The Arm®v8-M architecture introduced a security extension called TrustZone®*, which splits the firmware running on the MCU into two worlds: secure and non-secure. In this blog post, I want to discuss

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A practical guide to working with STM32 TrustZone-based projects in CLion 2026.1 EAP. TrustZone splits MCU firmware into secure and non-secure worlds, isolating critical code from exposed interfaces like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The post covers the dual-subproject CMake structure generated by STM32CubeMX, how to configure CLion for code insight (requiring a build first), and how to set up debugging with a Generic debug server to flash both secure and non-secure binaries. Key tips include manually specifying executables in run configurations, using a custom GDB connection script to load both ELF images, disabling automatic upload/reset to avoid duplication, and being mindful of the limited hardware breakpoint count (6 on STM32L5). Instructions for disabling TrustZone on the hardware are also included.

Working With STM32 Arm TrustZone-Based Projects in CLion

Understanding the STM32 TrustZone-based project structure