diff --git a/tests/kryoptic-init.sh b/tests/kryoptic-init.sh
index ecff6ae1..346ecd0f 100755
--- a/tests/kryoptic-init.sh
+++ b/tests/kryoptic-init.sh
@@ -42,3 +42,7 @@ pkcs11-tool --module "${P11LIB}" --so-pin "${PINVALUE}" \
 export TOKENCONFIGVARS="export KRYOPTIC_CONF=$TOKDIR/kryoptic.sql"
 
 export TESTPORT="34000"
+
+# Older versions of certtool do not support non-DER encoded CKA_EC_POINT
+# so set the kryoptic env var to enforce compatibility for the setup phase
+export KRYOPTIC_EC_POINT_ENCODING="DER"