CVE-2026-58008

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-58008 is a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121) in Altera Trusted Firmware running on the Hard Processor System (HPS) of SoC FPGA devices, affecting versions through socfpga_v2.14.0. The flaw stems from improperly configured or implemented memory protections and is exploitable by a local attacker with high privileges, permitting memory corruption that can lead to loss of integrity and availability, with a scope change beyond the vulnerable component. No public exploit, PoC, or vendor patch currently exists, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability is classified as CWE-121 — Stack-based Buffer Overflow. According to the NVD description, the root cause is the "Exploitation of Improperly Configured or Implemented Memory Protections" within Altera Trusted Firmware on the HPS. Trusted Firmware executes at a highly privileged level in the boot and secure-boot chain of the SoC FPGA platform; because it runs before or alongside richer operating environments, a memory-safety defect in this layer undermines the integrity guarantees that later boot stages and runtime services depend upon.

The CVSS vector indicates several important properties of the defect:

• AV:L (Local): the attacker must already have local access to the target device/environment; this is not remotely triggerable through a network protocol.
• PR:H (High): the attacker must possess elevated privileges to reach or influence the vulnerable code path.
• AC:L (Low): no special timing or race conditions are required.
• UI:N (None): no user interaction is needed.
• S:C (Scope Changed): a successful exploit can affect resources beyond the initial security authority of the vulnerable component — consistent with a firmware/privilege-boundary component where compromise extends its impact past the immediate execution context.
• C:L / I:H / A:H: limited confidentiality impact but high integrity and availability impact.

The "improperly configured or implemented memory protections" phrasing points to a failure in a defensive mechanism (for example, stack canaries, bounds checking, or memory-region protection settings) that would normally prevent or detect stack overflow conditions. Because the NVD description does not disclose specific function names, code paths, mitigations-bypassed details, or input vectors, the precise triggering input and the exact boundary condition cannot be stated with confidence. The attack is best characterized at the vulnerability-class level: an overflow of a fixed-size stack buffer within Trusted Firmware allows adjacent stack memory — including control-flow-relevant data — to be corrupted.

No CNA title, affected-version enumeration, OSV package data, or vendor workaround text was provided in the source data, so component-level detail is limited to the vendor (Altera), the product (Trusted Firmware), the platform (HPS on SoC FPGA), and the affected range (through socfpga_v2.14.0).

Exploitation Scenarios

No public proof-of-concept, exploit code, or Nuclei template exists for CVE-2026-58008. The following chain is inferred from the vulnerability class and CVSS characteristics only; specific function names, parameters, or payload bytes cannot be asserted from available data.

1. Reconnaissance / target identification: The attacker identifies a target device running Altera SoC FPGA hardware with Trusted Firmware on the HPS at a version at or below socfpga_v2.14.0. Because the attack is local (AV:L) and requires high privileges (PR:H), the adversary must already have a foothold — for example, privileged access to the HPS-side boot environment, debug interfaces, or a privileged software component able to invoke Trusted Firmware services.

2. Triggering the flaw: The attacker supplies crafted input to the vulnerable Trusted Firmware code path that processes data through a fixed-size stack buffer. Due to the stack-based buffer overflow condition (CWE-121) and the improper memory protections, an oversized input is able to write past the bounds of the stack buffer instead of being rejected or caught.

3. Execution method at the class level: Classic stack-overflow mechanics apply — overwriting adjacent stack memory, potentially including saved registers or a return address, to divert control flow within the Trusted Firmware execution context. The absence of a patch means the boundary condition driving the overflow remains present.

4. Post-exploitation impact: Given the Scope-Changed (S:C) and High Integrity/Availability subscores, successful corruption within Trusted Firmware can subvert the trust assumptions of the wider platform, potentially disrupting secure-boot or runtime services (high availability impact) and tampering with trusted state (high integrity impact), while confidentiality exposure is assessed as limited (C:L).

Impact Assessment

Business impact centers on the integrity and availability of SoC FPGA platforms that rely on Trusted Firmware for secure boot and trusted execution. A memory-corruption defect in this layer can undermine the root-of-trust assumptions for the entire device, affecting downstream operating environments and any services that depend on them. The blast radius is bounded by the requirement for local, high-privilege access (AV:L / PR:H), which reduces remote mass-exploitation risk but raises the stakes for insider threats, compromised privileged components, and supply-chain or manufacturing-debug scenarios.

CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 (High) reflects: Low attack complexity (AC:L), no user interaction (UI:N), Scope change (S:C), limited confidentiality (C:L), and high integrity (I:H) and availability (A:H) impact. EPSS has not yet scored this CVE, so no probability-based exploitation forecast is available; it is also not in CISA KEV, indicating no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation at the time of this report.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Potential CVE-2026-58008 Altera Trusted Firmware Memory Protection Abuse
id: 3f9a1c72-58d0-4b21-9a3e-altera58008
status: experimental
description: Detects abnormal access or integrity-relevant activity against Altera Trusted Firmware on HPS that may relate to exploit attempts for CVE-2026-58008 (stack-based buffer overflow).
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: linux
detection:
  selection_paths:
    Image|contains:
      - 'trusted-firmware'
      - 'socfpga'
      - 'atf'
  selection_indicators:
    CommandLine|contains:
      - 'uboot'
      - 'hps'
      - 'boot'
  condition: selection_paths and selection_indicators
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate firmware flashing, provisioning, or field updates
  - Manufacturing and debug workflows
level: medium
tags:
  - attack.privilege_escalation
  - cve.2026.58008

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_58008_Altera_TrustedFirmware_StackOverflow
{
    meta:
        author = "valtersit.com"
        description = "Heuristic detection for artifacts referencing Altera Trusted Firmware on HPS associated with CVE-2026-58008"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-58008"
        cve = "CVE-2026-58008"
        date = "2026-01-01"
    strings:
        $mz = { 4D 5A }
        $s1 = "Trusted Firmware" ascii wide
        $s2 = "socfpga_v2.14.0" ascii wide
        $s3 = "socfpga" ascii wide
        $s4 = "HPS" ascii wide
    condition:
        (
            uint16(0) == 0x5A4D or uint32(0) == 0x464C457F
        ) and 2 of ($s*)
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert tcp any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-58008 Altera Trusted Firmware HPS activity (local vector - monitoring)"; flow:to_server; content:"Trusted Firmware"; nocase; content:"socfpga"; nocase; reference:cve,2026-58008; reference:url,https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-58008; classtype:attempted-admin; sid:5800801; rev:1;)

Elastic Detection

process where process.name != null and
  (process.command_line like~ "*socfpga*" or process.command_line like~ "*trusted*firmware*" or process.command_line like~ "*hps*")
  and process.command_line like~ "*boot*"

Splunk SPL Query

index=main (process_name=*trusted* OR process_name=*firmware* OR process=*socfpga* OR CommandLine="*socfpga*")
| search CommandLine="*hps*" OR CommandLine="*boot*" OR CommandLine="*firmware*"
| stats count min(_time) as first_seen max(_time) as last_seen by host user process CommandLine
| sort - count

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="altera,trusted_firmware,cve_2026_58008,">
  <rule id="580080" level="8">
    <decoded_as>syslog</decoded_as>
    <field name="message">socfpga|Trusted Firmware|HPS</field>
    <description>CVE-2026-58008: Suspicious Altera Trusted Firmware (HPS) related activity detected</description>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1068</id>
    </mitre>
    <group>privilege_escalation,</group>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch confidence: 0/4 (UNPATCHED — no patch evidence from any tracked source). No vendor fix, workaround, or affected-version advisory content was provided in the source data; the only version boundary available is "through socfpga_v2.14.0."

1. Immediate mitigations:

• Restrict local and high-privilege access to devices running Altera SoC FPGA platforms; enforce least-privilege on HPS-side boot/debug interfaces.
• Disable or tightly control debug and manufacturing interfaces where they are not operationally required, since the attack is local (AV:L) with high privileges (PR:H).
• Monitor firmware integrity and apply host-based monitoring for unexpected writes or control-flow anomalies in Trusted Firmware execution contexts.
• Track Altera security advisories for an official fix; treat the platform as vulnerable until a patched firmware revision exceeding socfpga_v2.14.0 is released.

2. Patch/upgrade steps:

• No patch is currently available. When Altera publishes an updated Trusted Firmware release, upgrade all affected SoC FPGA devices to the fixed revision and re-validate secure-boot chains.
• Maintain a firmware inventory to enable rapid remediation once a fix exists.

3. Long-term hardening:

• Enable compiler and hardware memory-protection features (stack canaries, bounds checking, memory-region protections) and verify they are correctly configured, since the root cause involves improperly configured/implemented memory protections.
• Adopt secure-development review focused on stack buffer handling in privileged firmware.
• Segment and monitor privileged boot environments to limit the reach of a local, high-privilege attacker.

References

• NVD — CVE-2026-58008: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-58008
• CWE-121 — Stack-based Buffer Overflow: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/121.html
• Altera Trusted Firmware (socfpga) project/documentation: https://github.com/altera-opensource (verify current advisory location)
• FIRST EPSS (not yet scored): https://www.first.org/epss/
• CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (CVE not listed): https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
• No known threat actor campaigns or exploit-in-the-wild evidence were identified for this CVE at the time of writing.