Building Glitch-Resistant Firmware: Practical Software Countermeasures for Hardware glitch attacks

By Shyam Kumar Arshid , Chinmay Krishna on 02 Mar 2025 @ Nullcon
📊 Presentation 🔗 Link
embedded-security firmware-analysis hardware-security vulnerability-management secure-coding software-security
Focus Areas: Hardware Security , Application Security , DevSecOps , IoT Security , Reverse Engineering , Vulnerability Management

Abstract

This paper explores software countermeasures to mitigate voltage glitch attacks targeting embedded systems, specifically the STM32F3 microcontroller. By testing five variations of password verification code, this research demonstrates how specific software modifications—like variable duplication, masking, and volatile counters—impact the success rate of hardware glitch attacks. Results show that introducing redundancy, timing adjustments, and data masking in software can significantly enhance system resilience. Unlike hardware countermeasures, which are often complex, costly, and impractical for brownfield projects, these software defenses offer a flexible and cost-effective solution. This work provides actionable insights for secure firmware development and improved robustness in embedded systems.