hacking News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 3, 2025November 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

HackBEE is a Raspberry Pi RP2350 USB-C dongle for developers (Crowdfunding)

Hack the Board’s HackBEE is a tiny programmable USB-C dongle and development platform powered by the Raspberry Pi RP2350 Arm Cortex-M33/Hazard3 RISC-V microcontroller. It supports USB host and device modes, has side buttons, and includes a multi-color RGB LED for feedback. The device can be used as a programmable HID device (keyboard/mouse/media controller), a USB host or device for testing and prototyping, an automation tool for repetitive tasks, a compact input emulator, or a teaching tool for C/C+, MicroPython, and embedded systems education. HackBEE specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2350A CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm Trustzone, Secure boot OR Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz Either two cores can be used. Memory – 520 KB on-chip SRAM Package – QFN-60 Storage – Not disclosed USB – 1x USB Type-C host/device port Security – Arm TrustZone for Cortex-M33 cores, optional boot signing (OTP), protected OTP storage, SHA-256 […]

September 22, 2025September 21, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

ESP32 Marauder Double Barrel 5G adds 5GHz deauthentication with RTL8720DN module

The ESP32 Marauder – Double Barrel 5G is a dual-chip hacking and penetration testing tool that supports both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi scanning, deauthentication, and can be used for penetration testing, wireless research, and learning security concepts. The device is built around an ESP32, and can be used with Flipper Zero or as a standalone device. Additionally, it features a dedicated GPS receiver and a CC1101 Sub-GHz transceiver (433 MHz) for wireless experiments. Other features include a 2.8-inch touchscreen, 800 mAh rechargeable battery, micro-SD slot for logs/firmware/Flipper FAP files. There are also dual USB-C interfaces (one for charging/ESP32 recovery and one for BW16 firmware update), and four external antenna ports (Wi-Fi ×2, GPS, Sub-GHz) housed in a 3D-printed enclosure. ESP32 Marauder Double Barrel 5G specifications Main module – ESP32 Wi-Fi & Bluetooth SoC Storage – MicroSD card slot for firmware, logging, and data storage. Display – 2.8-inch touchscreen with included […]

August 8, 2025August 8, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

DisruptorX V2 – An ESP32-based BLE penetration testing device with Sour Apple exploit mode

DisruptorX V2 analyze jam spoof and disrupt Bluetooth Low Energy BLE

DisruptorX V2 is an ESP32-based wireless security and penetration testing tool designed to analyze, jam, spoof, and disrupt Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals. Developed by C1PH3R-FSOCITEY in India, it’s designed for cybersecurity professionals, penetration testers, and ethical hackers for BLE-focused security testing. Built around an ESP32-WROOM-32 module, DisruptorX V2 supports BLE signal jamming, scanning, spoofing, and packet analysis. It includes a “Sour Apple” mode to exploit BLE vulnerabilities by injecting malicious signals. The tool can impersonate legitimate BLE devices and observe interactions between them, making it suitable for studying protocol behavior and wireless security flaws. DisruptorX Specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROOM-32 module with ESP32 dual-core processor @ 160 MHz, 520 Kbytes SRAM / 4 Mbit Flash, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 Display – 0.96″ OLED display Functions BLE signal jamming BLE signal spoofing (device impersonation) BLE packet analysis and scanning “Sour Apple” mode for signal injection exploits USB – Micro […]

June 19, 2025June 21, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

CyberT. – A BlackBerry-like Raspberry Pi CM4-based handheld Linux computer with Kali Linux support

Designed by Carbon Computers, the CyberT. is a BlackBerry-style handheld Linux computer equipped with a 4-inch panel built around the Raspberry Pi CM4. It features a custom QMK-powered QWERTY keyboard, a BlackBerry-style touchpad, HDMI output, microSD card slot, stereo speakers, and an onboard battery management system (BMS), packed into a compact form factor. Compared to Clockwork’s uConsole, which features swappable CM3/CM4 SoMs, a 5-inch display, and optional 4G LTE, the CyberT. focuses on cybersecurity and portable development. While many Raspberry Pi CM4-based handheld devices like the RetroLite CM4 and ReBoi target retro gaming with joysticks or Game Boy-style enclosures, the CyberT., takes a cyberdeck-style approach and runs Kali Linux, or other Linux distributions like Raspberry Pi OS. CyberT. Beta Specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4) Storage – MicroSD card slot for OS and data storage Display 4-inch 720×720 RGB TFT display (ST7701S controller, TTL RGB interface – […]

