leka, Author at rescale-project.eu

Analyzing Hardware Security: The Tools Powering RESCALE’s Dynamic Hardware…

Detecting and mitigating hardware vulnerabilities requires specialized tools capable of extracting, processing, and analyzing physical security risks within cryptographic and FPGA-based systems. The Dynamic Hardware Analyzer (DHA) in RESCALE is built around a suite of tools designed to identify side-channel leakage, detect exploitable vulnerabilities, and assess security risks in hardware implementations. These tools focus on trace collection, preprocessing, and attack simulations, ensuring that supply chain components undergo rigorous security validation before deployment.

Extracting Side-Channel Data with the Trace Collection Tools

To detect hardware vulnerabilities, the first step is capturing physical traces from the target system. The Trace Collection Layer of the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer includes several specialized tools that record power consumption, electromagnetic emissions, and timing variations during cryptographic operations. These traces serve as the foundation for further analysis.

One of the primary tools in this layer is FlexLECO, an FPGA-based leakage assessment framework that performs large-scale trace collection and real-time monitoring. Unlike conventional power measurement tools, FlexLECO integrates directly with FPGA implementations, enabling high-speed acquisition of side-channel signals while minimizing measurement interference. Additionally, the system leverages ChipWhisperer, a well-known open-source platform designed for side-channel attack research. ChipWhisperer captures power consumption fluctuations during cryptographic operations, allowing security analysts to detect unintended leakage paths.

Another key tool in the trace collection phase is the use of on-chip FPGA sensors, which monitor transient power variations and signal fluctuations at an extremely fine-grained level. These sensors allow for low-noise trace acquisition, making it possible to detect even minimal leakage that could expose cryptographic keys or other sensitive data.

Processing and Filtering Traces with the Preprocessing Software Library

Once traces are collected, they must undergo preprocessing to filter out noise and highlight relevant leakage information. The Trace Preprocessing Software Library plays a crucial role in this phase by applying signal filtering, normalization, and correlation analysis techniques. This ensures that collected traces are clean, structured, and ready for in-depth security assessment.

This software suite applies statistical tests such as Test Vector Leakage Assessment (TVLA) to determine whether the captured traces exhibit unintended data-dependent variations. TVLA is the primary statistical method used in RESCALE for evaluating cryptographic leakage. It helps identify leakage points where cryptographic implementations may be revealing sensitive information. These points appear as deviations in signal quantification, which can be statistically analyzed to determine the likelihood of an exploitable vulnerability.

The AES Leakage Plot above illustrates the results of a TVLA leakage test. The graph visualizes quantification over time samples, with several identified peaks that indicate points of significant leakage. These leakage points suggest areas where cryptographic keys or sensitive operations might be unintentionally exposed, requiring further investigation to assess their exploitability. The presence of strong deviations in power consumption signals at specific time samples confirms that certain cryptographic operations may be leaking data in a manner detectable through side-channel analysis.

Detecting Security Weaknesses with the SCA Script Software Library

After preprocessing, the SCA Script Software Library is used to conduct security evaluations and attack simulations. This toolset applies correlation power analysis (CPA), machine-learning-based template attacks, and non-specific (NS) assessments to determine whether an attacker could extract sensitive information from the collected traces.

The CPA method is particularly effective in identifying linear relationships between power consumption and cryptographic key bits, making it a widely used attack technique against AES, RSA, and other encryption standards. In contrast, machine-learning-based template attacks leverage pre-trained statistical models to recognize leakage patterns, even in the presence of noise or countermeasures.

The NS assessment approach is used to detect leakage without assuming a specific attack model. This technique helps analysts identify general leakage trends before applying targeted cryptographic attack models like CPA. NS assessment is particularly useful in discovering unexpected security weaknesses that might not align with traditional attack strategies, ensuring a broader evaluation of side-channel resilience.

