CVE-2026-0482 in Alveo Accelerator Cards
Summary
by MITRE • 10/06/2026
In AMD Versal™ Adaptive SoC devices, insufficient boundary checks in USB boot mode—when enabled through board modifications—could allow crafted images to trigger a buffer overflow and overwrite an active function pointer, which may result in arbitrary code execution during boot process. This condition could lead to potential impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/06/2026
The vulnerability identified within AMD Versal Adaptive System-on-Chip devices represents a critical security flaw rooted in the device's secure boot architecture, specifically affecting the USB boot mode when enabled via board modifications. The core technical deficiency lies in insufficient boundary checks during the parsing of input images intended for execution by the on-chip ROM code. When an attacker provides a crafted image that exceeds expected size limits or contains malformed data structures, the system fails to validate these inputs against allocated memory buffers. This lack of rigorous validation allows for a buffer overflow condition where excess data spills beyond the boundaries of the designated memory space.
This buffer overflow is particularly dangerous because it targets active function pointers stored in critical memory regions used during the boot sequence. By overwriting these pointers, an attacker can redirect the execution flow of the processor to malicious code injected into the image or present elsewhere in memory. Since this exploitation occurs during the early stages of the boot process, before full operating system security mechanisms are initialized, it effectively bypasses many standard software-based defenses. The ability to execute arbitrary code at this level grants an attacker complete control over the hardware platform, allowing them to load persistent malware, extract sensitive data from secure storage, or modify firmware settings permanently.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, affecting all three pillars of information security: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. In terms of confidentiality, an adversary with physical access or control over the supply chain could exfiltrate cryptographic keys, user credentials, or proprietary intellectual property stored on the device before any protective measures are engaged. Regarding integrity, the ability to overwrite function pointers means that system behavior can be fundamentally altered without detection, potentially leading to silent data corruption or unauthorized configuration changes. For availability, an attacker could crash the boot process by corrupting critical memory structures, rendering the device inoperable and requiring physical intervention for recovery.
This vulnerability aligns with Common Weakness Enumeration CWE-120, which describes buffer copy without checking size limits, a classic cause of exploitation leading to arbitrary code execution. Furthermore, from an offensive security perspective, this attack vector is consistent with MITRE ATT&CK techniques related to early boot compromise and firmware manipulation, such as T1547 Bootkit or T1620 Reflective Code Loading if the payload utilizes memory reflection techniques. The reliance on board modifications to enable USB boot mode highlights a design consideration where hardware-level security features are exposed through configurable interfaces that may not be adequately hardened against malicious inputs.
Mitigation strategies must focus on both software and hardware层面的 controls. AMD has released microcode updates and firmware patches that implement stricter input validation routines for the USB boot loader, ensuring that all image sizes and structures are verified before processing begins. Organizations deploying Versal devices should immediately apply these vendor-provided security fixes to their production environments. Additionally, it is recommended to disable USB boot mode in final product designs unless absolutely necessary, as this reduces the attack surface by removing the entry point exploited by this vulnerability. For applications where USB boot must remain enabled, implementing additional hardware-based root of trust mechanisms and verifying image signatures with robust cryptographic checks can help detect malformed or malicious images before they reach the vulnerable parsing logic. Regular security audits of board modifications are also essential to ensure that custom implementations do not reintroduce similar boundary check deficiencies in other peripheral interfaces.