Medium Access control

CVE-2026-44362 — OP-TEE's subkey rollback protection can be bypassed with older subkey versions

OP-TEE is a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) designed as companion to a non-secure Linux kernel running on Arm; Cortex-A cores using the TrustZone technology. Starting in version 3.20.0 and prior to version 4.11.0, a vulnerability in OP-TEE’s subkey rollback protection allows the use of revoked or older subkey versions because the system fails to propagate versioning data during the Trusted Application (TA) loading process. In `core/crypto/signed_hdr.c`, the function `shdr_load_pub_key()` parses subkey headers but does not assign the `subkey_version` to the runtime `shdr_pub_key` structure. As a result, the `key->version` field remains at zero regardless of the version specified in the header. When `ree_fs_ta_open()` in `core/kernel/ree_fs_ta.c` calls `check_update_version()`, it passes this zeroed version to the rollback database. Because the database never receives a non-zero version to record, it never advances, effectively bypassing the rollback check and allowing TAs signed with downgraded subkey chains to load successfully. This impacts OP-TEE mainline configurations that utilize subkey-based signing chains for Trusted Application (TA) authentication. Version 4.11.0 contains a patch. No known workarounds are available.

Published Jul 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: GitHub_M

Low

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.

How the score was calculated

Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation

Not confirmed

Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.

EPSS FIRST

—

No EPSS score.

Affects

OP-TEE

Optee Os and 1 more

CVSS base

5.5

Medium · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation

None

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Partial

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (OP-TEE Optee Os, Trustedfirmware Op-tee).
No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (access control), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
OP-TEE	Optee Os	version >= 3.20.0, < 4.11.0	Vulnerable	CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Trustedfirmware	Op-tee	≥ 3.20.0 and ≤ 4.10.0	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector

Local

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

High

Availability

None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Scored by
5.5	CVSS 3.1	Medium	1.8	3.6	security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.5	CVSS 3.1	Medium	—	—	GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-285 · Improper Authorization

Other CVEs with this weakness →

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
Audit administrative actions and access to resources outside each user’s normal pattern.

endpoint telemetry (EDR)authentication logsapplication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
Affected products added · op-tee/optee os
Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 15, 2026
CVSS changed · 5.5
Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Analyzed
Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVE published
Jul 6, 2026 · GitHub_M

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

1 on the record

github.com/OP-TEE/optee_os/security/advisories/GHSA-fhcg-pp56-8v75
Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

OP-TEE
every CVE for this vendor

Access control
same class

CWE-285
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

Low CVE-2026-53763 OP-TEE has AES-GCM 32-bit integer overflow in length counters that breaks authentication guarantee Jul 6, 2026
Low CVE-2026-42546 OP-TEE has missing OPTEE_MSG_ATTR_TYPE_MASK in cleanup_shm_refs() leaks mobj references Jul 6, 2026
Low CVE-2026-41515 OP-TEE: RSA-OAEP padding oracle in NXP CAAM driver enables plaintext recovery Jul 6, 2026
Low CVE-2026-41516 OP-TEE: Hisilicon HPRE PKCS#1 v1.5 Decryption Padding Oracle Jul 6, 2026
Low CVE-2026-41514 OP-TEE: RSA-OAEP padding oracle in Hisilicon HPRE driver enables plaintext recovery Jul 6, 2026
Low CVE-2026-41434 OP-TEE has unbounded recursion in sanitize_client_object() Jul 6, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No FIRST EPSS score.
No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-44362 is "OP-TEE's subkey rollback protection can be bypassed with older subkey versions", rated Medium. It affects Optee Os (OP-TEE); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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