The SCA Trace Analyzer Flow diagram illustrates the relationship between preprocessing, penetration testing, and reporting within the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer. At the core of this system, the Trace Preprocessing Software Library processes collected traces, applying signal filtering and statistical assessments. The SCA Script Software Library then runs advanced side-channel attack models, including SCA penetration testing assessments, which attempt to exploit detected vulnerabilities. The results are structured into NS reports and SCA pentest reports, feeding into broader supply chain security validation efforts.

Assessing Multi-Tenant FPGA Security Risks

One of the unique challenges addressed by the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer is the security of multi-tenant FPGA environments. When multiple users share the same FPGA fabric, one user may unintentionally or maliciously extract information from another user’s operations, leading to data leakage risks.

To analyze this threat, the DHA integrates tools that simulate cross-tenant leakage scenarios, measuring how shared hardware resources expose unintended data flows. These tests assess whether attackers can infer cryptographic computations performed by another tenant, helping to enforce stricter FPGA isolation policies.

Generating Security Reports for Supply Chain Validation

The final step in the hardware security analysis process is structuring the collected findings into a standardized security report. The results from FlexLECO, ChipWhisperer, and the SCA Script Software Library are aggregated into the Dynamic Supply Chain Component Guarantee (DSCG). This structured document provides a comprehensive assessment of detected vulnerabilities, categorizing them based on severity, exploitability, and recommended mitigations.

The CDX Validator processes these reports to ensure they adhere to standard security assessment frameworks. Once validated, the DSCG is integrated into the RESCALE Management Module, contributing to supply chain security assurance and risk mitigation strategies.

Conclusion

The Dynamic Hardware Analyzer in RESCALE is powered by a sophisticated suite of tools designed to capture, process, and analyze side-channel leakage data. FlexLECO and ChipWhisperer provide high-resolution trace collection, while on-chip FPGA sensors enable real-time monitoring of leakage effects. The Trace Preprocessing Software Library ensures high-quality signal processing, while the SCA Script Software Library applies advanced CPA, machine-learning, and non-specific analysis techniques to detect vulnerabilities.

By aggregating results into the DSCG, the module provides structured security assessments that contribute to supply chain risk management. As hardware security threats continue to evolve, automated security testing tools remain essential for ensuring that cryptographic and FPGA-based systems remain resistant to side-channel attacks and unintended leakage risks.

Follow us on Social Media

Blog Post

Detecting Hardware Vulnerabilities: The Role of RESCALE’s Dynamic Hardware…

As modern computing systems become more interconnected, the need for hardware-level security has never been more critical. While traditional security measures focus on software vulnerabilities, attackers increasingly exploit low-level hardware flaws to bypass security protections, extract sensitive information, or launch side-channel attacks. Hardware vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they often persist across software updates and may not be easily patched once a system is deployed.

Within the RESCALE project, the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer is specifically designed to address these risks by detecting and analyzing hardware vulnerabilities and leakage threats. By employing advanced security testing techniques, the module helps uncover side-channel attack (SCA) risks, power analysis vulnerabilities, and data leakage threats in cryptographic and FPGA-based systems

Understanding Hardware Vulnerabilities and Side-Channel Attacks

Hardware vulnerabilities can arise due to various factors, including design flaws, unintended electromagnetic emissions, power fluctuations, or signal timing variations. Unlike software-based vulnerabilities, these issues cannot be fixed with a simple patch; instead, they require thorough detection and mitigation strategies before deployment.

One of the most concerning classes of hardware threats is side-channel attacks. These attacks do not directly exploit software bugs but rather take advantage of unintended physical leakages such as power consumption, electromagnetic emissions, or execution timing. SCAs are particularly effective against cryptographic hardware implementations, allowing attackers to extract secret encryption keys by analyzing physical behavior rather than breaking the encryption algorithm itself.

The Dynamic Hardware Analyzer in RESCALE is designed to systematically detect such vulnerabilities, ensuring that hardware security risks are identified before attackers can exploit them.

