---
id: "CVE-2026-96453"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-96453"]
title: "Keycloak kcadm: custom truststore accepts any self-signed certificate"
severity: "high"
cvss: 8.0
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "other"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["kcadm", "keycloak", "other", "red-hat-build-of-keycloak", "self-hosted"]
not_affected_if: ["default-truststore", "no-kcadm-use"]
published_at: "2026-11-05T18:17:11+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-05T18:40:10+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-05T18:41:21+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96453", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-05T18:40:10+00:00"}, {"source": "analyst", "url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-96453", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-05T18:41:21+00:00", "cites": ["https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-96453"]}]
exploit_sources: []
---

# Keycloak kcadm: custom truststore accepts any self-signed certificate

The Keycloak Admin CLI (kcadm) accepts any self-signed certificate when a custom truststore is supplied, as long as the hostname matches. A network attacker can impersonate the Keycloak server, capture administrator credentials, and perform unauthorized management actions.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

Check whether any admin, script or CI job runs 'kcadm.sh config truststore' or passes --truststore to kcadm (look in ~/.keycloak/kcadm.config for a truststore entry). Affected version ranges are not published yet; check Red Hat Bugzilla 2539294 and the Keycloak release notes.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-05T18:40:10+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-96453
- 2026-11-05T18:41:21+00:00 analyst https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-96453 — Red Hat CVE page (CNA) read: root cause is the Admin CLI HTTP client trust strategy accepting self-signed certs when a truststore is given; reporter Paul Bottinelli (Trail of Bits with OpenAI). Page gives NO affected/fixed versions and says no mitigation is available; Bugzilla 2539294. Upstream Keycloak advisory not found. Fix unknown; not claiming 'none' since page does not say no fix.

## Documents

- [advisory] Red Hat CVE-2026-96453 https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-96453

## From the sources

A flaw was found in the Keycloak Admin CLI kcadm tool, which is used by administrators to manage Keycloak servers from the command line. When a custom truststore is provided to verify the server identity, the tool incorrectly accepts any self-signed certificate as long as the hostname matches. This allows a network attacker to impersonate the Keycloak server, steal administrative credentials, and perform unauthorized management actions.

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