Support Secure Boot and Flash Encryption

[DanielLester83]

Related area

Security

Hardware specification

ESP32

Is your feature request related to a problem?

The Current Process is difficult, requires redundant installs and potentially confusing.

Describe the solution you'd like

I realize this would be an advanced feature, but it would be nice to have an automated process of setting up encryption and secure boot of esp32 devices, burning the efuses and storing the keyfile(s) in the project file and then pre encrypting all future uploads if keyfile(s) are found.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Do it the Hard Way.

Additional context

No response

I have checked existing list of Feature requests and the Contribution Guide

• I confirm I have checked existing list of Feature requests and Contribution Guide.

[Jason2866]

Not supported with Arduino. You have to use IDF.

[lbernstone]

This is one of the few ways to brick an esp32, so I doubt it is appropriate to add to an education/RAD environment.

[SuGlider]

@VojtechBartoska - MCU BOOT + Arduino.

[me-no-dev]

@VojtechBartoska - MCU BOOT + Arduino.

Nope. I looked into it and is not any better than what we already have. MCU Boot is made for micros, like STM32, which do not already have partitions and so on support. If we are do add MCU Boot to our Arduino, a lot of flash space will be wasted and people will not like it. Arduino as component is the way to go here, if someone wants that feature.

[SuGlider]

https://github.com/mcu-tools/mcuboot/blob/main/docs/readme-espressif.md
https://docs.mcuboot.com/readme-espressif.html

There is already a MCU Boot for ESP32 SoCs.
But, as you say, it may not be the best to use with Arduino.

[me-no-dev]

It's main purpose is to manage the main firmware, which is expected to always be at certain address in flash (let's take 0x1000 as example). When you want to OTA or something else, it would swap the running firmware with an updated on, by writing it to the same start address that the chip expects. This takes a lot of read/writes to the flash and makes no sense when we (ESP32 platform) can have firmwares at different addresses and switch them at will. Given that our options are much cleaner and easy on the flash, MCU Boot makes no sense.

[Jason2866]

My two cents, there is no easy way to implement secure boot and flash encryption in Arduino.
Arduino is reduced to basic features to make it simple to use. For enhanced and/or special cases there is IDF. As always you can't have anything.
Edit: Users which have the need for, should be able to handle the process as it is now.
Arduino is Open Source, can be forked and enhanced for personal needs.

[me-no-dev]

Arduino is Open Source, can be forked and enhanced for personal needs.

And on top of that, we provide Arduino as IDF component, so people are covered in all cases. Libs do require CMakeLists.txt to be added, but that is a small price to get a full featured Arduino+IDF combo.

[VojtechBartoska]

Up to the comments there are no actions step to be done. Closing as wontfix.