CVE-2026-16671 json
Out-of-bounds stack write in MCUboot split-image validation with SHA-384/SHA-512 builds
published 23h ago modified 7h ago also EUVD-2026-124813 , GHSA-vj6q-r752-fpqv
Unreviewed: the maintainers' own advisory
Published by the maintainers on their GitHub repository mcu-tools/mcuboot. GitHub has not reviewed it into the GitHub Advisory Database, so the affected packages and versions are the maintainers' word. Read the full advisory on GitHub.
- cvss
- 2.9
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.1%
- EPSS 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 1%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
split_image_check() in boot/bootutil/src/loader.c declares a fixed uint8_t loader_hash[32] buffer and passes it as the out_hash out-parameter to bootutil_img_validate(). That routine copies IMAGE_HASH_SIZE bytes into out_hash (memcpy(out_hash, hash, IMAGE_HASH_SIZE) in boot/bootutil/src/image_validate.c), where IMAGE_HASH_SIZE is a compile-time constant of 64 for MCUBOOT_SHA512 or 48 for MCUBOOT_SIGN_EC384/SHA-384 (boot/bootutil/include/bootutil/crypto/sha.h). The buffer tracks SHA-256 (32 bytes) while the copy length tracks the configured algorithm, so the write overruns the buffer by 16 or 32 bytes.
The overflow is only present in a non-default configuration: the legacy Mynewt split-image feature must be compiled (split_go()/split_image_check(), i.e. neither MCUBOOT_DIRECT_XIP nor MCUBOOT_RAM_LOAD), the digest must be larger than 32 bytes (MCUBOOT_SHA512 or MCUBOOT_SIGN_EC384), and MCUBOOT_SIGN_PURE must be off. split_go() is a public API with no caller inside MCUboot; it is invoked from a Mynewt application. In the default SHA-256 build there is no overflow.
The over-written bytes are the one-way digest of the loader image and the overflow length is fixed at build time, so the contents are not meaningfully attacker-controlled and the size is not attacker-chosen. The realistic impact is bounded, uncontrolled corruption of the bootloader's stack on the split-boot path, manifesting as instability or failed boot in the affected configuration rather than reliable code execution. The fix is to size loader_hash to IMAGE_HASH_SIZE and pass IMAGE_HASH_SIZE as the matching seed length.
Patch / fix
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Check with FencerExploit prediction
0.11% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 1% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-13).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 2.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
Affected products
- mcu-tools mcuboot
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write
References
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-16671
- NVD CVE-2026-16671
- Maintainer advisory GHSA-vj6q-r752-fpqv
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The maintainers of mcu-tools/mcuboot published their own advisory on GitHub. Reviewed sources take precedence over it.