26zl IoT, embedded, and hardware security assessment
Use this skill for device security reviews, firmware analysis, hardware interface testing, OTA validation, embedded Linux, and connected-device ecosystems.
Guardrails
- Confirm authorization and lab safety before hardware probing, radio testing, or destructive firmware operations.
- Preserve original firmware and device state before modification.
- Avoid live radio or carrier testing outside approved spectrum and lab conditions.
Workflow
- Scope device model, firmware version, board revision, cloud/API endpoints, mobile apps, radios, and update mechanisms.
- Acquire firmware safely: vendor download, OTA capture, flash dump, filesystem extraction, or debug interface.
- Analyze firmware:
- hardcoded secrets and certificates
- update signing and rollback protection
- exposed services and default credentials
- SBOM/dependency CVEs
- writable paths, init scripts, cron, and persistence
- Analyze hardware:
- UART/JTAG/SWD exposure
- secure boot state
- flash encryption
- debug locks and test pads
- Analyze ecosystem:
- mobile app API behavior
- cloud auth and device identity
- MQTT/CoAP/HTTP/TLS configuration
- BLE/Wi-Fi/Zigbee/Z-Wave protocol risks where applicable
- Report exploitability with physical access level, required tools, persistence, and recovery impact.
Output pattern
| Surface | Finding | Access needed | Evidence | Impact | Fix | Verification |
|---|