The bootloader or boot program or bootstrap loader is a special software program that is responsible for locating and loading all the required files i.e. kernel, filesystem, and starting the operating system. Universal Boot Loader (U-Boot) is one of the most popular open-source bootloaders that is used in a lot of different architectures/platforms/devices.


In this section, we will learn about U-Boot, creating emulated IoT devices using Qemu, booting the IoT devices, and bypassing device login to access the files and resources of an IoT device.


What will you learn?

  • Basics of U-boot bootloader 

  • How to emulate an embedded/IoT device using Qemu 

  • Booting an embedded device using TFTP server and local files

  • Bypassing login authentication to steal files from the device filesystem


References:


  1. Qemu  (https://www.qemu.org/)

  2. ARM Device emulation with qemu (https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/target-arm.html)

  3. U-boot (https://github.com/u-boot/u-boot)

  4. Embedded IoT Linux for Red-Blue Teams (https://www.pentesteracademy.com/course?id=37


Labs:


  • Bootloader Warmup Lab

    Learn the basics of a U-Boot bootloader by interacting with the bootloader of a simulated IoT device.


  • Local Boot using U-Boot

    Locate the kernel and filesystem archives on the filesystem of the device using u-boot. Then, load these archives into the memory and boot the device.


  • TFTP Boot using U-Boot

    Boot an IoT device by fetching the required files (kernel, DTB and filesystem archives)  from a TFTP server present on the same network.



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Bootloader Warmup Lab

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Build Lab: ARM vexpress Board

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Local Boot using U-Boot

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TFTP Boot using U-Boot

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U-Boot: Insert Backdoor Shell into FS

FREE LAB
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U-Boot: Backdoor FS with Kernel Module

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U-Boot: Stealing Files from FS