A Titan M Odyssey

Explore the inner workings of Google's Titan M chip in this 35-minute Black Hat conference talk. Delve into the security features and architecture of this hardware security module introduced with the Pixel 3 in 2018. Learn about its role in reducing attack surfaces, mitigating hardware-level exploits, and providing critical security functions like StrongBox and Android Verified Boot. Discover the research status, specifications, memory layout, and operating system of Titan M. Examine firmware boot processes, updates, and security measures. Gain insights into static and dynamic analysis techniques, including Ghidra loader usage and communication sniffing. Uncover hardware reverse engineering methods, focusing on SPI communication. Investigate discovered vulnerabilities, including out-of-bounds read and downgrade issues. Explore post-exploitation possibilities and fuzzing techniques for Titan M. Conclude with remarks on the significance of this security chip in the Android ecosystem.

Intro
Bringing Security in System Design
What is Titan M?
Research Status and Goals
Specification
Memory Layout
Titan M Operating System
EC Tasks
Firmware Boot
Firmware Update
Firmware Rescue
Firmware Security Measures
Communication with Android
Static Analysis: Ghidra Loader
Dynamic Analysis: Sniffing Communication
Sniffing Communication: Command Parsing
Dynamic Analysis: Sending Commands
Dynamic Analysis: Sending Custom Commands
Hardware Reverse: Finding SPI
Hardware Reverse: Guessing Pinout
Hardware Reverse: Tracing SPI
Taking Control of SPI
First O-day: Out of Bounds Read
Second O-day: Downgrade Issue
Looking for a known Vulnerability
Post Exploitation
Fuzzing Titan M
Remarks
Conclusion