Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
-
ReconGain REE code execution on ESP32 device
-
DeliveryIdentify esp_tee secure-service wrapper
-
ExploitCraft buffer pointers spanning REE/TEE
-
InstallInvoke wrapper with malicious args
-
C2Bypass pointer-only validation
-
ExecuteDrive TEE peripherals or read/write TEE memory
-
ImpactCompromise attestation, secure storage and OTA
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the target firmware to be built with the esp_tee component enabled on ESP-IDF 5.5.4 or 6.0 and the attacker to already be executing code in the Rich Execution Environment with the ability to invoke the esp_secure_services.c/esp_secure_services_iram.c wrappers (matching CVSS PR:L, AV:L, UI:N) - i.e. a compromised or attacker-controlled REE application, not network-reachable attack. Limiting factors: no remote vector, no automation (SSVC Automatable: no), the device must actually use esp_tee (devices that do not enable the TEE component are not affected), and the attacker must supply crafted buffer/pointer arguments that straddle REE/TEE boundaries or target the previously-unchecked context, IV, SHA state or OTA offset parameters - generic REE code execution alone is not sufficient without targeting these specific wrappers. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H gives 8.8 and correctly reflects a local, low-privileged caller breaking the REE/TEE scope boundary with total confidentiality, integrity and availability impact on the secure side. CISA SSVC corroborates this with Technical Impact 'total' but Exploitation 'none' and Automatable 'no', and EPSS is only 0.02% (5th percentile) - consistent with a hardware-bound bug that requires the attacker to already be executing code on the target ESP32 device. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the CVE is not in CISA KEV, so this is best treated as a serious supply-chain/firmware-update priority for products that rely on esp_tee for attestation, secure storage or secure OTA (where TEE compromise voids the security model), but not an internet-facing emergency. The 'Information Disclosure' tag understates the impact - the commit diff and CVSS show full integrity/availability impact on TEE peripherals, not just disclosure. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who can execute code in the REE - for example by exploiting a separate bug in the application firmware, by shipping a malicious component into the device's build, or by abusing a debug/OTA path on a device they physically possess - calls one of the esp_tee secure-service wrappers (e.g. _ss_esp_aes_crypt_cbc or the SHA wrappers) with crafted buffer pointers and lengths that pass the pre-patch start/end-pointer check but actually overlap TEE-protected memory or unchecked context/IV/state buffers. Through repeated calls they coerce the TEE into reading or writing protected memory and driving AES/SHA/ECC/HMAC/MMU/WDT peripherals or OTA flash regions on their behalf, escalating from REE to full TEE compromise. No public exploit identified at time of analysis. |
Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.
Alert meAnalysisAIv3 – Jun 11, 2026
Privilege escalation from REE to TEE in Espressif ESP-IDF 5.5.4 and 6.0 lets a low-privileged user-application caller abuse esp_tee secure-service wrappers (AES, SHA, ECC, HMAC, SPI, MMU, WDT, attestation, OTA, secure storage) due to insufficient buffer-range validation in esp_secure_services.c and esp_secure_services_iram.c. EPSS is 0.02% and there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, but technical impact is total because the flaw lets REE code reach TEE-protected hardware peripherals and security services.
Earlier versions of this analysis (2)
TEE boundary input-validation flaw in Espressif ESP-IDF 5.5.4 and 6.0 allows a Rich Execution Environment (REE) application running on the device to pass attacker-controlled pointers into the esp_tee secure-service wrappers (AES, SHA, ECC, HMAC, SPI, MMU, WDT, attestation, OTA, secure storage) and have the Trusted Execution Environment operate on memory that should be off-limits, undermining the REE/TEE isolation. No public exploit identified at time of analysis and EPSS exploitation probability is 0.02%, but SSVC rates the technical impact as total because the bypass crosses a security boundary; Espressif released fixes in ESP-IDF 5.5.5 and 6.0.1.