How the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer Works

The Dynamic Hardware Analyzer is an advanced security testing module that evaluates hardware components, cryptographic accelerators, and FPGA-based designs for security weaknesses. Its primary role is to collect, process, and analyze side-channel leakage traces, determining whether a system exhibits security flaws that could be exploited through power analysis, timing attacks, or other forms of SCAs.

The process begins with trace collection, where the analyzer captures physical side-channel data from hardware devices during cryptographic operations or other sensitive computations. Once collected, these traces undergo trace preprocessing, where signal processing techniques and statistical methods such as the Trace Preprocessing Software Library and SCA Script Software Library are applied to remove noise and extract useful security insights. Finally, the system conducts attack simulations and risk assessments, leveraging Test Vector Leakage Assessment (TVLA) tests and NS report-based analysis to determine whether an attacker could successfully exploit the detected leakages.

These steps ensure a comprehensive evaluation of hardware security risks, helping organizations strengthen their supply chain security before deploying critical hardware components.

Architecture of the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer

The architecture of the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer is structured to efficiently process side-channel leakage data and detect potential hardware vulnerabilities. It consists of several key components that work together to analyze security risks in cryptographic implementations and FPGA-based systems.

As illustrated in the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer architecture, the module consists of three main layers: the Trace Collection Layer, the Trace Analysis Layer, and the Evaluation and Reporting Layer. The Trace Collection Layer is responsible for capturing side-channel data such as power consumption, electromagnetic emissions, or execution timing variations from a target hardware system. This data is then transferred to the Trace Analysis Layer, where advanced statistical methods, correlation analysis, and machine learning models process the information, identifying whether the hardware leaks sensitive information. Finally, the Evaluation and Reporting Layer integrates these findings into structured security reports, ensuring that vulnerabilities are properly categorized and assessed.

This layered architecture ensures that security assessments are not only comprehensive but also scalable, allowing multiple hardware components to be evaluated within a controlled environment. By structuring the analysis process in a modular way, the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer can be adapted to different hardware platforms, making it a versatile tool in RESCALE.

Integration with RESCALE

The Dynamic Hardware Analyzer does not function in isolation. It is fully integrated into the broader RESCALE security pipeline, ensuring that hardware security risks are assessed alongside software vulnerabilities. The findings from the module contribute directly to RESCALE’s Trusted Bill of Materials (TBOM), consolidating security guarantees across the entire supply chain.

By working in conjunction with other security modules, such as the Static Code Analysis Module and the Low-Level Security Testing Module, the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer ensures that both hardware and software components undergo rigorous security validation before deployment. This multi-layered security approach strengthens the overall resilience of computing systems, helping organizations detect, analyze, and mitigate hardware security threats before they become a liability.

Importance of Hardware Security

Hardware vulnerabilities are becoming an increasingly attractive target for advanced persistent threats (APTs) and state-sponsored attacks. Unlike software exploits, which can often be mitigated through patches and updates, hardware flaws may persist throughout a device’s lifecycle, making early detection crucial.

By integrating hardware security testing into supply chain security practices, organizations can reduce the risk of data breaches, intellectual property theft, and cryptographic key extraction. The Dynamic Hardware Analyzer in RESCALE ensures that hardware vulnerabilities are systematically detected and addressed, reinforcing the security of critical computing infrastructure.

Conclusion

The Dynamic Hardware Analyzer in RESCALE is a key component in modern hardware security testing, providing organizations with the ability to detect, analyze, and mitigate hardware-level vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. By leveraging advanced trace collection, preprocessing, and side-channel attack detection techniques, the module plays a crucial role in strengthening supply chain security.

By integrating with the broader RESCALE security framework, the module ensures that low-level security assessments contribute to the overall supply chain security process. In the next article, we will explore the specific tools and methodologies used within the Dynamic Hardware Analyzer, including trace collection devices, machine learning-based SCA detection techniques, and advanced cryptographic leakage assessments.

