Hardware Wallet Certificates: What EAL5+ Does and Does Not Mean
By Squaby Editorial · Published
Facts checked on
Hardware wallet makers often state a security level such as "EAL5+" or "EAL6+". This article explains what such a level describes and what it does not, and shows what Squaby found in public registers for the 3 hardware wallets it reviews. Each wallet name links to its review, where every source and check date is listed.
What Squaby found
Is the secure element chip named?
For Trezor Safe 5 and Ledger Nano X, the manufacturer names the secure element chip.
For SafePal S1 Pro, the manufacturer names no secure element chip model.
Is the secure element chip named? Squaby finding, points and check date per hardware wallet
Trezor’s Learn articles name the Infineon OPTIGA Trust M (V3) as the Safe 5’s Secure Element; the product page itself only says "NDA-free EAL 6+ Secure Element" without a chip model.
Ledger Nano X
Ledger names the chip ST33J2M0 and states "Chip Certification: CC EAL5+".
SafePal S1 Pro
SafePal states that an independent secure element protects the keys, but its product page, help center and manual name no chip model or chip maker; the criterion needs a named chip.
Is there a chip certificate in a public register?
For Trezor Safe 5 and Ledger Nano X, an active certificate at EAL5+ or higher was found in the Common Criteria register.
For SafePal S1 Pro, no certificate that matches the device was found in a public register.
Is there a chip certificate in a public register? Squaby finding, points and check date per hardware wallet
The Common Criteria list has no entry named OPTIGA Trust M. It shows an active EAL6+ certificate for the Infineon hardware platform that Infineon’s datasheet says the Trust M is based on (valid until March 2027). Trezor does not say which hardware revision is inside the Safe 5, and a chip certificate covers the chip, not the whole device.
Ledger Nano X
Active EAL5+ certificates with AVA_VAN.5 for the ST33J2M0 chip (revisions C03, C04 and C05, valid until 2029 to 2031). Ledger does not state which chip revision is inside the Nano X. The certificate covers the chip, not the whole device.
SafePal S1 Pro
Without a named chip, no certificate can be matched to the device; the Common Criteria list has no entry for SafePal. SafePal’s own statements of the level differ: "EAL6+" on the product page, "EAL5+" in the help center and "EAL6++" (not a Common Criteria level) on its About page.
Is the device itself certified?
For Trezor Safe 5 and SafePal S1 Pro, no device-level certificate was found.
For Ledger Nano X, a device-level certificate was found, but it is archived or expired.
Is the device itself certified? Squaby finding, points and check date per hardware wallet
No entry for Trezor, SatoshiLabs or the Safe 5 was found in the Common Criteria list (all schemes) or in the ANSSI catalogue of October 16, 2026. Trezor mentions CE and RoHS marks, which are product safety marks, not security certificates.
Ledger Nano X
The French security agency ANSSI certified the Nano X firmware in July 2023 for three years; the certificate ended on July 21, 2026, and the October 2026 catalogue lists no newer one. The current Ledger OS is 2.8.0.
SafePal S1 Pro
No entry for SafePal in the Common Criteria list or in the ANSSI catalogue of October 16, 2026.
The tables are not a ranking of safety and not a recommendation. They show three of the 41 criteria of the Squaby Score for hardware wallets.
How the Squaby Score rates it
The three criteria belong to the "Device security" category, which counts for 25% of the total. The published rules read:
Secure element. The manufacturer states that the keys are protected by a named secure element chip: 10 points.
Secure element certificate. Only with an official register as the basis. Active certificate for the named chip at EAL5+ or higher (with AVA_VAN.5) found in a public register: 15 points. Active certificate below that level, or an EAL5+ certificate that is archived or expired: 8. Not found: 0. A chip certificate covers the chip, not the whole device.
Device-level security certification. Only with an official register as the basis. The device or its operating system (not only the chip) holds an active certificate from a national security agency or a Common Criteria scheme, found in the register: 10 points. Archived or expired: 5. None found: 0.
An evaluation against a standard. Common Criteria is an international standard for security evaluations. Certified products are listed in a public register on the Common Criteria Portal, which names the national scheme that issued each certificate and its dates.
A level from EAL1 to EAL7. The standard defines seven evaluation assurance levels, and each level gives more assurance than all lower ones. A higher level means a more thorough evaluation, not a different kind of product.
Added components. A level can be raised with extra components. The register then shows the level with a plus sign followed by the added components, for example "EAL5+" with "AVA_VAN.5".
AVA_VAN.5. This is the highest of the five vulnerability-analysis components, AVA_VAN.1 to AVA_VAN.5. With it, the evaluator's penetration tests assume an attacker with a high attack potential.
The chip, not the wallet. The secure element certificates in the register are listed as chips. They cover the chip; as the Squaby method puts it, a chip certificate covers the chip, not the whole device. A certificate can also cover a hardware platform that several chip products are built on; then the chip in the wallet is not listed by name, and the maker's documents must show the link.
What it does not show
The rest of the device. The main processor, screen, firmware and companion app are outside a chip evaluation. Only a device-level certificate looks at the device or its operating system.
Which revision is inside. A chip can exist in several revisions with separate certificates. Unless the maker states which one is in the device, the match is not certain.
The way from the factory to you. A certificate says nothing about what happens to a device between the factory and the buyer. Buy from the maker or from a seller the maker lists, and follow the maker's steps for checking a new device.
The future. A certificate has an end date. The register shows when an entry is archived, after which it is no longer active.
Other marks. Product marks such as CE and RoHS are not security certificates.
A certificate is one piece of information about a wallet. It does not protect against every attack, and it does not protect a recovery phrase that is written down carelessly or shared.
How to read a security claim
Which chip? Look for a chip model and its maker, not only a level.
Which register? Look the chip up in the Common Criteria register and check that the entry is still active.
Which level and components? Check the level and whether AVA_VAN.5 is listed.
Chip, platform or device? Check what exactly the certificate names.
Does the maker say the same everywhere? Different levels on different pages are a reason to check the register.
The register entries and the national catalogue that Squaby used are linked in the sources below. To compare the wallets on all criteria, see the comparison page or the hardware wallet ranking.
Sources
The standard documents behind the explanation of the levels, read on :
AI tools help find sources, read documents and draft text. AI output is never used as a source. Every recorded fact comes from a primary source with a check date, and a person decides every judgment call before it is published. See the Editorial Policy.
Corrections
If you find an error or an outdated fact, report it as described in the Editorial Policy. A confirmed error is corrected in the recorded fact and in this article.
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