feat(esp_image_verify): split image verification out of bootloader_support

components/esp_partition/include/esp_partition.h

@@ -535,6 +535,10 @@ void esp_partition_munmap(esp_partition_mmap_handle_t handle);
  *          - ESP_ERR_NO_MEM: Cannot allocate memory for sha256 operation.
  *          - ESP_ERR_IMAGE_INVALID: App partition doesn't contain a valid app image.
  *          - ESP_FAIL: An allocation error occurred.
+ *
+ * @note Requires the esp_image_verify component in the build (apps using OTA get
+ *       it through app_update). Calling it without that component fails at link
+ *       time with an undefined reference.
  */
 esp_err_t esp_partition_get_sha256(const esp_partition_t* partition, uint8_t* sha_256);
 

components/esp_partition/include/esp_private/esp_partition_utils.h

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+/*
+ * SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Espressif Systems (Shanghai) CO LTD
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+#pragma once
+
+#include "esp_partition.h"
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+/**
+ * @brief Find the APP partition containing the currently executing firmware.
+ *
+ * Private helper shared by esp_partition and app_update; application code
+ * should prefer esp_ota_get_running_partition() (app_update). The result is
+ * cached after the first lookup.
+ *
+ * @return Running APP partition
+ */
+const esp_partition_t *esp_partition_get_running_partition(void);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+}
+#endif