# CVE-2026-65197: H3C G3/G5 HDM Firmware Verification Key Replacement

> Authenticated attackers can replace the firmware verification key to install malicious firmware, bypassing signature checks on H3C HDM devices.

- **Severity:** Low 3.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3886-vrm6-hhxp

## What is CVE-2026-65197?

CVE-2026-65197 is a low-severity vulnerability in H3C HDM Family-A G5, published on 13 Oct 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

H3C HDM Family-A verifies the RSA signature of a firmware image against a public key it reads from the mutable file `/conf/public.pem`. That file is writable by an authenticated Redfish client through the `UpdateService.UploadSignKey` action, which stores the uploaded body verbatim after validating only that the multipart filename ends in `.pem`. An administrator, or any account with `firmware-update` privilege, can therefore replace the trust anchor with their own key, sign a malicious image with the matching private key, and have it pass verification. Family-A has no hardware root-of-trust (no PFR) to catch the substituted key. 

This was observed on H3C HDM Family-A G5 HDM 6.14.01. H3C HDM Family-A G3/G5 builds carrying the Redfish/DRE update tree appear to be affected. HDM2 uses a different update path and is not covered by this finding.

Weakness: CWE-347 (Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-65197?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-65197?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-65197 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-65197 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-65197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-65197 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-65197 is a low-severity vulnerability in H3C HDM Family-A G5, published on 13 Oct 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-65197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: H3C HDM Family-A G5. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-65197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-65197/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-65197
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-65197
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-65197

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-65197/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.