Per TS 33.501 6.9.2.3.4 and Fig 6.9.2.1.1-1, when sending
RRCReestablishment with nextHopChainingCount, the gNB is staying at
the same NCC level (not advancing). Therefore, horizontal derivation
from the currently active KgNB must be used, not vertical derivation
from NH.
Vertical derivation (from NH) is only used when advancing to a new
NCC level, which happens during handover or masterKeyUpdate procedures.
The previous implementation incorrectly used vertical derivation from
NH whenever nh_ncc > 0, which caused key mismatch between gNB and UE
during reestablishment after handover, leading to integrity check
failures.
This fix ensures both gNB and UE use horizontal derivation when
nextHopChainingCount matches the current NCC level, aligning with the
specification's "virtual NH at NCC=0" model where:
- Horizontal derivation = derive KNG-RAN* from currently active KgNB
- Vertical derivation = derive KNG-RAN* from NH (only when advancing NCC)
Guido Casati
5c601b7d62