softhsm/SoftHSMv2

Health v2 · maintenance only

Flags: no_license

Adoption not part of the score

1085 stars · 424 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

SoftHSMv2 is a software implementation of a cryptographic store accessible through the PKCS#11 interface, originally developed as part of the OpenDNSSEC project. It emulates a Hardware Security Module (HSM) so developers can generate keys and perform cryptographic operations without owning physical hardware.

Use cases

• test PKCS#11 integrations without buying an HSM
• store DNSSEC signing keys in software
• develop and debug applications that use cryptographic tokens
• emulate a smart card or HSM in CI pipelines
• explore the PKCS#11 API for learning purposes

When to choose

• you need a PKCS#11 token for testing or development without hardware
• you use OpenDNSSEC or other PKCS#11-based software and lack an HSM
• you want a free software HSM emulator backed by OpenSSL or Botan

When to avoid

• you need real hardware-backed key protection or tamper resistance
• you require certified FIPS/Common Criteria compliance for production key storage
• you need high-throughput hardware cryptographic acceleration

Facets

library · maturity active

cryptography security developer-tools security developer-tools windows cross-platform cpp pkcs11 hsm-emulator software-token opendnssec smart-card-emulation cryptography linux macos

Member repositories

For agents

markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="softhsm/SoftHSMv2")