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Isar: Unprivileged user ownership of trusted repository GPG public keys storage after bootstrap

Type: advisorySources: OSV

Isar is an integration system for automated root filesystem generation. In versions 0.11 and newer, /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d is created manually during bootstrap setup to be able to deploy local keys. By that, the directory is owned by the calling user (the one that executes Isar) instead of root. If the calling user's id is identical to one of an unprivileged user inside the image, this user is able to alter existing keys and deploy new ones, silently breaking the apt repo integrity protection. The issue is has no impact on those images that use an immutable rootfs, or if apt is never invoked. Changing only the keys does not trigger an exploit, it's just one step in a chain. An attacker would also have to manipulate a remote repo or intercept non-secure communication with it. This issue has been patched via commit 29e84ed.

Products
Not specified
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
Not specified
CVEs
CVE-2026-55222
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
3 Nov 2026, 04:43 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

Isar: Unprivileged user ownership of trusted repository GPG public keys storage after bootstrap

core-osv · Original source

Published 23 Oct 2026, 14:31 UTC

Isar is an integration system for automated root filesystem generation. In versions 0.11 and newer, /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d is created manually during bootstrap setup to be able to deploy local keys. By that, the directory is owned by the calling user (the one that executes Isar) instead of root. If the calling user's id is identical to one of an unprivileged user inside the image, this user is able to alter existing keys and deploy new ones, silently breaking the apt repo integrity protection. The issue is has no impact on those images that use an immutable rootfs, or if apt is never invoked. Changing only the keys does not trigger an exploit, it's just one step in a chain. An attacker would also have to manipulate a remote repo or intercept non-secure communication with it. This issue has been patched via commit 29e84ed.

osv:CVE-2026-55222
Complete source record
{
  "id": "e40702662e43733ee552af45a4bb565d6548f896a5e81b27f603095fcac63be9",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-55222",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "Isar: Unprivileged user ownership of trusted repository GPG public keys storage after bootstrap",
    "summary": "Isar is an integration system for automated root filesystem generation. In versions 0.11 and newer, /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d is created manually during bootstrap setup to be able to deploy local keys. By that, the directory is owned by the calling user (the one that executes Isar) instead of root. If the calling user's id is identical to one of an unprivileged user inside the image, this user is able to alter existing keys and deploy new ones, silently breaking the apt repo integrity protection. The issue is has no impact on those images that use an immutable rootfs, or if apt is never invoked. Changing only the keys does not trigger an exploit, it's just one step in a chain. An attacker would also have to manipulate a remote repo or intercept non-secure communication with it. This issue has been patched via commit 29e84ed.",
    "evidence": "osv:CVE-2026-55222",
    "products": [],
    "severity": "medium",
    "structured": {
      "id": "CVE-2026-55222",
      "aliases": [
        "CVE-2026-55222",
        "GHSA-rq66-pfw5-whqq"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "repo": "https://github.com/ilbers/isar",
              "type": "GIT",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "f8558fcf3ecf98e58853b82d89645bcedb24b853"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "29e84ed301c8d25c570300cf82b563b7961392b0"
                }
              ],
              "database_specific": {
                "extracted_events": [
                  {
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "introduced": "0.11"
                      },
                      {
                        "last_affected": "1.1"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "AFFECTED_FIELD",
                    "strategy": "StringRangeExpression"
                  },
                  {
                    "range": [
                      {
                        "fixed": "29e84ed301c8d25c570300cf82b563b7961392b0"
                      }
                    ],
                    "source": "REFERENCES_COMMIT"
                  }
                ]
              }
            }
          ],
          "versions": [
            "v1.1",
            "v1.1-rc2",
            "v1.1-rc1",
            "v1.0",
            "v1.0-rc1",
            "v0.11"
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2026-55222.json"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-28T02:30:25.686191589Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/55xxx/CVE-2026-55222.json",
        "https://github.com/ilbers/isar/security/advisories/GHSA-rq66-pfw5-whqq",
        "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55222",
        "https://github.com/ilbers/isar/commit/29e84ed301c8d25c570300cf82b563b7961392b0"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "cwe_ids": [
          "CWE-1290"
        ],
        "cna_assigner": "GitHub_M",
        "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/55xxx/CVE-2026-55222.json"
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2026-55222",
        "evidence": "/id"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 492520,
  "published_at": "2026-10-23T14:31:41.863+00:00"
}