Follow us on Social Media

Blog Post

RESCALE 3rd Plenary Meeting

The 3rd RESCALE plenary meeting was successfully held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on December 6-7, 2024, hosted by Stichting VU (VUA). Over two days of engaging discussions, interactive workshops and valuable feedback, the consortium made significant strides in finalizing the first release of the RESCALE platform. Partners collaborated on the latest advancements in cybersecurity, supply chain security and tool integration, ensuring RESCALE continues to drive innovation in the field. A huge thank you to all partners for their contributions and to VUA for hosting us! Stay tuned for more updates as we move forward.

Follow us on Social Media

Blog Post

RESCALE 1st Technical Meeting

The 1st RESCALE technical meeting took place at the University of Piraeus, Athens, Greece, on December 10-11, 2024. Hosted by University of Piraeus Research Center (UPRC), the meeting focused on DSCG and SSCG generation and tool integration, bringing together technical experts to enhance supply chain security.

Stay tuned for more updates as RESCALE continues its mission to revolutionize supply chain cybersecurity!

Follow us on Social Media

Blog Post

Unveiling Security Flaws in Low-Level Components: The Tools Behind…

Securing low-level system components such as firmware, kernel modules, and system drivers is essential for modern cybersecurity. Unlike higher-level application security testing, low-level security assessments focus on identifying vulnerabilities that reside within memory management, hardware interactions, and kernel-space execution flows. Attackers increasingly exploit speculative execution flaws, kernel privilege escalation bugs, and Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) gadgets to gain control over systems at the lowest level.

To address these risks, RESCALE’s Low-Level Security Testing Module integrates a set of specialized tools that systematically analyze firmware, detect execution flaws, and assess security vulnerabilities in embedded and kernel-level components. These tools provide automated and scalable methods for identifying low-level security weaknesses, ensuring that supply chain components undergo rigorous security validation before deployment.

Detecting Exploitable Gadgets with InSpectre Gadget

One of the most critical attack vectors in modern systems is Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) exploitation, where attackers chain exploitable instruction sequences (gadgets) to execute arbitrary code without injecting new code into memory. InSpectre Gadget is a low-level security analysis tool that systematically scans kernel binaries to identify and classify potentially exploitable ROP gadgets.

The tool processes kernel targets, analyzing compiled binaries to extract instruction sequences that could be repurposed by an attacker. Once extracted, these exploitable gadgets undergo automated filtering, removing sequences that are unlikely to be useful for an exploit. The remaining filtered gadgets are then reviewed by security analysts, who assess whether they can be leveraged to bypass control defenses and craft working exploits.

The provided diagram illustrates the workflow of InSpectre Gadget. It begins by analyzing kernel binaries to extract potentially exploitable instruction sequences. The filtering stage refines these sequences, ensuring that only relevant gadgets are retained. A security analyst then evaluates the control defenses in place, selecting a final set of gadgets that can be used to develop proof-of-concept exploits. This structured process ensures that kernel vulnerabilities are identified efficiently, allowing organizations to mitigate ROP-based attack risks before they can be exploited.

Mitigating Side-Channel Attacks with SafeFetch

Modern processors are vulnerable to side-channel attacks, where attackers extract sensitive information by exploiting microarchitectural behaviors such as speculative execution, cache timing, and branch prediction. SafeFetch is a specialized security testing tool designed to detect and mitigate speculative execution vulnerabilities in syscall operations.

The tool evaluates syscall handling mechanisms, identifying cases where untrusted input can manipulate processor behavior to leak privileged information. SafeFetch achieves this by analyzing syscall execution flows, detecting unsafe speculative accesses, and ensuring that all execution paths conform to strict security policies.

The provided SafeFetch architecture diagram illustrates how the tool monitors syscall execution. When a syscall is invoked, SafeFetch first applies a transfer function that defines a sanitized search range, ensuring that speculative execution does not access unauthorized memory regions. The cache frontend checks if the syscall results can be retrieved securely from a cached entry. If a cache miss occurs, the backend allocator provisions a new entry, ensuring that speculative execution does not introduce side-channel vulnerabilities.

