diff --git a/changelog/29117.txt b/changelog/29117.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..cd12b03551b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/29117.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+```release-note:bug
+core/seal (enterprise): Fix decryption of the raft bootstrap challenge when using seal high availability.
+```
diff --git a/vault/core.go b/vault/core.go
index d9e7ad62de50..fd9ac93126aa 100644
--- a/vault/core.go
+++ b/vault/core.go
@@ -234,7 +234,8 @@ type unlockInformation struct {
 }
 
 type raftInformation struct {
-	challenge           *wrapping.BlobInfo
+	// challenge is in ciphertext
+	challenge           []byte
 	leaderClient        *api.Client
 	leaderBarrierConfig *SealConfig
 	nonVoter            bool
diff --git a/vault/raft.go b/vault/raft.go
index cfffcf10196a..bf8f223afc02 100644
--- a/vault/raft.go
+++ b/vault/raft.go
@@ -16,12 +16,10 @@ import (
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/golang/protobuf/proto"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/go-cleanhttp"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/go-discover"
 	discoverk8s "github.com/hashicorp/go-discover/provider/k8s"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/go-hclog"
-	wrapping "github.com/hashicorp/go-kms-wrapping/v2"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/tlsutil"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/go-uuid"
 	goversion "github.com/hashicorp/go-version"
@@ -1029,13 +1027,8 @@ func (c *Core) getRaftChallenge(leaderInfo *raft.LeaderJoinInfo) (*raftInformati
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error decoding raft bootstrap challenge: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	eBlob := &wrapping.BlobInfo{}
-	if err := proto.Unmarshal(challengeRaw, eBlob); err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error decoding raft bootstrap challenge: %w", err)
-	}
-
 	return &raftInformation{
-		challenge:           eBlob,
+		challenge:           challengeRaw,
 		leaderClient:        apiClient,
 		leaderBarrierConfig: &sealConfig,
 	}, nil
@@ -1353,15 +1346,6 @@ func (c *Core) joinRaftSendAnswer(ctx context.Context, sealAccess seal.Access, r
 		return errors.New("raft is already initialized")
 	}
 
-	multiWrapValue := &seal.MultiWrapValue{
-		Generation: sealAccess.Generation(),
-		Slots:      []*wrapping.BlobInfo{raftInfo.challenge},
-	}
-	plaintext, _, err := sealAccess.Decrypt(ctx, multiWrapValue, nil)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error decrypting challenge: %w", err)
-	}
-
 	parsedClusterAddr, err := url.Parse(c.ClusterAddr())
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error parsing cluster address: %w", err)
@@ -1377,6 +1361,12 @@ func (c *Core) joinRaftSendAnswer(ctx context.Context, sealAccess seal.Access, r
 		}
 	}
 
+	sealer := NewSealAccessSealer(sealAccess, c.logger, "bootstrap_challenge_read")
+	plaintext, err := sealer.Open(context.Background(), raftInfo.challenge)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("error decrypting challenge: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	answerReq := raftInfo.leaderClient.NewRequest("PUT", "/v1/sys/storage/raft/bootstrap/answer")
 	if err := answerReq.SetJSONBody(map[string]interface{}{
 		"answer":          base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(plaintext),