Extract firmware using jtag Nov 18, 2023 · Extracting Firmware: All Methods Sat, Nov 18, 2023 The first step in finding vulnerabilities in some kind of IoT device is getting its firmware. The firmware, a program that executes in a dedicated way and with a specific purpose in a microcontroller or microprocessor, is usually stored in a persistent memory device like a NAND/NOR flash or EEPROM. Steps to Extract Firmware Over JTAG/SWD 1. These are often labeled as follows: JTAG Pins: TCK (Test Clock) Obtaining the firmware from devices can be done in several different ways. It's usually best to leave "Auto FullFlash Size" checked as it will detect the flash chip size on its own. Step to extracting the firmware through an exposed interface Locate debug interfaces on the device’s casing or accessible panels. Also, we can modify firmware using Jtagulator. It outlines methods such as obtaining firmware from manufacturers, using UART, JTAG, direct flash memory access, and software-based extraction, along with tools that assist in the process. Extracting and analyzing it is crucial to understqnd the device's functionality and structure and establish a foothold by analysing, through methods of reverse engineering, or modifying the firmware and reflashing a device. Debugging software (e. Jun 28, 2015 · I've searched around and found quite a few examples of articles claiming to have extracted firmware from some device using the JTAG interface. It allows direct communication with a chip to read its memory, perform boundary scans, or load firmware. bin we can try to analyze the firmware and extract sensitive information check the "Analyze Firmware" chapter # Extract Firmware using JTAG/SWD If you found an active JTAG/SWD interface on a PCB it can be used to extract the firmware in some cases. There are lots of things left to do here, like determine if the flash chips themselves can be dumped via JTAG, RE the firmware to look for interesting ways to recover data from the drive (I recently discovered that lots Jan 23, 2014 · Appreciate it's a broad question, but despite days of Googling I haven't found straight forward explanation of the general principle of how to "capture" or copy an unkown firmware from a piece of hardware. May 14, 2025 · Learn how to use JTAG for firmware extraction in reverse engineering, and what are its benefits and drawbacks. dump_image [filename] address offset May 31, 2024 · JTAG JTAG, or Joint Test Action Group, is a standard protocol used for testing and debugging integrated circuits, particularly on printed circuit boards (PCBs). This tutorial will guide you through the basics of using JTAG to read chips, including setup, tools, and best practices. Examples include the Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) interface. This is when things get interesting, as you have to manually extract the firmware from the device by opening it and connecting to the flash chip. Leveraging UART, SPI and JTAG for firmware extraction This project aims to document and develop methods to extract firmware from a circuit board. It’s been used to recover bricked routers, extract firmware from IoT devices, and gain root access to locked-down embedded systems. Without access to the source code, one possibility is to extract the firmware to make the necessary changes and then update the device. Understanding Firmware Firmware is specialized software that provides low-level control for a device's specific hardware USB-to-UART adapters. Analyze, modify, and repackage firmware code for reverse engineering. Jul 9, 2025 · Using the Direct Memory Programming plugin (or a suitable "Resurrector" / DCC loader for your phone or chipset) will allow you to dump a phone's entire flash chip. This document provides a comprehensive guide on extracting firmware from devices, detailing the importance of firmware, legal and ethical considerations, and various extraction techniques. . It involves retrieving the firmware from the device, which can then be analyzed to understand its functionality, security vulnerabilities, and overall structure. The target board is a MIPS-based Linksys WRT54G v2 router containing an Intel 28F320 4MB external Flash memory. Prying the router open was very easy, and seeing the front side a serial port can almost immediately be seen, marked as TX (transmit) and RX (receive). However, we got a new one, and it has different firmware, does not play well with our current system. Now we have several ways of getting firmware Extracting Firmware from Devices Firmware extraction is a crucial step in reverse engineering embedded systems. This page covers both invasive and non-invasive approaches. In this post, we want to extract the firmware. Analyze firmware Using binwalk firmware. Jumper Wires (to connect the debugger to the target device) 5 Apr 22, 2024 · Next in our series this June: Demystifying JTAG and SWD for firmware extraction, debugging, and hardware reverse engineering! Using JTAG to dump the firmware from a STM32F407 device on a Lowrance HDS9 Carbon motherboard. 4. Sep 3, 2019 · Raymond Felch // Preface: I began my exploration of reverse-engineering firmware a few weeks back (see “ JTAG – Micro-Controller Debugging “), and although I made considerable progress finding and identifying the JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) pins on my target board (Samsung S3C4510 CPU) Linksys BEFSR41 router, there were complications. Steps to Extract Firmware: Identify the used flash chip by Google the chip description printed on it in the datasheet of the chip you should find the pinout of the chip (the dot on the chip specifies the upper left corner Example Pinout: Aug 13, 2022 · JTAG is a physical hardware interface that makes it possible, among other things, to extract the firmware image from electronic devices. SWD allows direct access to the core of the microcontroller, enabling read/write access to memory, setting breakpoints, and controlling program execution. ### Requirements #### Hardware 1. 