Fissure: An Open Source RF Reverse Engineering Framework

FISSURE (Frequency Independent SDR-Based Signal Understanding and Reverse Engineering) is a recently released open source framework that runs on Linux, and includes a whole suite of previously existing software that is useful for analyzing and reverse engineering RF signals. On top of that it includes a custom GUI with a bunch of custom software that ties everything together in a full reverse engineering process.

Recently the developers spoke at this years Defcon conference, and the talk video is supplied at the end of this post. In their talk they explain the purpose of FISSURE, before going on to demonstrate it being used to reverse engineer a wireless X10 doorbell. FISSURE makes analyzing the signal easy, starting with spectrum analysis to find the signal, then signal recording, signal cropping, signal replay, crafting packets and crafting attacks.

News and developments about FISSURE can also be seen on their Twitter.

FISSURE is an open-source RF and reverse engineering framework designed for all skill levels with hooks for signal detection and classification, protocol discovery, attack execution, IQ manipulation, vulnerability analysis, automation, and AI/ML. The framework was built to promote the rapid integration of software modules, radios, protocols, signal data, scripts, flow graphs, reference material, and third-party tools. FISSURE is a workflow enabler that keeps software in one location and allows teams to effortlessly get up to speed while sharing the same proven baseline configuration for specific Linux distributions.

The framework and tools included with FISSURE are designed to detect the presence of RF energy, understand the characteristics of a signal, collect and analyze samples, develop transmit and/or injection techniques, and craft custom payloads or messages. FISSURE contains a growing library of protocol and signal information to assist in identification, packet crafting, and fuzzing. Online archive capabilities exist to download signal files and build playlists to simulate traffic and test systems.

The friendly Python codebase and user interface allows beginners to quickly learn about popular tools and techniques involving RF and reverse engineering. Educators in cybersecurity and engineering can take advantage of the built-in material or utilize the framework to demonstrate their own real-world applications. Developers and researchers can use FISSURE for their daily tasks or to expose their cutting-edge solutions to a wider audience. As awareness and usage of FISSURE grows in the community, so will the extent of its capabilities and the breadth of the technology it encompasses.