CVE-2018-18056
An issue was discovered in the Texas Instruments (TI) TM4C microcontroller series, such as the...
An issue was discovered in the Texas Instruments (TI) TM4C, MSP432E and MSP432P microcontroller series. The eXecute-Only-Memory (XOM) implementation prevents code read-outs on protected memory by generating bus faults. However, single-stepping and using breakpoints is allowed in XOM-protected flash memory. As a consequence, it is possible to execute single instructions with arbitrary system states (e.g., registers, status flags, and SRAM content) and observe the state changes produced by the unknown instruction. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by executing protected and unknown instructions with specific system states and observing the state changes. Based on the gathered information, it is possible to reverse-engineer the executed instructions. The processor acts as a kind of "instruction oracle."
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
4.6
An issue was discovered in the Texas Instruments (TI) TM4C, MSP432E and MSP432P microcontroller series. The eXecute-Only-Memory (XOM) implementation prevents code read-outs on protected memory by generating bus faults. However, single-stepping and using breakpoints is allowed in XOM-protected flash memory. As a consequence, it is possible to execute single instructions with arbitrary system states (e.g., registers, status flags, and SRAM content) and observe the state changes produced by the unknown instruction. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by executing protected and unknown instructions with specific system states and observing the state changes. Based on the gathered information, it is possible to reverse-engineer the executed instructions. The processor acts as a kind of "instruction oracle."
- Record
CVE-2018-18056- CVSS 3.0
- 4.6 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 2.1 Low
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-200
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
An issue was discovered in the Texas Instruments (TI) TM4C, MSP432E and MSP432P microcontroller series. The eXecute-Only-Memory (XOM) implementation prevents code read-outs on protected memory by generating bus faults. However, single-stepping and using breakpoints is allowed in XOM-protected flash memory. As a consequence, it is possible to execute single instructions with arbitrary system states (e.g., registers, status flags, and SRAM content) and observe the state changes produced by the unknown instruction. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by executing protected and unknown instructions with specific system states and observing the state changes. Based on the gathered information, it is possible to reverse-engineer the executed instructions. The processor acts as a kind of "instruction oracle."
- Record
CVE-2018-18056- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-9795 No score
An issue was discovered in the Texas Instruments (TI) TM4C, MSP432E and MSP432P microcontroller series. The eXecute-Only-Memory (XOM) implementation prevents code read-outs on protected memory by generating bus faults. However, single-stepping and using breakpoints is allowed in XOM-protected flash memory. As a consequence, it is possible to execute single instructions with arbitrary system states (e.g., registers, status flags, and SRAM content) and observe the state changes produced by the unknown instruction. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by executing protected and unknown instructions with specific system states and observing the state changes. Based on the gathered information, it is possible to reverse-engineer the executed instructions. The processor acts as a kind of "instruction oracle."
- Record
EUVD-2018-9795- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9wjv-55xx-m5xp
4.6
An issue was discovered in the Texas Instruments (TI) TM4C microcontroller series, such as the...
An issue was discovered in the Texas Instruments (TI) TM4C microcontroller series, such as the TM4C123. The eXecute-Only-Memory (XOM) implementation prevents code read-outs on protected memory by generating bus faults. However, single-stepping and using breakpoints is allowed in XOM-protected flash memory. As a consequence, it is possible to execute single instructions with arbitrary system states (e.g., registers, status flags, and SRAM content) and observe the state changes produced by the unknown instruction. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by executing protected and unknown instructions with specific system states and observing the state changes. Based on the gathered information, it is possible to reverse-engineer the executed instructions. The processor acts as a kind of "instruction oracle."
- Record
GHSA-9wjv-55xx-m5xp- CVSS 3.0
- 4.6 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-200
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2018-18056 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.6) in Ti Tm4c123 Firmware, published August 20, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.40%, the 34th percentile. No source names a fixed version.