Yubico recently learned of a security issue with the OpenPGP Card applet project that is used in the YubiKey NEO. If you are not using OpenPGP, or have the OpenPGP applet version 1.0.10 or later, this vulnerability does not apply to you.

The OpenPGP Card applet defect was inherited from the open-source software project “javacardopenpgp.” The technical details are available in a security advisory posted on our website. This issue only affects the OpenPGP applet and does not impact the security of the YubiKey or its other functions.

While we continue to believe that the practical impact for the majority of users is not critical, Yubico aspires to exceed expectations related to security incident handling. Therefore, we have developed a policy on replacing affected YubiKey NEOs.

Note that moving usage of an OpenPGP key to a new YubiKey NEO requires that you have saved a backup copy of the private key on the card as there is no way to retrieve the private key from any YubiKey, including the YubiKey NEO. If you did not save a backup copy of the private key when you initially generated the key, you will need to revoke the existing key and create a new key. Therefore, we urge you to consider whether you are truly affected by the security issue before proceeding.

If you are using the YubiKey NEO with the OpenPGP Card applet and want to replace your YubiKey, go to yubi.co/support to log a support ticket. Include the output from ‘gpg –card-status’ on your YubiKey NEO (masking out personal information) together with your order number in the ticket you submit. We will give you a coupon code so you can order a replacement YubiKey NEO.