What role does the origin server's IP address play in a 526 error when Cloudflare is active?

When Cloudflare is active (orange-clouded DNS record), it proxies traffic and connects to your origin server's IP address to retrieve content. A 526 error occurs if the server at that specific IP address does not present a valid SSL certificate for the domain Cloudflare is requesting, or if the certificate has issues as described previously. It's crucial that the IP address Cloudflare is directed to (via your DNS A/AAAA records) is indeed the server hosting your website with the correct SSL certificate installed.