CVE-2026-13466 in Trusted Firmware
Summary
by MITRE • 09/24/2026
Incorrect calculation of buffer size vulnerability in Altera Trusted Firmware on HPS allows Overflow Buffers.
This issue affects Trusted Firmware: through socfpga_v2.14.0.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/24/2026
The identified vulnerability resides within the Altera Trusted Firmware implementation for Hard Processor System (HPS) architectures, specifically impacting versions up to and including socfpga_v2.14.0. This security flaw is classified as an incorrect calculation of buffer size, which directly leads to a potential buffer overflow condition. In embedded systems utilizing ARM Cortex-A series processors common in Altera SoCFPGA designs, the Trusted Firmware serves as the initial software execution environment that runs before the main operating system boots. It handles critical low-level hardware initialization and security context transitions between different privilege levels. When this firmware fails to accurately calculate or validate buffer sizes during memory allocation or data copying operations, it creates a scenario where more data can be written into a fixed-size buffer than it is designed to hold.
From a technical perspective, the root cause of this vulnerability lies in improper bounds checking within specific functions responsible for handling system configuration parameters or interrupt descriptors. During runtime initialization or when processing external inputs such as device tree overlays or boot arguments, the firmware may allocate memory based on an incorrect size parameter derived from untrusted or insufficiently validated sources. If the calculated size is smaller than the actual data being processed, subsequent write operations will overwrite adjacent memory locations. This overwriting can corrupt critical control structures, including return addresses stored on the stack or function pointers in global offset tables. Such corruption allows for arbitrary code execution if an attacker can influence the input that triggers this miscalculation, effectively bypassing hardware-enforced security boundaries established by ARM TrustZone technology.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its position within the boot chain and its potential to compromise system integrity at a foundational level. Since Trusted Firmware operates with high privileges before any operating system-level protections are active, successful exploitation could allow an attacker to gain full control over the processor cores. This includes both the secure world and non-secure world contexts if the overflow affects security monitor code or context switch routines. An adversary could use this flaw to inject malicious payloads that persist across reboots, modify firmware settings to disable future security checks, or extract sensitive cryptographic keys stored in secure memory regions. In industrial control systems or IoT devices relying on these SoCs, such a compromise could lead to physical damage, data exfiltration, or service disruption with little chance of detection by standard endpoint protection mechanisms that operate at higher software layers.
This vulnerability aligns closely with Common Weakness Enumeration identifier CWE-120, which describes buffer copy without checking size limits, and is often associated with CWE-787, out-of-bounds write. In the context of the MITRE ATT&CK framework for embedded systems, this flaw facilitates techniques related to privilege escalation and defense evasion by allowing attackers to manipulate low-level system state before security policies are enforced. The lack of proper input validation represents a fundamental design oversight that undermines the trust model upon which secure boot processes rely.
Mitigation strategies must focus on both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. For systems currently running affected versions, applying vendor-provided patches that update to socfpga_v2.14.1 or later is essential, as these releases typically include corrected buffer size calculations and enhanced validation routines for input parameters. Developers integrating this firmware into custom designs should ensure they are using the latest stable release from Intel FPGA support channels. Furthermore, implementing runtime memory protection mechanisms such as ARM Memory Protection Unit (MPU) configurations can help contain potential overflows by restricting write access to critical regions of memory. Code review processes must be strengthened to include static analysis tools capable of detecting buffer size miscalculations and dynamic testing methods that verify boundary conditions during the integration phase. Regular updates to the Trusted Firmware component are crucial as new attack vectors targeting embedded bootloaders continue to emerge, requiring continuous vigilance in maintaining the integrity of the root of trust.