esFirmware’s framework offers the opportunity to analyze in depth a firmware against physical attacks. Designed for developers or security evaluators, esFirmware leverages an emulation engine and interferes into the runtime execution for simulating observations or disruptions close to the physical reality.
The framework already supports many types of binary compiled for multiple architectures such as ARM (arm32, arm64), Intel (x86) or Risc-V. It is possible to emulate complex SoC devices, at least partially, to extend the analysis capabilities.
Firmware analysis may be complex and requires different expertises. This explains why esFirmware leverages esDynamic, a data science platform designed for collaboration and expertise work. The emulation engine is fully integrated into the framework. It is then possible to set the computing capabilities in line with the needs, since emulation quickly requires the handling of big dataset. With the unique collaboration feature, multiple experts can effectively work together on the same framework.
Physical observation, or code lifting, gives an overview of the internal execution variable over the execution. A special care was taken to filter the information and avoid any overwhelming data to process. The material elaborates use cases targeting whitebox cryptography.
Physical fault injection provides the ability to fault a firmware code during its execution. This simulates faults using glitch, laser or near field electromagnetic attacks. Automation leads to set up intensive test campaigns covering large ranges of fault parameters. The expertise material helps to identify the weak points and to point out where security protections should be implemented.