CVE-2026-11836: Insufficient verification of data authenticity in Cali
CVE-2026-11836 analysis covering impact, affected products, versions, remediation, and cross-checked defender guidance.
CVE-2026-11836 is a vulnerability published by NVD on 8/4/2026.
What happened
Insufficient verification of data authenticity in Caliptra Core ROM and Core Firmware (validate_debug_unlock_token()) in subsystem mode allows an attacker with access to the integrator's debug unlock signing service to unlock production debug on an unintended device by presenting a valid token issued for a different device sharing the same debug unlock key hash. The 384-bit challenge nonce continues to prevent replay of previously issued tokens. Practical impact is limited to loss of per-device scope enforcement within a set of devices that share the same unlock authority by design; it does not enable debug unlock on devices outside that set.
This issue affects Core ROM: 2.0.0 through 2.0.2, 2.1.0 through 2.1.1; Core Firmware: 2.0.0 through 2.0.1, 2.1.0.
Affected products and versions
- NVD has not published a normalized affected-product configuration yet.
Severity and weakness
CVSS: LOW 1.8. Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X.
Weaknesses: CWE-345.
Known exploitation
No CISA KEV entry is currently attached to the NVD record.
What defenders should do
- Identify whether the affected product and version range exists in production.
- Review vendor advisories and release notes before change windows.
- Patch, upgrade, disable the vulnerable component, or apply vendor mitigations.
- Verify the running version after deployment, not only the package inventory.
Official and supporting references
- No vendor advisory tagged by NVD at draft time.