diff --git a/esphome/components/esp32_hosted/update/esp32_hosted_update.cpp b/esphome/components/esp32_hosted/update/esp32_hosted_update.cpp
index 626bda3af3..3598a2e69c 100644
--- a/esphome/components/esp32_hosted/update/esp32_hosted_update.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/esp32_hosted/update/esp32_hosted_update.cpp
@@ -90,7 +90,8 @@ void Esp32HostedUpdate::perform(bool force) {
     return;
   }
 
-  sha256::SHA256 hasher;
+  // ESP32-S3 hardware SHA acceleration requires 32-byte DMA alignment (IDF 5.5.x+)
+  alignas(32) sha256::SHA256 hasher;
   hasher.init();
   hasher.add(this->firmware_data_, this->firmware_size_);
   hasher.calculate();