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Gecko Software Development KitApplication · Silabs

CVE-2023-4280

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.3.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An unvalidated input in Silicon Labs TrustZone implementation in v4.3.x and earlier of the Gecko SDK allows an attacker to access the trusted region of memory from the untrusted region.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Silicon Labs TrustZone implementation in Gecko SDK v4.3.x and earlier contains an input validation flaw that allows untrusted code running in the non-secure world to access memory regions designated for the trusted (secure) execution environment, effectively bypassing ARM TrustZone memory isolation protections.

MitigationUpgrade to a newer version of the Gecko SDK (beyond v4.3.x) that contains proper input validation for TrustZone memory access controls; verify the upgrade does not introduce regressions in secure world functionality.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Gecko Software Development KitApplication
Affected:>= 1.0.0, <= 4.3.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Gecko SDK version
    Check the SDK version in your project files, build system, or documentation (typically in SDK release notes, version headers, or build configuration files)
    Affected if The SDK version is between 1.0.0 and 4.3.2 inclusive
  2. Verify TrustZone is enabled
    Examine your project configuration, device settings, or linker scripts to confirm ARM TrustZone secure/non-secure partitioning is active
    Affected if TrustZone is enabled and the non-secure world is permitted to execute code
  3. Confirm presence of non-secure world code
    Review your application firmware to determine if any code runs in the non-secure (non-secure) partition of the device
    Affected if Non-secure world code is present and can potentially access memory interfaces
  4. Check for non-secure to secure memory access patterns
    Inspect your firmware binaries, memory maps, or linker scripts to see if non-secure code has any defined access paths to secure memory regions
    Affected if Non-secure code has any mechanism to reference or access secure memory regions

You are affected if your Gecko SDK version falls between 1.0.0 and 4.3.2 AND you have TrustZone enabled with non-secure code that can access secure memory regions.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.3.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to a newer version of the Gecko SDK (beyond v4.3.x) that contains proper input validation for TrustZone memory access controls; verify the upgrade does not introduce regressions in secure world functionality.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Silicon Labs Gecko SDK version > 4.3.2 (consult official advisory for exact fixed release)

  1. 1. Identify all deployments using Gecko SDK versions 1.0.0 through 4.3.2
  2. 2. Consult Silicon Labs official security advisory on community.silabs.com for the specific fixed release version
  3. 3. Plan upgrade to the fixed release version (typically a version higher than 4.3.2)
  4. 4. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment before deploying
  5. 5. Verify the TrustZone memory isolation is functioning correctly after upgrade
  6. 6. Deploy the fixed version to production environments
Caveat Review Silicon Labs release notes for potential API or behavioral changes between 4.3.2 and the fixed version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Gecko Software Development Kit Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
42.0 hours of engineering $7,320
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,712.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-4280 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data