This vulnerability occurs when a semiconductor chip does not properly secure sensitive data, making it accessible to third-party Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) vendors during the manufacturing process.
Chipmakers often outsource manufacturing and testing to specialized OSAT vendors. During this pre-production stage, chips are in a vulnerable state with debug and test modes active. While NDAs are standard, the risk of accidental data leaks, IT security flaws at the OSAT facility, or insider threats remains high. Therefore, chip designers must minimize the confidential information left accessible on the device during this phase. Logic errors during design or synthesis can misconfigure debug components, granting improper access to sensitive data. Managing these hardware security flaws at scale is challenging; an ASPM platform like Plexicus can help you track and prioritize such vulnerabilities across your entire hardware and software stack, correlating them with SAST findings for a unified security posture.
Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume IdentityBypass Protection MechanismExecute Unauthorized Code or CommandsModify MemoryModify Files or Directories
The impact depends on the confidential information itself and who is inadvertently granted access. For example, if the confidential information is a key that can unlock all the parts of a generation, the impact could be severe.
Effectiveness: Moderate