# CVE-2026-109971: Clevis PKCS#11 pin credential exposure on command line

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-109971-a-flaw-was-found-in-the-clevis-pkcs-11-pin-the-clevis-decrypt  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-14. Updated: 2026-10-30  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-109971 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4.7 · Published 2026-10-14

Clevis is a key management tool that secures encrypted disks using hardware tokens. The PKCS#11 pin feature exposes the security token's PIN on the command line, where any local user can read it through system process listings or the /proc filesystem. An attacker with local access could potentially capture this PIN, though they would also need physical access to the corresponding PKCS#11 hardware token to exploit it.

Technologies: [Red Hat Clevis](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/clevis). Vendors: [Red Hat](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/red-hat).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-109971 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-109971 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-109971?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.7, published 14 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Red Hat Clevis.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-109971?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-109971 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-109971?** Check whether you run Red Hat Clevis. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

The clevis-decrypt-pkcs11 script passes the PKCS#11 token PIN as a command-line argument to pkcs11-tool, violating the principle of not exposing sensitive credentials in process arguments where they are visible via /proc or process listing tools. The vulnerability requires local access (low privilege user) and the PKCS#11 feature must be explicitly configured and in use; successful exploitation additionally requires physical access to the hardware token itself. The fix requires passing the PIN through an environment variable instead of the command line.

## Affected products

- Red Hat Clevis

## Timeline

- 2026-10-14: disclosed

## References

- [https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/](https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/)
- [https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-109971](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-109971)

## Related threats

- [clevis PKCS#11 pin denial of service in socket handler](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-109976-a-flaw-was-found-in-the-clevis-pkcs-11-pin-the-clevis-pkcs11)