Why can Selenium not handle SSL certificates or secure connections?

Selenium is a tool for automating web browsers, and it is not designed to handle SSL certificates or secure connections directly. However, Selenium can interact with web pages that use SSL certificates and secure connections. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a security protocol that establishes encrypted connections between a web server and a client, such as a web browser. SSL certificates are used to verify the server's identity and ensure that the connection is secure.

When a web browser establishes a secure connection with a web server, it typically checks the server's SSL certificate to verify its authenticity. If the certificate is invalid or has been issued by an untrusted authority, the browser may display a warning message or prevent the user from accessing the website.

Selenium can interact with web pages that use SSL certificates and secure connections but does not handle the SSL certificates directly. Instead, it relies on the web browser to handle the SSL certificates and establish a secure connection.

For example, if you are using Selenium to automate a test on a website that uses an SSL certificate, Selenium can interact with the website and perform actions on it, but it will not be able to verify the SSL certificate or establish the secure connection directly. This is because these tasks are handled by the web browser, not by Selenium.