Local privilege escalation across the Trusted Execution Environment boundary in Espressif ESP-IDF 5.5.4 and 6.0 allows code running in the Rich Execution Environment (REE) to abuse insufficiently validated secure-service wrappers in the esp_tee component, reaching TEE-protected hardware peripherals (AES, SHA, ECC, HMAC, SPI, MMU, WDT) and security features such as attestation, OTA updates, and secure storage. CVSS 9.3 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H) reflects a scope-changing local attack with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade ESP-IDF to 5.5.5 (from 5.5.4) or 6.0.1 (from 6.0) and rebuild and re-flash any firmware that links the esp_tee component, per advisory https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/security/advisories/GHSA-mmgp-73p4-92xp and the fix commits 145ba4c4, 440a5d19, 764626a1, 7867f4a5, afd14ab1 and eebabaff in espressif/esp-idf. If a fleet cannot be re-flashed immediately, the only meaningful compensating control is to disable the esp_tee component in sdkconfig and avoid invoking the affected secure-service wrappers (AES/SHA/ECC/HMAC/SPI/MMU/WDT, attestation, OTA, secure storage) - this removes the TEE isolation guarantee entirely, so secrets and attestation must be re-architected around hardware features (eFuse-protected keys, secure boot v2, flash encryption) until devices are updated; restricting which signed application images can run on the device via secure boot also limits who can call the vulnerable wrappers.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
ESP-IDF is Espressif's official SDK for the ESP32 family of Wi-Fi/Bluetooth microcontrollers. The esp_tee component implements a software Trusted Execution Environment that isolates secrets, secure-boot/attestation, OTA validation and crypto-accelerator drivers from the Rich Execution Environment that runs application firmware; the REE invokes TEE services through 'secure-service' wrapper functions that validate arguments before touching protected hardware. CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) is the root-cause class: the pre-patch wrappers only checked that the start and end pointers of caller-supplied buffers individually resided in REE memory (esp_tee_ptr_in_ree), which fails to detect buffers that straddle REE/TEE boundaries or whose contexts/IV/state buffers were never validated at all. The committed fix introduces esp_tee_buf_in_ree(buf, len) range checks for every input/output buffer (AES context, IV, nonce_counter, stream_block, SHA state, etc.) and also hardens an OTA write integer-overflow check (rel_offset + size) in esp_tee_ota_write.
Know when Esp Idf gets its next vulnerability
- Watch products and get an email when something new is published
- Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
No credit card · 7-day full trial
Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attacker needs low-privileged code execution in the REE on the device (AV:L, PR:L); crossing into TEE changes the security authority (S:C) with full impact on TEE peripherals and secrets (C/I/A:H).
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
6DescriptionNVD
ESF-IDF is the Espressif Internet of Things (IOT) Development Framework. In versions 5.5.4 and 6.0, the esp_tee component exposes secure-service wrappers in esp_secure_services.c and esp_secure_services_iram.c that bridge calls from the user application (i.e. the REE) to TEE-protected hardware peripherals (AES, SHA, ECC, HMAC, SPI, MMU, WDT) and to the security feature like attestation, OTA updates, secure storage. This issue has been patched in versions 5.5.5 and 6.0.1.
Executive ViewAI
Espressif ESP-IDF versions 5.5.4 and 6.0 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability allowing unprivileged applications to bypass Trusted Execution Environment isolation and access TEE-protected security services including cryptographic operations, secure storage, and firmware attestation. Organizations deploying these versions in production IoT or embedded systems face compromise of the TEE security boundary that protects cryptographic keys and security-critical device functions. This vulnerability directly undermines the security architecture that IoT device manufacturers rely on to isolate sensitive operations from untrusted application code.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: (1) Implement application-layer access controls restricting calls to esp_secure_services TEE wrappers; (2) Add privilege validation and buffer range checks within TEE service handler code if source is available; (3) Monitor system logs for abnormal TEE service invocation patterns indicating exploitation attempts; (4) Disable non-critical TEE services (attestation, OTA) if device functionality permits; (5) Restrict vulnerable systems to air-gapped or strictly controlled networks with no untrusted application loading until patched.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
Related Vulnerabilities in ESP-IDF Memory Safety and Input Validation Flaws
View all 6Espressif Esp idf v5.3.0 is vulnerable to Insecure Permissions resulting in Authentication bypass. Rated high severity (
The EAP peer implementation in Espressif ESP-IDF 2.0.0 through 4.0.0 and ESP8266_NONOS_SDK 2.2.0 through 3.1.0 allows th
An encryption-bypass issue was discovered on Espressif ESP-IDF devices through 4.2, ESP8266_NONOS_SDK devices through 3.
Buffer Overflow vulnerability in esp-idf v.5.1 allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code via a crafted script t
The EAP peer implementation in Espressif ESP-IDF 2.0.0 through 4.0.0 and ESP8266_NONOS_SDK 2.2.0 through 3.1.0 processes
A security vulnerability in the ESP-NOW protocol implementation within the ESP Wi-Fi component of (CVSS 9.8). Critical s
ESP-IDF is the official development framework for Espressif SoCs. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is
The Bluetooth Classic implementation in Espressif ESP-IDF 4.4 and earlier does not properly restrict the Feature Page up
Buffer Overflow vulnerability in esp-idf v.5.1 allows a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information via the external
Denial of service in Espressif's ESP-IDF JPEG driver (versions 6.0.1, 5.5.4, 5.4.4, 5.3.5 and likely earlier) stems from
An issue in Espressif Esp idf v5.3.0 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via a crafted data channel pack
EUVD-2026-35916
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
GitHub
VulDB
Exploit-DB