04 / WIRELESS & PROTOCOLS

Wireless & Protocol Security

Wireless interface / product protocol in scope

Security testing of wireless interfaces and product protocols, from RF communication, discovery and pairing to authentication, protocol reverse engineering, state handling and implementation flaws.

We test the communication path as part of the product, including the protocol behind it and the components that trust the resulting messages or identities.

WirelessRFPairingProtocol REAuthenticationReplay
PRODUCT COMMUNICATION / 04 WIRELESS ATTACK SURFACE
trust path note trust path: RF → PAIRING → AUTH → PROTOCOL → DEVICE
WIRELESS / RF
transport proprietary
band sub-GHz
framing mapped
capture active
WIRELESS TRUST

The radio path is only the beginning.

Wireless security depends on more than the transport itself. Discovery, pairing, identity, protocol state and the product functions behind the interface determine what an attacker can actually achieve.

review focus selected
DISCOVER
Visibility of wireless peers, discovery windows, peer filtering and timing.

The narrow question “Is the radio encrypted?” is replaced by: Can an attacker become a trusted peer, manipulate protocol state or trigger privileged product behavior?

ASSESSMENT SURFACE

What we test

Wireless interfaces & RF

Wireless communication paths, radio transport, over-the-air interaction, exposed interfaces and product-specific wireless behavior.

Discovery, pairing & enrollment

Device discovery, onboarding, peer binding, initial trust establishment, re-pairing, reset and recovery behavior.

Authentication & authorization

Identity verification, challenge-response logic, roles, controller trust, privileged commands and trust transitions.

Replay, spoofing & state manipulation

Freshness, sequence handling, replay resistance, spoofed peers, session recovery and unexpected protocol state transitions.

Protocol reverse engineering

Message formats, command structure, framing, field semantics, checksums, state machines and undocumented behavior.

Protocol implementation

Parser behavior, malformed input, protocol cryptography, message validation, memory-safety issues and implementation logic in firmware or product software.

The exact assessment surface follows the communication path. Testing may stay focused on the wireless interface or follow the protocol into firmware, applications and backend components where the trust boundary continues.

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES
Bluetooth / BLE · Wi-Fi · NFC · Sub-GHz · Proprietary RF

Product-specific transports can be assessed where the required test setup is available.

PROTOCOL REVERSE ENGINEERING

When the protocol is undocumented, we reconstruct it.

Proprietary communication often needs to be understood before it can be attacked meaningfully. We reconstruct message formats, command semantics, state transitions and trust decisions so the protocol can be tested as a system.

workflow selected
CAPTURE
Capturing real wireless communication, over the air or via the application.
CROSS-LAYER ATTACK PATHS

A wireless weakness can become a product compromise.

01

Pairing → Trusted controller → Device control

A pairing workflow verifies the device but does not strongly bind the controller. An attacker enrolls a new peer and gains access to privileged product functions.

02

RF capture → Replay → Product state change

A state-changing wireless command can be captured and replayed because freshness is not enforced. The device accepts the repeated command as legitimate.

03

Protocol frame → Parser → Firmware execution

A malformed wireless message reaches a parser inside a privileged firmware component. A protocol implementation flaw turns remote communication into code execution on the device.

SCOPING

Scope follows the communication path.

Architecture

Wireless interfaces, radio transports, protocols, applications, firmware, communicating components and connected backend services.

Attacker assumptions

Local proximity, captured wireless traffic, unauthenticated controller, compromised peer, network access, physical device access or another agreed starting point.

Technical depth

We establish how the wireless communication and protocol work, then test the trust decisions, state transitions and implementation paths that determine whether an attacker can influence the product.

Complete protocol documentation is useful but not required. Test devices, traffic captures, client applications, firmware and live communication can also provide the evidence needed to reconstruct the protocol.

DELIVERABLES

What you get

Wireless / protocol model

A technical description of the relevant communication flow, protocol structure, states and trust decisions where reverse engineering is part of the engagement.

Reproducible findings

Frames, sequences, captures, requests, scripts or other evidence sufficient for engineering teams to reproduce the issue.

Exploitability context

What an attacker can achieve, what proximity or access is required and whether the weakness crosses into firmware, applications or backend services.

Remediation & retest

Technical remediation context for pairing, protocol design or implementation, followed by verification of fixes where retesting is in scope.

FINDING 05
Pairing accepts unauthenticated controller
ACCESS
local RF proximity
PATH
discovery → pairing → controller enrollment → privileged command
IMPACT
unauthorized device control
STATUS
reproducible
Typical triggers

When this assessment fits

New wireless product before release
New Bluetooth / BLE, Wi-Fi, NFC, Sub-GHz or proprietary RF interface
New pairing or onboarding process
Wireless controller or mobile application controlling a physical product
New device-to-device communication
Existing proprietary wireless protocol that has never been security tested
Authentication or authorization concerns in device communication
Need to evaluate replay, spoofing or peer impersonation
Encrypted wireless protocol whose actual trust model is unclear
Customer assurance around wireless product communication
Reported vulnerability involving pairing, replay or RF behavior
Need to understand whether a wireless weakness can reach firmware, APIs or backend services
PRODUCT SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Need the assessment to support a regulatory requirement?

Authentication, access control, secure communication and resistance to protocol-level attacks can form part of product-security requirements. Where useful, findings can be mapped to relevant technical requirements.

CRAEN 18031IEC 62443
Technical testing and evidence. Certification is outside the scope.
Dr. Ewan Fleischmann
Technical direction

Dr. Ewan Fleischmann

Founder · Product Security & Cryptography

22+ years IT security · PhD cryptography · OSCP · OSCE · CISSP

Building a product that needs serious security testing?

Tell us what you're building, the current development stage and what you want tested. The scope follows from the product.

NDA first if required.