CVE-2026-14296
nRF54H20: MCUBoot can be tricked to executing unauthenticated code
- Published
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
CISA's decision points: whether it is exploited, whether attacks can be automated, and how much control an attacker gets. Assessed (SSVC 2.0.3).What do these mean? →
- Exploitation: none
- Automatable: no
- Technical impact: total
Summary
When using the Direct XIP update strategy, the main application image starts other cores (i.e. radio core), based on the currently active slot without additional verification. The MCUboot in the bare (upstream) configuration assumes that if there is at least a single slot for each image available, the system is bootable and continues the boot process. This may lead to a situation when MCUboot picks different slot for different images (i.e. (a) for the main application and (b) for the radio image), boots the main application (from slot (a)) that afterwards starts the radio image by providing an address of the unauthenticated slot ((a) instead of (b)).
Timeline
- CVE published
- CISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- Nordic Semiconductor ASA nRF54H20
3.2, 3.3