SafeFetch plays a crucial role in mitigating speculative execution flaws, preventing attackers from leveraging side-channel leaks to extract sensitive system data. Its integration into the Low-Level Security Testing Module ensures that firmware and kernel components are systematically tested for microarchitectural security risks, reducing the likelihood of exploits such as Spectre, Meltdown, and other transient execution attacks.

Enhancing Security Testing with FATex

FATex is another core component of the Low-Level Security Testing Module, focusing on firmware and kernel-level fault injection testing. Unlike conventional fuzzing tools, which primarily test application-layer inputs, FATex is designed to simulate fault conditions at the hardware and firmware execution levels.

By running fault injection campaigns, FATex assesses how firmware and kernel components behave under abnormal conditions, such as corrupt memory states, unexpected interrupts, and hardware failures. These tests reveal critical stability and security weaknesses, allowing developers to fortify system resilience against real-world attack scenarios.

The tool integrates with emulation frameworks such as QEMU, enabling large-scale automated firmware testing without requiring direct hardware access. By ensuring that low-level components are tested for execution robustness, FATex strengthens supply chain security validation, making it a key asset in the RESCALE security pipeline.

Generating the DSCG for Low-Level Security Assessments

As with other security testing modules in RESCALE, the results from InSpectre Gadget, SafeFetch, and FATex are aggregated into the Dynamic Supply Chain Component Guarantee (DSCG). This structured document consolidates security findings from low-level component analysis, ensuring that all vulnerabilities are properly categorized, validated, and integrated into supply chain security workflows.

The DSCG generation process aggregates findings from multiple analyzers, verifying that all tested firmware and kernel components adhere to strict security policies. The results are then processed by the CDX Validator, ensuring that vulnerabilities are reported in a standardized format. Once validated, the DSCG is fed into the RESCALE Management Module, where it becomes part of the broader security assurance framework.

By incorporating low-level security testing results into structured security assessments, the DSCG ensures that all firmware and kernel security guarantees are properly documented, helping organizations maintain high-security standards throughout the supply chain.

Conclusion

The Low-Level Security Testing Module in RESCALE is powered by a specialized set of security tools designed to analyze firmware, kernel components, and hardware interactions. InSpectre Gadget detects exploitable ROP gadgets, helping security teams identify kernel-level attack vectors before they are weaponized. SafeFetch mitigates speculative execution vulnerabilities, preventing side-channel data leaks in system calls. FATex enables firmware and kernel fault injection testing, strengthening system resilience against memory corruption and unexpected execution failures.

Together, these tools provide a comprehensive assessment of low-level security risks, ensuring that firmware, kernel modules, and embedded software undergo rigorous testing before deployment. By integrating their findings into the DSCG, the Low-Level Security Testing Module ensures that all vulnerabilities are properly validated and integrated into the broader supply chain security framework.

As cyber threats increasingly target low-level system components, automated security testing remains essential for protecting modern computing environments. The RESCALE framework ensures that all tested components receive structured security guarantees, providing a robust foundation for supply chain security.

Follow us on Social Media

Blog Post

Strengthening Supply Chain Security: The Low-Level Security Testing Module…

Modern cybersecurity threats extend beyond software vulnerabilities, affecting firmware, embedded systems, and hardware interactions. While static and dynamic analysis are effective at identifying software-based vulnerabilities, they cannot fully assess low-level system components, which often operate at the firmware, kernel, and hardware interface levels. Attackers increasingly target these areas, exploiting memory corruption bugs, side-channel vulnerabilities, and processor-level execution flaws. Within the RESCALE project, the Low-Level Security Testing Module is specifically designed to identify and mitigate risks in these critical system components, ensuring comprehensive supply chain security by applying specialized firmware security testing, binary analysis, and microarchitectural evaluations.

The Role of the Low-Level Security Testing Module

The Low-Level Security Testing Module is a core component of RESCALE’s security framework, focusing on identifying vulnerabilities in firmware, kernel modules, and embedded systems. These components are often overlooked in traditional security assessments, making them a prime target for sophisticated attacks. The module enables security teams to test system components at the lowest level, ensuring that hardware and firmware are analyzed for security weaknesses before they are deployed into supply chain environments.