3. See the JTAGulator YouTube Playlist and also search for ‘JTAGulator’ on YouTube to see other examples. Pentesters often use SWD to reverse engineer firmware, modify device behavior, extract sensitive data, or bypass security mechanisms during hardware assessments. We were also able to get JTAG access to an undocumented target, extract memory, and single-step through the running firmware. This requires physical access to the device and the correct tools, such as JTAG adapters or logic analyzers. Hardware Interfaces: Extracting firmware directly from the hardware through interfaces like JTAG, SWD, UART, SPI, or I²C. Jan 22, 2023 · What makes you think the firmware is even dumpable? MCUs have lock bits to allow manufacturers to prevent cloning a product by just dumping the firmware. ago Hardware Hacking Interface Interaction JTAG/SWDJTAG SWD Extract Firmware using JTAG/SWD Approaching a new firmware image as a reverse engineer LAB: Extract segments of interest from firmware images via binwalk and dd LAB: Extract components of interest from the router firmware image LAB: Patch and modify router firmware image to gain advanced access Module 6: Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) JTAG specification and state machine review Jun 14, 2022 · Here's what I have: 2x Lynx L22 PCI Audio Interface (Picture below with the 6 JTAG pinouts): 1 with bad firmware, 1 with working firmware) Altera USB Blaster 10 pins JTAG (Picture below): For the connector from board to PC Some dupont wires: to connect the 10pins to 6 pins JTAG UrJTAG software: for the firmware extraction and insertion. And while it’s still true in some cases, now there’s no more a one-size-fits-all solution. In this video, we discuss how to extract firmware from a RP2040 microcontroller on the Defcon 30 badge using JTAG. To dump the firmware you can probably just use the dump command (see the datasheet for memory ranges) Unprotected programming or debugging interfaces may be used to extract device firmware, exposing it to reverse engineering that may reveal proprietary information, other exploitable vulnerabilities, or security-sensitive data stored in the firmware (such as keys and passwords). Feb 27, 2020 · Extracting and analyzing the firmware image can be a viable option to understand its operation. I have read further that there is no general procedure for doing this since each manufacturer imposes different constraints and requirements. JTAG/SWD Header/Pinout (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO for JTAG or SWDIO, SWCLK for SWD). Rudolph Electronic Repair LLC. Feb 20, 2020 · JTAG is a physical hardware interface that makes it possible, among other things, to extract the firmware image from electronic devices. Do this with the following commands: Using flash banks, we found out the image is located on 0xbf00000000 with size 0x01000000. You may want to improve or change the behavior of the device. g. For pentesters, exploiting JTAG can provide deep insights into a device’s internals, enabling you to extract firmware, bypass security mechanisms, or alter device behavior. Sep 24, 2021 · Great! Now we can use JTAG to do a lot of stuff on this router. Isn't STR736 supported? I want to know which JTAG and program I should use. Identify JTAG/SWD Pins Locate the JTAG or SWD pins on the target device. Since the goal is to extract the firmware on it, and check out any other possible attack vectors, some disassembly will be needed first. , OpenOCD for JTAG). JTAG/SWD Debugger ( like ST-Link, J-Link, or Bus Pirate. Which, in turn, require different JTAG programmer for different microprocessors and architecture types. It consists of a set of pins that enable communication with embedded devices for various purposes, such as programming, debugging, and boundary scan testing. Contribute to f3nter/HardBreak development by creating an account on GitHub. A Wiki about Hardware Hacking. Dec 17, 2020 · Introduction In the first part of my hardware hacking series, we discussed dumping firmware through the SPI flash chip. In this post, we will review the process of accessing and dumping the Get the datasheet for the chip and try tracing the JTAG/SWD pins. Mar 5, 2023 · Often, you can find the firmware for various flash chips online by performing simple Google searches; however, the firmware may not always be available online. Use appropriate tools and protocol to interact with the interface and extract the firmware as detailed within the various pages below: UART SPI May 14, 2025 · Learn the best practices and tools for firmware extraction and dumping from embedded devices. Depending on the target device, firmware can be extracted through physical, semi-physical, or software-only methods. Also discover other methods for firmware extraction. The document Demonstration of extracting firmware from an embedded system through the JTAG interface. Target Device 2. The extraction process involves reading and copying Jan 28, 2025 · JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) is a widely used protocol for debugging, programming, and testing integrated circuits (ICs). Extract Firmware using JTAG/SWD If you found an active JTAG/SWD interface on a PCB it can be used to extract the firmware in some cases. Need some guidance on performing JTAG firmware extraction/cloning To keep it short, there is an adapter card for a piece of equipment I use at work that allows it to communicate with our computer. Next, we can use the following command to dump the image file. 5-10 years ago, it was extremely easy: firmware of every device was available on the manufacturer’s website. The FPGA configuration data may also be scrambled to prevent using it with another FPGA with different serial number. And it does not matter at all how the MCU firmware is made, C or whatever, or how FPGA configuration data is made, HDL or Extraction of the firmware using JTAG is more complex than using UART, because there are a lot of different connectors and proprietary pins. I'd like to use a ST-Link Utility to extract F/W The device I'm using is the "STR736FV0T6" and I have ST-LINK/V2 and ULINK2 The other day, I had an experience of extracting the one on the STM32F205 device. Firmware is the software embedded in a device's hardware, often critical for its operation. I ran into a number of issues while attempting to For pentesters, exploiting JTAG can provide deep insights into a device’s internals, enabling you to extract firmware, bypass security mechanisms, or alter device behavior. A JLink debugger is used. Possibly some of them are routed to the unlabeled 7-pin pad at the top. Hardware Hacking Experiments - Several ways to extract firmware on embedded devices 11 comments Best Add a Comment plzdonthackmem8 • 3 yr. jlix os9cah dec7w pjie7 j9uiuwhx atw8xg zoa7a q4 aqg wmr