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Application & OT Security · Advanced

Hardware Debug Interface

Physical interfaces such as JTAG, SWD and UART used during development that can expose device memory, firmware and consoles.

Definition

Left enabled on production devices, debug ports can let attackers with physical access dump firmware, extract keys or obtain a root shell. Mitigations include disabling or fusing off debug interfaces, requiring authenticated debug and protecting serial consoles with authentication.

Example

A production smart plug exposes a UART console that drops to a root shell without a password.

Exam tip

Physical hardening of debug ports is an IoT Top 10 item.

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