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PaulAD
Associate II
June 15, 2026
Solved

SFI to STM32H563ZITx fails irrecoverably with illegal BOOT_UBE value

  • June 15, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 67 views

I'm exploring Secure Firmware Install of our product firmware, programming it to a Nucleo H563ZI development board straight out of the box, never previously used. I'm programming it with firmware binaries (including a bespoke OEM iRoT), option bytes and a couple of OBkeys files (one for certificate-based Debug Authentication, another for my iRoT’s keys). For these current experiments, I'm using a global license for installation.

I'm using STM32CubeProgrammer and STM32 Trusted Package Creator version 2.22.0, with X-CUBE-RSSE package version 2.0.0 installed.

Running the installation process within the GUI STM32CubeProgrammer, the following message boxes are displayed as it proceeds:
* (Info) File download complete
* (Info) MCU Reset
* (Error) Error: Execution of RSS CMD failed, returned value = 0xFFEADE2A
* (Error) Error: Failed to Process Area Number 1 of type H
The installation process stops after the last of these errors. After failure, the MCU's option bytes are in this state:

OPTION BYTES BANK: 0

   Product state:

     PRODUCT_STATE: 0x17 (Provisioning, Debug partially opened (only non-secure)) 

   BOR Level:

     BOR_LEV      : 0x0 (BOR Level 1, the threshold level is low (around 2.1 V)) 
     BORH_EN      : 0x0  (0x0) 

   User Configuration:

     IO_VDD_HSLV  : 0x0  (0x0) 
     IO_VDDIO2_HSLV: 0x0  (0x0) 
     IWDG_STOP    : 0x1  (0x1) 
     IWDG_STDBY   : 0x1  (0x1) 
     BOOT_UBE     : 0xC3 (ST-iRoT (system flash) selected) 
     SWAP_BANK    : 0x0  (0x0) 
     IWDG_SW      : 0x1  (0x1) 
     NRST_STOP    : 0x1  (0x1) 
     NRST_STDBY   : 0x1  (0x1) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 1

   User Configuration 2:

     TZEN         : 0xB4 (Trust zone enabled) 
     USBPD_DIS    : 0x1 (Disabled) 
     SRAM2_ECC    : 0x0 (SRAM2 ECC check enabled ) 
     SRAM3_ECC    : 0x0 (SRAM3 ECC check enabled ) 
     BKPRAM_ECC   : 0x1 (BKPRAM ECC check disabled) 
     SRAM2_RST    : 0x0 (SRAM2 erase when system reset) 
     SRAM1_3_RST  : 0x1 (SRAM1 and SRAM3 not erased when a system reset occurs) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 2

   Boot Configuration:

     NSBOOTADD    : 0x80000  (0x8000000) 
     NSBOOT_LOCK  : 0xC3 (The SWAP_BANK and NSBOOTADD can still be modified following their individual rules.) 
     SECBOOT_LOCK : 0x0 (Unknown Value) 
     SECBOOTADD   : 0x0  (0x0) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 3

   Bank1 - Flash watermark area definition:

     SECWM1_STRT  : 0x0  (0x8000000) 
     SECWM1_END   : 0x7F  (0x80FE000) 

   Write sector group protection 1:

     WRPSGn1      : 0xFFFFFFFF  (0x8000000) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 4

   Bank2 - Flash watermark area definition:

     SECWM2_STRT  : 0x0  (0x8100000) 
     SECWM2_END   : 0x7F  (0x81FE000) 

   Write sector group protection 2:

     WRPSGn2      : 0xFFFFFFFF  (0x8000000) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 5

   OTP write protection:

     LOCKBL       : 0x0  (0x0) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 6

   Flash data bank 1 sectors:

     EDATA1_EN    : 0x0 (No Flash high-cycle data area) 
     EDATA1_STRT  : 0x0  (0x0) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 7

   Flash data bank 2 sectors:

     EDATA2_EN    : 0x0 (No Flash high-cycle data area) 
     EDATA2_STRT  : 0x0  (0x0) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 8

   Flash HDP bank 1:

     HDP1_STRT    : 0x1  (0x2000) 
     HDP1_END     : 0x0  (0x0) 
OPTION BYTES BANK: 9

   Flash HDP bank 2:

     HDP2_STRT    : 0x1  (0x2000) 
     HDP2_END     : 0x0  (0x0)

I can't get the MCU out of the Provisioning Product State from here:

  • Provisioning with my Debug Authentication certificate succeeds but then try to change PRODUCT_STATE to 0x72 (Closed, so I can run a Full Regression):
    • Error: Expected value for Option Byte "PRODUCT_STATE": 0x72, found: 0x17
    • Error: Option Byte Programming failed Or modified by application after OB_LAUNCH
  • Try to change BOOT_UBE to 0xB4:
    • Error: Expected value for Option Byte "BOOT_UBE": 0xB4, found: 0xC3
    • Error: Option Byte Programming failed Or modified by application after OB_LAUNCH
  • Try to change SECBOOT_LOCK to 0xC3:
    • Error: Expected value for Option Byte "SECBOOT_LOCK": 0xC3, found: 0x0
    • Error: Option Byte Programming failed Or modified by application after OB_LAUNCH
  • Try to change BOOT_UBE and PRODUCT_STATE as above at the same time: Same errors as above
  • Try to change BOOT_UBE, PRODUCT_STATE and SECBOOT_LOCK as above at the same time: Same errors as above

So, the board is effectively "bricked"; it can't be usefully programmed with any firmware from this point.

What concerns me the most in these option bytes is the line:
BOOT_UBE : 0xC3 (ST-iRoT (system flash) selected) 
As I understand it, this is an illegal setting on the STM32H563, since it has no ST-iRoT, and I did not set it; see my option bytes file below. So, I guess the SFI process must be setting it for some reason. I wonder if this is the reason I can’t end provisioning?

The full log from STM32CubeProgrammer is:

10:21:11 : UPLOADING ...
10:21:11 :   Size          : 4 Bytes
10:21:11 :   Address       : 0xBF960CC
10:21:11 : Read progress:
10:21:11 : Data read successfully
10:21:11 : Time elapsed during the read operation is: 00:00:00.011
10:21:11 : Starting Firmware Install operation...
10:21:11 : Warning: Option Byte: BOOT_UBE, value: 0xB4, was not modified.
10:21:11 : Warning: Option Bytes are unchanged, Data won't be downloaded
10:21:11 : Time elapsed during option Bytes configuration: 00:00:00.012
10:21:11 : Reconnecting...
10:21:13 : Reconnected !
10:21:13 : Reconnecting...
10:21:14 : Reconnected !
10:21:14 : Time elapsed during option Bytes configuration: 00:00:02.369
10:21:14 : Reconnecting...
10:21:15 : ST-LINK SN  : 0042002B3133511437363734
10:21:15 : ST-LINK FW  : V3J10M3
10:21:15 : Board       : NUCLEO-H563ZI
10:21:15 : Voltage     : 3.28V
10:21:15 : SWD freq    : 8000 KHz
10:21:15 : Connect mode: Hot Plug
10:21:15 : Reset mode  : Hardware reset
10:21:15 : Device ID   : 0x484
10:21:15 : Revision ID : Rev X
10:21:15 : Reconnecting...
10:21:16 : Reconnected !
10:21:16 : Time elapsed during option Bytes configuration: 00:00:01.205
10:21:16 : Warning: Option Byte: SECBOOT_LOCK, value: 0xC3, was not modified.
10:21:16 : Warning: Option Bytes are unchanged, Data won't be downloaded
10:21:16 : Time elapsed during option Bytes configuration: 00:00:00.008
10:21:16 : Warning: Option Byte: SECBOOTADD, value: 0xC0000, was not modified.
10:21:16 : Warning: Option Byte: SECWM1_END, value: 0x7F, was not modified.
10:21:16 : Warning: Option Byte: SECWM1_STRT, value: 0x0, was not modified.
10:21:16 : Warning: Option Byte: SECWM2_END, value: 0x7F, was not modified.
10:21:16 : Warning: Option Byte: SECWM2_STRT, value: 0x0, was not modified.
10:21:16 : Warning: Option Byte: SRAM1_3_RST, value: 0x1, was not modified.
10:21:16 : Reconnecting...
10:21:17 : Reconnected !
10:21:17 : Time elapsed during option Bytes configuration: 00:00:01.195
10:21:17 : Reconnecting...
10:21:19 : ST-LINK SN  : 0042002B3133511437363734
10:21:19 : ST-LINK FW  : V3J10M3
10:21:19 : Board       : NUCLEO-H563ZI
10:21:19 : Voltage     : 3.28V
10:21:19 : SWD freq    : 8000 KHz
10:21:19 : Connect mode: Hot Plug
10:21:19 : Reset mode  : Hardware reset
10:21:19 : Device ID   : 0x484
10:21:19 : Revision ID : Rev X
10:21:19 : Reconnecting...
10:21:20 : Reconnected !
10:21:21 : Reconnecting...
10:21:22 : Reconnected !
10:21:24 : Time elapsed during option Bytes configuration: 00:00:05.398
10:21:24 : Reconnecting...
10:21:25 : ST-LINK SN  : 0042002B3133511437363734
10:21:25 : ST-LINK FW  : V3J10M3
10:21:25 : Board       : NUCLEO-H563ZI
10:21:25 : Voltage     : 3.28V
10:21:25 : SWD freq    : 8000 KHz
10:21:25 : Connect mode: Hot Plug
10:21:25 : Reset mode  : Hardware reset
10:21:25 : Device ID   : 0x484
10:21:25 : Revision ID : Rev X
10:21:25 : Installing RSSe
10:21:25 : Opening and parsing file: RSSe_SFI_H56x_H573_v3.1.0.bin
10:21:25 : Memory Programming ...
10:21:25 :   File          : RSSe_SFI_H56x_H573_v3.1.0.bin
10:21:25 :   Size          : 55.56 KB 
10:21:25 :   Address       : 0x20054100
10:21:25 : Erasing memory corresponding to segment 0:
10:21:25 : Download in Progress:
10:21:25 : File download complete
10:21:25 : Time elapsed during download operation: 00:00:00.111
10:21:25 : MCU Reset
10:21:25 : Reconnecting...
10:21:26 : ST-LINK SN  : 0042002B3133511437363734
10:21:26 : ST-LINK FW  : V3J10M3
10:21:26 : Board       : NUCLEO-H563ZI
10:21:26 : Voltage     : 3.28V
10:21:26 : SWD freq    : 8000 KHz
10:21:26 : Connect mode: Hot Plug
10:21:26 : Reset mode  : Hardware reset
10:21:26 : Device ID   : 0x484
10:21:26 : Revision ID : Rev X
10:21:27 : Get RSSe status...
10:21:27 : RSS version = 2.2.0
10:21:27 : RSSe version = 3.1.0
10:21:27 : Starting SFI 
10:21:27 : Processing license...
10:21:27 : Get RSSe status...
10:21:27 : Processing Image Header
10:21:27 : Get RSSe status...
10:21:27 : Processing Area 1...
10:21:27 : Error: Execution of RSS CMD failed, returned value = 0xFFEADE2A 
10:21:27 : Error: Failed to Process Area Number 1 of type H
10:21:27 : Disconnected from device.

My option bytes .csv file, set up using the SFI Option Bytes tab in STM32 Trusted Package Creator, is:

OPTSR_PRG,0x2D3072F8
OPTSR2_PRG,0xB4000070
NSBOOTR_PRG,0x080000C3
SECBOOTR_PRG,0x0C0000B4
SECWM1R_PRG,0x007F0000
SECWM2R_PRG,0x007F007F
WRP1R_PRG,0xFFFFFFFC
WRP2R_PRG,0xFFFFFFFF
EDATA1R_PRG,0x00000000
EDATA2R_PRG,0x00000000
HDP1R_PRG,0x00070000
HDP2R_PRG,0x00000001

So, questions:

  • What does "Error: Execution of RSS CMD failed, returned value = 0xFFEADE2A" signify?
  • What would cause failure to process an area of type H?
  • Am I doing anything wrong in my use of the tools to see this behaviour?
  • Why is SFI setting BOOT_UBE to value 0xC3, which is illegal on this MCU?
  • Is there any way to recover this board to a usable condition from this state or should we throw it away?
Best answer by Jocelyn RICARD

Hello ​@PaulAD ,

the main issue is your usage of Global License. This license can only be used on STM32H573 to provision the Secure Manager.

You must use the HSMV2 to generate the license at installation time.

If you launch SFI with properly provisioned HSMV2, you will be able to recover your board.

There is no other way to recover it from this state.

Best regards

Jocelyn

1 reply

Jocelyn RICARD
Jocelyn RICARDBest answer
ST Employee
June 15, 2026

Hello ​@PaulAD ,

the main issue is your usage of Global License. This license can only be used on STM32H573 to provision the Secure Manager.

You must use the HSMV2 to generate the license at installation time.

If you launch SFI with properly provisioned HSMV2, you will be able to recover your board.

There is no other way to recover it from this state.

Best regards

Jocelyn

P
PaulADAuthor
Associate II
June 15, 2026

Hello ​@Jocelyn RICARD,

Ah, that’s helpful. I had no idea the global license was limited to a particular chip. That would explain a lot.

I’ll talk to my managers about getting hold of some HSMs then. We were going to look at those as the next step but, ironically, I thought the global license scenario would be a simpler test case to start off with.

Thank you very much for the information.

Best regards

Paul

    P
    PaulADAuthor
    Associate II
    July 6, 2026

    Hi ​@Jocelyn RICARD,

    We’ve now obtained a smart-card reader and some HSMs. I can confirm that provisioning using the HSM does indeed “unbrick” a Nucleo H563ZI development board which was left non-functional by mistakenly attempting installation using a global license file.

    Thanks again for your help.

    Best regards

    Paul

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