June 7, 2025June 7, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

BUG: ethical hacking USB device with RP2040, ESP32-S3, or STM32 MCU (Crowdfunding)

Tarun’s BUG is a USB stick with a small display described as an “AI-powered Ethical Hacking Device”, supporting voice control, and offered with either a Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core MCU, Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 wireless SoC, or STM32F411 Cortex-M4F microcontroller. The device also features a microSD card for storage, and WiFi and BLE connectivity for the ESP32-S3 version. The BUG is said to offer “cutting-edge HID injection capabilities” (e.g. keyboard/mouse emulation) with wireless control and ChatGPT integration. It is made for ethical hackers, cybersecurity trainers, tech educators, and DIY makers. BUG specifications: Microcontroller (one or the other) Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ up to 133 MHz with 264KB SRAM Espressif ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microcontroller @ 240MHz with vector instructions, 512KB SRAM, WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.x connectivity STMicro STM32F411 Arm Cortex-M4F MCU @ 100MHz with 512KB Flash, 128KB SRAM Storage – MicroSD card slot inside the USB Type-A port […]

May 7, 2025May 7, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Interrupt – A Linux-based Flipper Zero alternative with WiFi 4, Bluetooth, sub-GHz radios, NFC/RFID reader, IR Tx/Rx (Crowdfunding)

Interrupt Linux-based Flipper Zero Alternative

Interrupt is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W-based wireless hacking tool that provides a Linux-powered alternative to the popular Flipper Zero with a built-in 3.5-inch touchscreen display and keyboard to easily type commands in the terminal. Besides the WiFI 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 radios from the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, the Interrupt also integrates a Texas Instruments CC1001 Sub-GHz wireless MCU working in the 300 to 928 MHz frequency range, an NFC/RFID reader, and an infrared receiver & receiver. The system also provides access to GPIO pins for expansion. Interrupt specifications: Supported SBC – Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W SiP – Raspberry Pi RP3A0 system-in-package with: SoC – Broadcom BCM2710A1 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1GHz (overclockable to 1.2 GHz) with VideoCore IV CPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0 graphics Memory – 512MB LPDDR2 Storage – MicroSD card socket Wireless – 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 with […]

March 24, 2025March 24, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Flipper Blackhat is a Flipper Zero dual-band Wi-Fi card with an Allwinner A33 processor

Flipper Blackhat - Flipper Zero dual-band Wi-Fi card

Developed by Rootkit Labs in Switzerland, the Flipper Blackhat is an open-source Allwinner A33-based Flipper Zero dual-band Wi-Fi card running Linux and designed for penetration testing, cybersecurity research, and wireless network analysis. Built around an Allwinner A33 quad-core 1.5GHz processor, it comes with 1GB RAM, and an onboard 2.4GHz WiFi radio (RTL8723DS), with additional connectivity via two USB-A ports and one USB-C (FTDI-connected). The package also includes a 5GHz USB WiFi dongle (RTL8821CU) and a WiFi antenna for the built-in radio but requires an SD card and Flipper device separately. Flipper Blackhat Specifications: SoC – Allwinner A33 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A7 processor GPU – Arm Mali-400 MP2 VPU – 1080p60 H.264, VP8, MPEG 1/2/4, JPEG/MJPEG video decoding 1080p60 H.264 video encoding Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – SD Card slot Wireless Connectivity Realtek RTL8723DS 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Includes Realtek RTL8821CU 5 GHz USB Wi-Fi dongle Supports additional third-party Wi-Fi […]

March 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Hidden proprietary Bluetooth HCI commands in ESP32 microcontroller could pose a security risk

Security is hard. Just as Espressif Systems announced PSA Level 2 for the ESP32-C6 microcontroller, Spain-based cybersecurity company Tarlogic published their findings about a hidden Bluetooth functionality that can be used as a backdoor in the previous generation ESP32, and gave a presentation in Spanish at Rootedcon 2025. Specifically, they found hidden proprietary Bluetooth HCI (Host Controller Interface) commands used to read & write controller memory, and typically used for debugging. However, they could also facilitate supply chain attacks, the concealment of backdoors in the chipset, or the execution of more sophisticated attacks. Tarlogic initially called it a “backdoor”, but some disputed the claim (more on that later), and the company eventually issued an update downgrading it to a “hidden” feature: We would like to clarify that it is more appropriate to refer to the presence of proprietary HCI commands—which allow operations such as reading and modifying memory in the […]