TLS termination moves the trust boundary
Wherever TLS is decrypted is where your data becomes readable, and that place is often not the application.
A load balancer, a proxy or a content delivery network terminates the connection, sees everything in the clear, and then forwards it onward. That is a normal design and it means the protection you think ends at the application actually ends earlier. Whether the leg after termination is encrypted, and who can reach the terminating device, are the questions.
More on TLS and PKI
- TLS encrypts a connection, not endpoint intentionsA sealed pipe to a stranger
- Certificates bind keys to names through trust chainsHeld together by a chain of seals
- Certificate expiry creates operational pressureEvery one of them runs out
- Private-key compromise survives a valid certificateThe certificate is fine
- HSTS removes the insecure choice after a browser has learned the policy, while preload can protect the first visit tooThe turning that stops existing
- OCSP stapling moves status evidence closerThe proof comes stapled on