Which type of certificate allows the use of the certificate for multiple subdomains by containing an asterisk in its domain name?

Wildcard certificates are specifically designed to secure multiple subdomains under a single domain by incorporating an asterisk into the domain name. For instance, a wildcard certificate for "*.example.com" would secure "sub1.example.com," "sub2.example.com," and any other subdomain that falls under "example.com." This capability simplifies the management of SSL/TLS certificates for organizations that operate numerous subdomains by reducing the number of individual certificates required.

In contrast, Extended Validation (EV) certificates are focused on providing a higher level of trust for individual domain names and do not support wildcards. General purpose certificates may cover specific domains, but they don't inherently include wildcard capabilities. Domain Validation (DV) certificates validate that the requester has control over a domain but, like EV, do not specifically refer to or support wildcard functionality. Thus, the wildcard certificate is uniquely suitable for the scenario of covering multiple subdomains efficiently and effectively.