CVE-2025-54520 in Kintex 7-Series FPGA
Summary
by MITRE • 09/25/2025
Improper Protection Against Voltage and Clock Glitches in FPGA devices, could allow an attacker with physical access to undervolt the platform resulting in a loss of confidentiality.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/25/2025
This vulnerability represents a critical hardware-level security weakness in field programmable gate array devices where insufficient protection mechanisms exist against voltage and clock glitches. The flaw stems from inadequate design controls that fail to detect or mitigate abnormal electrical conditions that can occur during device operation. When an attacker with physical access deliberately undervolts the platform, the device becomes susceptible to unpredictable behavior that can compromise sensitive data. This vulnerability specifically targets the fundamental electrical integrity mechanisms within FPGA architectures, creating opportunities for data leakage through manipulation of power delivery systems.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the inherent sensitivity of FPGA configurations to electrical anomalies. Voltage glitches can cause configuration memory cells to flip bits unexpectedly, potentially altering security-relevant settings or data storage locations. Clock glitches may disrupt synchronization mechanisms, leading to incorrect state transitions that could expose cryptographic keys or sensitive operational data. The vulnerability operates at the hardware abstraction layer where configuration data is stored and executed, making it particularly dangerous as it can bypass traditional software-based security controls. This type of attack falls under the category of fault injection attacks that manipulate hardware behavior through environmental interference.
The operational impact of CVE-2025-54520 extends beyond simple data corruption to represent a serious confidentiality breach risk for systems relying on FPGA-based security implementations. Physical access requirements limit the attack surface but do not eliminate the threat, as many embedded systems and security appliances remain accessible in environments where unauthorized physical access is possible. The vulnerability can potentially allow attackers to extract cryptographic keys, bypass authentication mechanisms, or gain unauthorized access to protected data through configuration memory manipulation. This represents a significant concern for military, industrial control systems, and other security-critical applications where physical security may be compromised.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both hardware design considerations and operational security measures. Hardware-level protections should include robust voltage monitoring circuits, glitch detection mechanisms, and automatic fail-safe behaviors when abnormal electrical conditions are detected. Design practices should incorporate error detection and correction codes in configuration memory systems to identify and recover from bit flips caused by voltage glitches. Operational mitigations include implementing physical security controls such as tamper-evident packaging, secure enclosures, and monitoring systems to detect unauthorized physical access attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-388 which addresses errors that are not handled properly, and represents a specific instance of attack techniques categorized under the ATT&CK framework as part of the "Hardware" and "Fault Injection" domains. Organizations should conduct thorough risk assessments to identify FPGA-based systems vulnerable to this class of attack and implement appropriate countermeasures to protect against unauthorized physical manipulation and electrical interference.