CVE-2024-13942
HIGHCVE-2024-13942 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.6) CWE-367 vulnerability. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2024-13942 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Secure BootROM of RK3588s SoC is vulnerable to a time-of-check to time-of-use attack in case of booting from external media (SPI NOR or NAND, EMMC or SD). The code reads the header…
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-13942.
Description
Secure BootROM of RK3588s SoC is vulnerable to a time-of-check to time-of-use attack in case of booting from external media (SPI NOR or NAND, EMMC or SD).
The code reads the header of the next-stage loader twice. The header contains hashes of the executable modules and is signed with a private key, the public part of which is verified against the SHA256 digest blown in the OTP.
The first read is only partial and contains only the hashes of the executable modules. The second is complete, including the header signature.
Although the header is verified based on the fully read data, the authenticity of the executable modules is checked against the partial data from the first read.
An attacker with physical access to a device containing RK3588s SoC can easily modify the next-stage loader data on-the-fly using a low-cost SD-card or SPI NOR/NAND or EMMC emulator. Even a simple ultra low-cost circuit comprising two memory chips (containing the same data but different headers - the original and the modified one) and a multiplexer can be used to carry out an attack.
This can lead to arbitrary code execution with the highest privileges available (EL3). This issue affects RK3588s: RK3588s SoC BootROM (secure) 350B20210512V100 and possibly others. As remediation apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable https://www.rock-chips.com/a/en/products/RK35_Series/2022/0926/1660.html
Detection & mitigation playbook
VulnerabilityDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for the affected component. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Remediation status
No patched version of the affected component has shipped for CVE-2024-13942 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2024-13942 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2024-13942. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-13942 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2024-13942 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.