diff --git a/agent/connect/ca.go b/agent/connect/ca.go
index 87b01994ef..ff0f0813db 100644
--- a/agent/connect/ca.go
+++ b/agent/connect/ca.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package connect
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"crypto"
 	"crypto/ecdsa"
 	"crypto/rsa"
@@ -28,21 +27,21 @@ func ParseCert(pemValue string) (*x509.Certificate, error) {
 	return x509.ParseCertificate(block.Bytes)
 }
 
-// ParseCertFingerprint parses the x509 certificate from a PEM-encoded value
-// and returns the SHA-1 fingerprint.
-func ParseCertFingerprint(pemValue string) (string, error) {
+// CalculateCertFingerprint parses the x509 certificate from a PEM-encoded value
+// and calculates the SHA-1 fingerprint.
+func CalculateCertFingerprint(pemValue string) (string, error) {
 	// The _ result below is not an error but the remaining PEM bytes.
 	block, _ := pem.Decode([]byte(pemValue))
 	if block == nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("no PEM-encoded data found")
 	}
 
-	hash := sha1.Sum(block.Bytes)
-	hexified := make([][]byte, len(hash))
-	for i, data := range hash {
-		hexified[i] = []byte(fmt.Sprintf("%02X", data))
+	if block.Type != "CERTIFICATE" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("first PEM-block should be CERTIFICATE type")
 	}
-	return string(bytes.Join(hexified, []byte(":"))), nil
+
+	hash := sha1.Sum(block.Bytes)
+	return HexString(hash[:]), nil
 }
 
 // ParseSigner parses a crypto.Signer from a PEM-encoded key. The private key
diff --git a/agent/consul/connect_ca_endpoint.go b/agent/consul/connect_ca_endpoint.go
index f52c9218e4..72ac2adbce 100644
--- a/agent/consul/connect_ca_endpoint.go
+++ b/agent/consul/connect_ca_endpoint.go
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ func (s *ConnectCA) ConfigurationSet(
 		return err
 	}
 
-	id, err := connect.ParseCertFingerprint(newRootPEM)
+	id, err := connect.CalculateCertFingerprint(newRootPEM)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error parsing root fingerprint: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/agent/consul/connect_ca_provider.go b/agent/consul/connect_ca_provider.go
index f9321138b2..afb74fe78b 100644
--- a/agent/consul/connect_ca_provider.go
+++ b/agent/consul/connect_ca_provider.go
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ func (c *ConsulCAProvider) Sign(csr *x509.CertificateRequest) (string, error) {
 
 	// Cert template for generation
 	sn := &big.Int{}
-	sn.SetUint64(providerState.LeafIndex + 1)
+	sn.SetUint64(providerState.SerialIndex + 1)
 	template := x509.Certificate{
 		SerialNumber:          sn,
 		Subject:               pkix.Name{CommonName: serviceId.Service},
@@ -240,6 +240,7 @@ func (c *ConsulCAProvider) Sign(csr *x509.CertificateRequest) (string, error) {
 			x509.ExtKeyUsageClientAuth,
 			x509.ExtKeyUsageServerAuth,
 		},
+		// todo(kyhavlov): add a way to set the cert lifetime here from the CA config
 		NotAfter:       time.Now().Add(3 * 24 * time.Hour),
 		NotBefore:      time.Now(),
 		AuthorityKeyId: keyId,
@@ -258,20 +259,7 @@ func (c *ConsulCAProvider) Sign(csr *x509.CertificateRequest) (string, error) {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("error encoding private key: %s", err)
 	}
 
-	// Increment the leaf cert index
-	newState := *providerState
-	newState.LeafIndex += 1
-	args := &structs.CARequest{
-		Op:            structs.CAOpSetProviderState,
-		ProviderState: &newState,
-	}
-	resp, err := c.srv.raftApply(structs.ConnectCARequestType, args)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	if respErr, ok := resp.(error); ok {
-		return "", respErr
-	}
+	c.incrementSerialIndex(providerState)
 
 	// Set the response
 	return buf.String(), nil
@@ -306,10 +294,9 @@ func (c *ConsulCAProvider) CrossSignCA(cert *x509.Certificate) (string, error) {
 
 	// Create the cross-signing template from the existing root CA
 	serialNum := &big.Int{}
-	serialNum.SetUint64(providerState.LeafIndex + 1)
+	serialNum.SetUint64(providerState.SerialIndex + 1)
 	template := *cert
 	template.SerialNumber = serialNum
-	template.Subject = rootCA.Subject
 	template.SignatureAlgorithm = rootCA.SignatureAlgorithm
 	template.SubjectKeyId = keyId
 	template.AuthorityKeyId = keyId
@@ -326,9 +313,30 @@ func (c *ConsulCAProvider) CrossSignCA(cert *x509.Certificate) (string, error) {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("error encoding private key: %s", err)
 	}
 
+	c.incrementSerialIndex(providerState)
+
 	return buf.String(), nil
 }
 
+// incrementSerialIndex increments the cert serial number index in the provider state
+func (c *ConsulCAProvider) incrementSerialIndex(providerState *structs.CAConsulProviderState) error {
+	newState := *providerState
+	newState.SerialIndex += 1
+	args := &structs.CARequest{
+		Op:            structs.CAOpSetProviderState,
+		ProviderState: &newState,
+	}
+	resp, err := c.srv.raftApply(structs.ConnectCARequestType, args)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if respErr, ok := resp.(error); ok {
+		return respErr
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // generatePrivateKey returns a new private key
 func generatePrivateKey() (string, error) {
 	var pk *ecdsa.PrivateKey
diff --git a/agent/consul/leader.go b/agent/consul/leader.go
index d9c3a83eaf..2f01b88333 100644
--- a/agent/consul/leader.go
+++ b/agent/consul/leader.go
@@ -426,7 +426,7 @@ func (s *Server) initializeCA() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error getting root cert: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	id, err := connect.ParseCertFingerprint(rootPEM)
+	id, err := connect.CalculateCertFingerprint(rootPEM)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error parsing root fingerprint: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/agent/structs/connect_ca.go b/agent/structs/connect_ca.go
index c46db703a8..0570057b61 100644
--- a/agent/structs/connect_ca.go
+++ b/agent/structs/connect_ca.go
@@ -168,10 +168,10 @@ type ConsulCAProviderConfig struct {
 
 // CAConsulProviderState is used to track the built-in Consul CA provider's state.
 type CAConsulProviderState struct {
-	ID         string
-	PrivateKey string
-	RootCert   string
-	LeafIndex  uint64
+	ID          string
+	PrivateKey  string
+	RootCert    string
+	SerialIndex uint64
 
 	RaftIndex
 }