CWE-1193: Power-On of Untrusted Execution Core Before Enabling Fabric Access Control
Description
The product enables components that contain untrusted firmware before memory and fabric access controls have been enabled.
After initial reset, System-on-Chip (SoC) fabric access controls and other security features need to be programmed by trusted firmware as part of the boot sequence. If untrusted IPs or peripheral microcontrollers are enabled first, then the untrusted component can master transactions on the hardware bus and target memory or other assets to compromise the SoC boot firmware.
- Abstraction
- BaseA weakness specific enough to point to detection and prevention methods.
- Likelihood of exploit
- Not rated by MITRE
- Status
- Draft
Common consequences
- Access Control
Bypass Protection Mechanism
An untrusted component can master transactions on the HW bus and target memory or other assets to compromise the SoC boot firmware.
Potential mitigations
- Architecture and Design
The boot sequence should enable fabric access controls and memory protections before enabling third-party hardware IPs and peripheral microcontrollers that use untrusted firmware.