Common Weakness Enumeration
Show details on NVD website
Back to CWE stats page
CWE-253
Incorrect Check of Function Return Value
The product incorrectly checks a return value from a function, which prevents it from detecting errors or exceptional conditions.
CVE-2026-5818 (GCVE-0-2026-5818)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-06-23 23:50 – Updated: 2026-06-24 13:04 X_Open Source
VLAI
Title
MCU Firmware Update Authentication Bypass on Caliptra Core
Summary
Incorrect check of function return value in Caliptra Core Runtime Firmware (ActivateFirmwareCmd::activate_fw modules) allows bypass of Caliptra Core's verification of the MCU FW during a hitless update.
This issue affects Core Runtime Firmware: from 2.0.0 through 2.0.1, 2.1.0.
Severity
SSVC
Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical Impact: partial
CISA Coordinator (v2.0.3)
CWE
- CWE-253 - Incorrect check of function return value
Assigner
References
1 reference
Impacted products
1 product
| Vendor | Product | Version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caliptra | Core Runtime Firmware |
Affected:
2.0.0 , ≤ 2.0.1
(semver)
Affected: 2.1.0 (semver) Unaffected: 2.0.2 (semver) Unaffected: 2.1.1 (semver) |
Date Public
2026-06-23 19:00
Credits
{
"containers": {
"adp": [
{
"metrics": [
{
"other": {
"content": {
"id": "CVE-2026-5818",
"options": [
{
"Exploitation": "none"
},
{
"Automatable": "no"
},
{
"Technical Impact": "partial"
}
],
"role": "CISA Coordinator",
"timestamp": "2026-06-24T13:04:30.529915Z",
"version": "2.0.3"
},
"type": "ssvc"
}
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-06-24T13:04:40.166Z",
"orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
"shortName": "CISA-ADP"
},
"title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
}
],
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"collectionURL": "https://github.com/chipsalliance/caliptra-sw",
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"modules": [
"ActivateFirmwareCmd::activate_fw"
],
"packageName": "Core Runtime Firmware",
"product": "Core Runtime Firmware",
"vendor": "Caliptra",
"versions": [
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "2.0.1",
"status": "affected",
"version": "2.0.0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "2.1.0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "2.0.2",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "2.1.1",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"credits": [
{
"lang": "en",
"type": "finder",
"value": "NVIDIA Offensive Security Research (OSR) team"
}
],
"datePublic": "2026-06-23T19:00:00.000Z",
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"supportingMedia": [
{
"base64": false,
"type": "text/html",
"value": "Incorrect check of function return value in Caliptra Core Runtime Firmware (ActivateFirmwareCmd::activate_fw modules) allows bypass of Caliptra Core\u0027s verification of the MCU FW during a hitless update.\u003cp\u003eThis issue affects Core Runtime Firmware: from 2.0.0 through 2.0.1, 2.1.0.\u003c/p\u003e"
}
],
"value": "Incorrect check of function return value in Caliptra Core Runtime Firmware (ActivateFirmwareCmd::activate_fw modules) allows bypass of Caliptra Core\u0027s verification of the MCU FW during a hitless update.\n\nThis issue affects Core Runtime Firmware: from 2.0.0 through 2.0.1, 2.1.0."
}
],
"impacts": [
{
"capecId": "CAPEC-115",
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CAPEC-115 Authentication Bypass"
}
]
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV4_0": {
"Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
"Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
"Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"attackRequirements": "PRESENT",
"attackVector": "ADJACENT",
"baseScore": 7.2,
"baseSeverity": "HIGH",
"exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
"privilegesRequired": "HIGH",
"providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED",
"subAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"subConfidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
"subIntegrityImpact": "HIGH",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED",
"vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H",
"version": "4.0",
"vulnAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"vulnConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
"vulnIntegrityImpact": "HIGH",
"vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED"
},
"format": "CVSS",
"scenarios": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "GENERAL"
}
]
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-253",
"description": "CWE-253 Incorrect check of function return value",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-06-23T23:50:06.556Z",
"orgId": "b01ddd03-5ef6-483b-b2c5-acba77f1a554",
"shortName": "Caliptra"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://github.com/chipsalliance/caliptra-sw/security/advisories/GHSA-456r-gcjr-6rxq"
}
],
"source": {
"discovery": "UNKNOWN"
},
"tags": [
"x_open-source"
],
"title": "MCU Firmware Update Authentication Bypass on Caliptra Core",
"x_generator": {
"engine": "Vulnogram 1.0.1"
}
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "b01ddd03-5ef6-483b-b2c5-acba77f1a554",
"assignerShortName": "Caliptra",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-5818",
"datePublished": "2026-06-23T23:50:06.556Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-04-08T15:45:10.928Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-06-24T13:04:40.166Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2"
}
Mitigation
Phase: Architecture and Design
Strategy: Language Selection
Description:
- Use a language or compiler that uses exceptions and requires the catching of those exceptions.
Mitigation
Phase: Implementation
Description:
- Properly check all functions which return a value.
Mitigation
Phase: Implementation
Description:
- When designing any function make sure you return a value or throw an exception in case of an error.
No CAPEC attack patterns related to this CWE.