Version:            (using KDE 4.4.0)
Installed from:    openSUSE RPMs

I started experiencing this problem after upgrading to KDE 4.4 yesterday evening (on openSUSE 11.2).

The background of my main desktop panel is switched from its regular one (Air) to a different, illegible one on the following two occasions:

(1) Whenever I choose 'unlock widgets' from the panel menu.
(2) After rebooting my system.

I can fix this issue by going into Personal Settings > Advanced > Desktop Theme Details, and re-choosing my settings (i.e. choosing a different one first, then resetting to original one), but the problem reoccurs 90% of the times for case (1), and always for case (2).

I'm not sure what kind of background it is that is applied to the panel; I suspect it might just be a faulty display of the original one. Please compare the following two screenshots:

A. original panel background:
<a href="http://www.imagebam.com/image/d0e4be69547378" target="_blank"><img src="http://thumbnails14.imagebam.com/6955/d0e4be69547378.gif" alt="free image host"></a>

B. faulty panel background:
<a href="http://www.imagebam.com/image/77b3c069547379" target="_blank"><img src="http://thumbnails21.imagebam.com/6955/77b3c069547379.gif" alt="free image host"></a>