Hi all
Below are the belated minutes from the last TSC meeting.
One update from this: Linaro is now a CNA: https://www.cve.org/PartnerInformation/ListofPartners/partner/Linaro
Shebu: I don't have the slides you presented. Could you reply-all with them here when you're back in the office.
Regards
Dan.
Present (I think this is incomplete - Zoom doesn't seem to have recorded everyone who joined the call). Dan Handley (Arm) Shebu Varghese Kuriakose (Arm) Janos Follath (Arm) David Brown (Linaro) Kamlesh Gurudasani (TI) Frank Audun (Nordic) Julius Werner (Google)
Key Outcomes
* PSA Crypto/mbed TLS maintenance is at risk; current maintainers plan to stop development/maintenance by April 27, and the project is actively seeking new contributors or organizations to take over. * PSA Crypto API support is progressing: mbed TLS 3.6 LTS supports PSA Crypto 1.1, and mbed TLS 4.1 supports 1.2 (with some gaps); full 1.5 support is in progress. * PQC support is moving forward: ML-DSA is implemented via a fork of the ML-DSA native project from the PQC Alliance, with PSA Crypto API support expected by the end of the year. * TF security incident handling is being streamlined to reduce overhead and speed up fixes, including a proposal to decouple CVE creation from vulnerability fixing and move toward a more kernel-like model. * Zephyr is proposing to end embargoes once a fix is merged into Git, as AI tools make embargoes less effective.
Decisions Made
* PSA Crypto 1.2 will not be backported to mbed TLS 1.x; a separate version was released for that branch. * Security fixes in TF PSA Crypto 1.2 will be backported to the 1.x LTS branch. * TF PSA Crypto ML-DSA implementation will leverage the ML-DSA native project from the PQC Alliance rather than a from-scratch implementation. * TF PSA Crypto will only support ML-DSA-87 initially * TF PSA Crypto driver repository has moved to the Mbed TLS GitHub organization and is open for vendors to push their PSA Crypto drivers.
Progress & Status
* mbed TLS maintenance transition: Board members and downstream consumers are checking for funding or personnel within their organizations; some positive queries have been received, but no solid agreements yet. * ML-DSA: The team is actively working on ML-DSA support via the PSA Crypto API this quarter. * Security issues: The bug bounty program has been paused, and the volume of new incoming issues is decreasing, though a considerable backlog remains. * mbed TLS 3.6 LTS will reach end-of-life in March 2027; users are encouraged to migrate to 4.x and PSA Crypto APIs. * Chinese crypto algorithms (SM2, SM3, SM4) are being investigated for potential upstreaming via PSA API or driver interfaces. * Linaro is expected to become a CNA, which may provide more reliable CVE creation for TF projects.
Risks & Blockers
* Maintenance risk: If no new maintainers step up by April 27, mbed TLS and X.509 libraries may stop receiving security fixes and regular updates. * PR review capacity: PR review remains a challenge for the PSA Crypto project; more reviewers are needed. * Security process overhead: High volume of reports, complex triage, and manual CVE/advisory management are slowing down fixes. * CRA implications: The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) may impose reporting requirements on open-source stewards, including a 24-hour deadline for actively exploited vulnerabilities, which is seen as unrealistic for volunteer-led projects. * AI-generated reports: AI tools are increasing the volume of reports, some of which are low-quality or duplicates, adding to the triage burden.
Pending Confirmation
* New maintainers for mbed TLS and X.509 libraries need to be identified and committed before the April 27 deadline. * ML-KEM is on the roadmap but work has not yet started; it will likely follow the completion of ML-DSA. * CRA requirements for open-source stewards remain unclear and are expected to be resolved by December of next year. * Proposed security process changes need further review from maintainers.
Action Items
* Shebu: Collate responses from organizations regarding mbed TLS maintenance and have Bharath present them at the next board meeting. * Dan: Create a PR for the proposed security incident handling process changes and send it for formal review by the TSC and project security teams. * Mbed TLS users: Consider moving to mbed TLS 4.x and PSA Crypto 1.1 before the 3.6 LTS end-of-life in March 2027. * HW Vendors: Encouraged to push their PSA Crypto drivers to the new TF PSA Crypto driver repository.