Unlike higher-level software testing, which primarily examines application logic and APIs, low-level security testing focuses on memory safety, execution integrity, and system-level security mechanisms. By leveraging specialized testing techniques such as fuzzing, symbolic execution, and microarchitectural analysis, the module can detect hidden vulnerabilities that static or dynamic analysis might miss.

The architecture of the Low-Level Security Testing Module consists of several key components that work together to perform deep security analysis of low-level system elements. The module interacts with firmware repositories, kernel drivers, and embedded software, extracting binary images for analysis. The testing process is orchestrated by a central execution engine, which manages the interaction between different testing tools and aggregates their findings into structured reports.

How the Low-Level Security Testing Module Works

The testing process begins with the identification and extraction of low-level system components, such as firmware binaries, kernel modules, and system drivers. These components are loaded into the testing environment, where various security analyzers perform automated assessments. The module integrates with a custom-built execution framework, allowing it to conduct fuzz testing, binary analysis, and microarchitectural security evaluations.

Once extracted, the components undergo memory safety analysis, ensuring that they do not contain buffer overflows, use-after-free vulnerabilities, or race conditions. The module also performs execution tracing, capturing how the firmware or kernel code interacts with the underlying hardware. This process helps detect side-channel vulnerabilities, speculative execution flaws, and memory access violations, which could be exploited by attackers to extract sensitive information or execute unauthorized code.

After executing the security tests, the module aggregates findings from multiple analyzers into a structured security report. These results are then processed and validated to ensure that all detected vulnerabilities are properly categorized and documented. The final assessment is stored in the Dynamic Supply Chain Component Guarantee (DSCG), which provides a comprehensive security overview of the tested component.

Integration with the RESCALE Security Framework

The Low-Level Security Testing Module does not operate in isolation. It is integrated into the broader RESCALE security pipeline, ensuring that low-level security findings contribute to the overall supply chain security assurance process. The results generated by the module feed into the Trusted Bill of Materials (TBOM), helping organizations verify that firmware, embedded software, and kernel modules have undergone rigorous security evaluation before deployment.

By integrating with other RESCALE security components, such as the Static Code Analysis Module and the Dynamic Testing Module, the Low-Level Security Testing Module provides a complete security assessment across all system layers. This multi-layered approach ensures that supply chain security covers software, firmware, and hardware, preventing attackers from exploiting vulnerabilities in the lower levels of the technology stack.

Why Low-Level Security Testing is Critical

Attacks targeting firmware and hardware security flaws have increased significantly in recent years. Threat actors exploit low-level vulnerabilities to gain persistence, bypass traditional security measures, and launch sophisticated attacks that are difficult to detect. Unlike application-layer attacks, which can often be mitigated through patches or configuration changes, firmware and hardware vulnerabilities are much harder to fix once a system is deployed.

The Low-Level Security Testing Module in RESCALE ensures that these vulnerabilities are detected before deployment, reducing the risk of firmware backdoors, privilege escalation attacks, and supply chain compromises. By incorporating automated binary analysis, execution tracing, and hardware-assisted testing, the module helps security teams identify security weaknesses at the lowest levels of the computing environment.

Conclusion

The Low-Level Security Testing Module in RESCALE is a vital component of modern supply chain security. By analyzing firmware, kernel modules, and embedded systems, it provides deep security insights that complement traditional static and dynamic testing approaches. Through automated security analysis, execution tracing, and memory safety validation, the module helps detect hard-to-find vulnerabilities that could compromise the integrity of supply chain components.

By integrating with the broader RESCALE security framework, the module ensures that low-level security assessments contribute to the overall supply chain security process. In the next article, we will explore the specialized tools used in the Low-Level Security Testing Module, including their methodologies and contributions to firmware, embedded software, and kernel security analysis.