Anti Rollback bypass with physical access and TOCTOU attack
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Physical
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
ESP-IDF is the development framework for Espressif SoCs supported on Windows, Linux and macOS. A Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability was discovered in the implementation of the ESP-IDF bootloader which could allow an attacker with physical access to flash of the device to bypass anti-rollback protection. Anti-rollback prevents rollback to application with security version lower than one programmed in eFuse of chip. This attack can allow to boot past (passive) application partition having lower security version of the same device even in the presence of the flash encryption scheme. The attack requires carefully modifying the flash contents after the anti-rollback checks have been performed by the bootloader (before loading the application). The vulnerability is fixed in 4.4.7 and 5.2.1.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| espressif | esp-idf | before 4.4.7; 5.0 – 5.0.6; 5.1 – 5.1.3; 5.2 to before 5.2.1 | 4.4.7, 5.2.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- esp-idf Vendorespressif Affected before 4.4.7; 5.0 – 5.0.6; 5.1 – 5.1.3; 5.2 to before 5.2.1 Fixed in 4.4.7, 5.2.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:espressif:esp-idf:4.4.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.4.6 | Vulnerable | espressif |
| cpe:2.3:a:espressif:esp-idf:5.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0.6 | Vulnerable | espressif |
| cpe:2.3:a:espressif:esp-idf:5.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.1.3 | Vulnerable | espressif |
| cpe:2.3:a:espressif:esp-idf:5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.2 | Vulnerable | espressif |
- cpe:2.3:a:espressif:esp-idf:4.4.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.4.6 Vulnerable ·espressif
- cpe:2.3:a:espressif:esp-idf:5.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0.6 Vulnerable ·espressif
- cpe:2.3:a:espressif:esp-idf:5.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.1.3 Vulnerable ·espressif
- cpe:2.3:a:espressif:esp-idf:5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.2 Vulnerable ·espressif
Remediation
- Fix · CNA esp-idf (espressif) Fixed in 4.4.7, 5.2.1
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-28183
References
Patch 7
- https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/3305cb4d235182067936f8e940e6db174e25b4b2
- https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/4c95aa445d4e84f01f86b6f3a552aa299276abf3
- https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/534e3ad1fa68526a5f989fb2163856d6b7cd2c87
- https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/7003f1ef0dffc73c34eb153d1b0710babb078149
- https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/b2cdc0678965790f49afeb6e6b0737cd24433a05
- https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/c33b9e1426121ce8cccf1a94241740be9cff68de
- https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/commit/f327ddf6adab0c28d395975785727b2feef57803
More espressif Esp-idf vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-22076 Buffer Overflow vulnerability in esp-idf v.5.1 allows a remote attacker to execute… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2026-33125 ESF-IDF: Out-of-Bounds Write in ESP-TEE Secure Service Wrappers CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.3
- TI-2025-32598 ESP-NOW Integer Underflow Vulnerability Advisory CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.2
- TI-2022-08703 Espressif Bluetooth Mesh Stack Vulnerable to Out-of-bounds Write leading to memory buffer corruption CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2021-09371 The Bluetooth Classic implementation in Espressif ESP-IDF 4.4 and earlier does not… CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-33292 ESF-IDF: Remote Null Pointer Dereference in WebSocket Server CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences