--- title: "Confidential computing's core trust mechanism is broken. The fix may not exist" url: https://daily.dev/posts/confidential-computing-s-core-trust-mechanism-is-broken-the-fix-may-not-exist-ki6ponzpx source_url: https://www.theregister.com/security/2026/07/04/confidential-computings-core-trust-mechanism-is-broken-the-fix-may-not-exist/5266056 type: article source: "The Register" published: 2026-07-04T10:03:17.404Z updated: 2026-07-04T10:03:43.045Z reading_time: 11 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Confidential computing's core trust mechanism is broken. The fix may not exist **[The Register](https://daily.dev/sources/theregister)** · 11 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary New research from TU Dresden formally verifies that attested TLS, the protocol underpinning confidential computing's trust guarantees, is fundamentally broken. Using ProVerif, researchers found that all seven examined intra-handshake attestation binding mechanisms fail to prevent relay attacks, where a client verifies a genuine TEE but ends up sending encrypted data to a malicious machine. The flaw affects production systems including Meta's WhatsApp Private Processing, Edgeless Systems' Contrast, and Cocos AI (CVE-2026-33697, CVSS 7.5). The best available fix achieves only level-two binding, proving identity at handshake start but not during data transmission. Level-three binding, which would protect actual application traffic, may be architecturally impossible within intra-handshake attestation. Germany's BSI independently confirmed that confidential computing falls short of digital sovereignty claims. The researchers recommend abandoning intra-handshake attestation in favor of post-handshake attestation, and the IETF's SEAT working group has incorporated formal verification requirements into its charter. Vendor-dominated CCC working groups delayed publishing the vulnerability artifacts for over ten days despite repeated requests. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Building a Zero-Trust Architecture for Confidential AI Factories](https://daily.dev/posts/building-a-zero-trust-architecture-for-confidential-ai-factories-snfbnxpu6) · NVIDIA Developer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Confidential computing and the new regulatory focus on data in use](https://daily.dev/posts/confidential-computing-and-the-new-regulatory-focus-on-data-in-use-avkdyvleq) · Ubuntu · 0 upvotes · 1 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/confidential-computing-s-core-trust-mechanism-is-broken-the-fix-may-not-exist-ki6ponzpx)