CVE-2026-1442
Exposed Creds in Unitree Go2 Edu Standard Firmware
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-1442 is a high-severity Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key (CWE-321) vulnerability in Unitree Go2 Edu Standard Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Private Keys (T1552.004); ranked at the 5th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-12 (Cryptographic Key Establishment and Management) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-1442 affects the firmware update process in Unitree robotics products, including the Unitree Go2 and all current offerings as of February 26, 2026. The encryption algorithm used to protect these updates relies on key material available to attackers or anyone paying attention, enabling unauthorized alteration of firmware packages. Devices trust these tampered updates, constituting a vulnerability in both firmware generation and extraction processes. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-321.
An attacker with local access can exploit this vulnerability with low complexity, no privileges required, but needing user interaction, such as convincing the equipment owner to apply a modified update. Successful exploitation allows insertion of altered firmware that the device accepts as legitimate, potentially compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a high degree. At the time of disclosure on February 27, 2026, no publicly-documented mechanism existed to subvert the update process without the owner's knowledge.
References point to a GitHub repository (UniTEABag) and discussions on LinkedIn and X, which appear to detail the issue and possibly include proof-of-concept demonstrations, but no vendor advisories or patches are specified in the available information.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-8994
Vulnerability Data
Since the encryption algorithm used to protect firmware updates is itself encrypted using key material available to an attacker (or anyone paying attention), the firmware updates may be altered by an unauthorized user, and then trusted by a Unitree product,…
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such as the Unitree Go2 and other models. This issue appears to affect all of Unitree’s current offerings as of February 26, 2026, and so should be considered a vulnerability in both the firmware generation and extraction processes. At the time of this release, there is no publicly-documented mechanism to subvert the update process and insert poisoned firmware packages without the equipment owner’s knowledge.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requiring cryptographic keys to be established and managed according to defined requirements prevents developers from embedding static unchangeable keys.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure-SDLC activities such as code review and secret scanning directly prevent embedding static keys.
Data-at-rest protection policies require proper key management and therefore discourage hard-coded keys.
Data-in-transit protection similarly depends on non-hard-coded keys for encryption.
Configuration baselines and reviews can prohibit hard-coded keys in deployed artifacts.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Key-management controls that govern generation, rotation and protection of keys make the use of embedded hard-coded cryptographic keys less likely and easier to detect.