proxies which don't work without this extension. +-- by :user:`Cycloctane`.
fix.md
Option A — Apply the official fix\nAdds support for the ALPN extension in the aiohttp client SSL context, enabling better compatibility with servers that require this extension.\nWhen NOT to use: This fix should not be used if the server does not require ALPN.\n\n

Why This Fix Works in Production

  • Trigger: aiohttp client doesn't send ALPN (TLS application_layer_protocol_negotiation extension). Some servers may refuse to do handshake with clients or block requests…
  • Mechanism: aiohttp client does not send ALPN, causing handshake failures with some servers
Production impact:
  • If left unfixed, the same config can fail only in production (env differences), causing startup failures or partial feature outages.

Why This Breaks in Prod

  • aiohttp client does not send ALPN, causing handshake failures with some servers
  • Production symptom (often without a traceback): aiohttp client doesn't send ALPN (TLS application_layer_protocol_negotiation extension). Some servers may refuse to do handshake with clients or block requests without this extension set in TLS layer. (As in #8478 , #10141 )

Proof / Evidence

Discussion

High-signal excerpts from the issue thread (symptoms, repros, edge-cases).

“### Is your feature request related to a problem? aiohttp client doesn't send ALPN (TLS application_layer_protocol_negotiation extension). Some servers may refuse to do handshake with clients or block requests without this extension set in”
Issue thread · issue description · source

Failure Signature (Search String)

  • aiohttp client doesn't send ALPN (TLS application_layer_protocol_negotiation extension). Some servers may refuse to do handshake with clients or block requests without this
  • aiohttp client only uses http/1.1 protocol for now. Simply setting it by `set_alpn_protocols['http/1.1']` after creating SSL default context should be fine.
Copy-friendly signature
signature.txt
Failure Signature ----------------- aiohttp client doesn't send ALPN (TLS application_layer_protocol_negotiation extension). Some servers may refuse to do handshake with clients or block requests without this extension set in TLS layer. (As in #8478 , #10141 ) aiohttp client only uses http/1.1 protocol for now. Simply setting it by `set_alpn_protocols['http/1.1']` after creating SSL default context should be fine.

Error Message

Signature-only (no traceback captured)
error.txt
Error Message ------------- aiohttp client doesn't send ALPN (TLS application_layer_protocol_negotiation extension). Some servers may refuse to do handshake with clients or block requests without this extension set in TLS layer. (As in #8478 , #10141 ) aiohttp client only uses http/1.1 protocol for now. Simply setting it by `set_alpn_protocols['http/1.1']` after creating SSL default context should be fine.

What Broke

Some servers may refuse handshake or block requests without ALPN set in TLS.

Why It Broke

aiohttp client does not send ALPN, causing handshake failures with some servers

Fix Options (Details)

Option A — Apply the official fix

Adds support for the ALPN extension in the aiohttp client SSL context, enabling better compatibility with servers that require this extension.

When NOT to use: This fix should not be used if the server does not require ALPN.

Fix reference: https://github.com/aio-libs/aiohttp/pull/10156

Last verified: 2026-02-09. Validate in your environment.

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When NOT to Use This Fix

  • This fix should not be used if the server does not require ALPN.

Did This Fix Work in Your Case?

Quick signal helps us prioritize which fixes to verify and improve.

Prevention

  • Add a TLS smoke test that performs a real handshake in CI (include CA bundle validation and hostname checks).
  • Alert on handshake failures by error string and endpoint to catch cert/CA changes quickly.

Related Issues

No related fixes found.

Sources

We don’t republish the full GitHub discussion text. Use the links above for context.