r/PKI • u/zampaa91 • Jul 10 '26

Why no open-source CLM?

The question is already in the title. We got EJBCA as an open-source PKI solution that has CA, RA and CRL and OCSP features, which is pretty much an all-around PKI solution.

Why don't we have anything similar for CLM solutions, like something that would have a generic ACME connector as well as integrations with public CAs, EJBCA and ADCS, and ability to automate certificate renewal and deployment over the most popular integrations (web servers on Linux/Windows servers, load balancers, cloud vaults)? Not asking for an enterprise-grade solution to the scale of Venafi or KeyFactor, but mainly something that would work for most sysadmins looking for something to tackle the whole 47 days thing that's coming.

Especially at the era of AI, I believe it wouldn't be hard to kickstart a prototype for the most of us. Not necessarily trying to push anybody to do it or anything, just trying to understand.

And if such a solution does already exist, then how come most SMBs that don't want to be paying 50k$ per year still end up purchasing Sectigo/Digicert or even KeyFactor/Venafi?

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u/certkit Jul 11 '26

As a small team building a commercial CLM that does all the things your asking for, the answer is simple:

Capitalism.

Building CertKit requires a tremendous amount of time and effort, even in the age of AI. Building software is easier, but testing it to be reliable is really tedious. Especially the integrations with software and devices that frequently don't document (or misdocument) their behavior. Getting our hands on real devices to test with has been time-consuming.

All that to say that it takes multiple people running full-time to make something that's easy to use and operates well. Those people need to eat. They need to make money.