diff --git a/web/lib/potato_mesh/application/federation.rb b/web/lib/potato_mesh/application/federation.rb
index 35bd659..23d5c82 100644
--- a/web/lib/potato_mesh/application/federation.rb
+++ b/web/lib/potato_mesh/application/federation.rb
@@ -299,6 +299,8 @@ module PotatoMesh
         http.min_version = :TLS1_2 if http.respond_to?(:min_version=)
         store = remote_instance_cert_store
         http.cert_store = store if store
+        callback = remote_instance_verify_callback
+        http.verify_callback = callback if callback
         http
       end
 
@@ -324,6 +326,56 @@ module PotatoMesh
         @remote_instance_cert_store = nil
       end
 
+      # Build a TLS verification callback that tolerates CRL availability failures.
+      #
+      # Some certificate authorities publish CRL endpoints that may occasionally be
+      # unreachable. When OpenSSL cannot download the CRL it raises the
+      # V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_CRL error which would otherwise cause HTTPS federation
+      # announcements to abort. The generated callback accepts those specific
+      # failures while preserving strict verification for all other errors.
+      #
+      # @return [Proc, nil] verification callback or nil when creation fails.
+      def remote_instance_verify_callback
+        if defined?(@remote_instance_verify_callback) && @remote_instance_verify_callback
+          return @remote_instance_verify_callback
+        end
+
+        callback = lambda do |preverify_ok, store_context|
+          return true if preverify_ok
+
+          if store_context && crl_unavailable_error?(store_context.error)
+            debug_log(
+              "Ignoring TLS CRL retrieval failure during federation request",
+              context: "federation.announce",
+            )
+            true
+          else
+            false
+          end
+        end
+
+        @remote_instance_verify_callback = callback
+      rescue StandardError => e
+        debug_log(
+          "Failed to initialize federation TLS verify callback: #{e.message}",
+          context: "federation.announce",
+        )
+        @remote_instance_verify_callback = nil
+      end
+
+      # Determine whether the supplied OpenSSL verification error corresponds to a
+      # missing certificate revocation list.
+      #
+      # @param error_code [Integer, nil] OpenSSL verification error value.
+      # @return [Boolean] true when the error should be ignored.
+      def crl_unavailable_error?(error_code)
+        allowed_errors = [OpenSSL::X509::V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_CRL]
+        if defined?(OpenSSL::X509::V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_CRL_ISSUER)
+          allowed_errors << OpenSSL::X509::V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_CRL_ISSUER
+        end
+        allowed_errors.include?(error_code)
+      end
+
       def validate_well_known_document(document, domain, pubkey)
         unless document.is_a?(Hash)
           return [false, "document is not an object"]
diff --git a/web/spec/federation_spec.rb b/web/spec/federation_spec.rb
index 694d78e..8673359 100644
--- a/web/spec/federation_spec.rb
+++ b/web/spec/federation_spec.rb
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ RSpec.describe PotatoMesh::App::Federation do
           @debug_messages ||= []
         end
 
-        def debug_log(message)
+        def debug_log(message, **_metadata)
           debug_messages << message
         end
 
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ RSpec.describe PotatoMesh::App::Federation do
 
   before do
     federation_helpers.instance_variable_set(:@remote_instance_cert_store, nil)
+    federation_helpers.instance_variable_set(:@remote_instance_verify_callback, nil)
     federation_helpers.reset_debug_messages
   end
 
@@ -84,6 +85,33 @@ RSpec.describe PotatoMesh::App::Federation do
     end
   end
 
+  describe ".remote_instance_verify_callback" do
+    let(:callback) { federation_helpers.remote_instance_verify_callback }
+
+    it "memoizes the generated callback" do
+      first = federation_helpers.remote_instance_verify_callback
+      second = federation_helpers.remote_instance_verify_callback
+      expect(second).to equal(first)
+    end
+
+    it "allows the handshake to continue when CRLs are unavailable" do
+      store_context = instance_double(OpenSSL::X509::StoreContext, error: OpenSSL::X509::V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_CRL)
+
+      expect(callback.call(false, store_context)).to be(true)
+      expect(federation_helpers.debug_messages.last).to include("Ignoring TLS CRL retrieval failure")
+    end
+
+    it "rejects other verification failures" do
+      store_context = instance_double(OpenSSL::X509::StoreContext, error: OpenSSL::X509::V_ERR_CERT_HAS_EXPIRED)
+
+      expect(callback.call(false, store_context)).to be(false)
+    end
+
+    it "falls back to the default behavior when the handshake is already valid" do
+      expect(callback.call(true, nil)).to be(true)
+    end
+  end
+
   describe ".build_remote_http_client" do
     let(:timeout) { 15 }
 
@@ -95,6 +123,8 @@ RSpec.describe PotatoMesh::App::Federation do
       uri = URI.parse("https://remote.example.com/api")
       store = OpenSSL::X509::Store.new
       allow(federation_helpers).to receive(:remote_instance_cert_store).and_return(store)
+      callback = proc { true }
+      allow(federation_helpers).to receive(:remote_instance_verify_callback).and_return(callback)
 
       http = federation_helpers.build_remote_http_client(uri)
 
@@ -103,6 +133,7 @@ RSpec.describe PotatoMesh::App::Federation do
       expect(http.read_timeout).to eq(timeout)
       expect(http.cert_store).to eq(store)
       expect(http.verify_mode).to eq(OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_PEER)
+      expect(http.verify_callback).to eq(callback)
       if http.respond_to?(:min_version)
         expect(http.min_version).to eq(:TLS1_2)
       end
@@ -122,10 +153,12 @@ RSpec.describe PotatoMesh::App::Federation do
     it "leaves the certificate store unset when unavailable" do
       uri = URI.parse("https://remote.example.com/api")
       allow(federation_helpers).to receive(:remote_instance_cert_store).and_return(nil)
+      allow(federation_helpers).to receive(:remote_instance_verify_callback).and_return(nil)
 
       http = federation_helpers.build_remote_http_client(uri)
 
       expect(http.cert_store).to be_nil
+      expect(http.verify_callback).to be_nil
     end
   end
 end