CVE-2026-24044

CVE-2026-24044 is a critical-severity vulnerability with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.2. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-336.

Key facts

Description

Element Server Suite Community Edition (ESS Community) deploys a Matrix stack using the provided Helm charts and Kubernetes distribution. The ESS Community Helm Chart secrets initialization hook (using matrix-tools container before 0.5.7) is using an insecure Matrix server key generation method, allowing network attackers to potentially recreate the same key pair, allowing them to impersonate the victim server. The secret is generated by the secrets initialization hook, in the ESS Community Helm Chart values, if both initSecrets.enabled is not set to false and synapse.signingKey is not defined. Given a server key in Matrix authenticates both requests originating from and events constructed on a given server, this potentially impacts confidentiality, integrity and availability of rooms which have a vulnerable server present as a member. The confidentiality of past conversations in end-to-end encrypted rooms is not impacted. The key generation issue was fixed in matrix-tools 0.5.7, released as part of ESS Community Helm Chart 25.12.1.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-24044?
Element Server Suite Community Edition (ESS Community) deploys a Matrix stack using the provided Helm charts and Kubernetes distribution. The ESS Community Helm Chart secrets initialization hook (using matrix-tools container before 0.5.7) is using an insecure Matrix server key generation method, allowing network attackers to potentially recreate the same key pair, allowing them to impersonate the victim server. The secret is generated by the secrets initialization hook, in the ESS Community Helm Chart values, if both initSecrets.enabled is not set to false and synapse.signingKey is not defined. Given a server key in Matrix authenticates both requests originating from and events constructed on a given server, this potentially impacts confidentiality, integrity and availability of rooms which have a vulnerable server present as a member. The confidentiality of past conversations in end-to-end encrypted rooms is not impacted. The key generation issue was fixed in matrix-tools 0.5.7, released as part of ESS Community Helm Chart 25.12.1.
How severe is CVE-2026-24044?
CVE-2026-24044 has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.2, rated critical severity.
Is CVE-2026-24044 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (20th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-24044?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2026-24044 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2026-24044 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-6697.
When was CVE-2026-24044 published?
CVE-2026-24044 was published on 2026-02-12 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References