https://hardenedvault.net/ Recent content on HardenedVault - Building Your Own Cyber Bunker Hugo -- gohugo.io en-US Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2026-03-17-beyond-cat-and-mouse-a13xp0p0v-singularity-rootkits/ Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2026-03-17-beyond-cat-and-mouse-a13xp0p0v-singularity-rootkits/ Beyond Cat-and-Mouse: From 2021 (a13xp0p0v) to 2026 (Singularity) — Exploitation Stage Is the Only Real Frontier Singularity is currently one of the most highly engineered rootkits. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2025-09-17-dfi-security/ Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2025-09-17-dfi-security/ after CFI - data only The exploitation techniques and mitigation has been evolving rapidly since the paper “Smash the Stack for Fun and Profit” released in Phrack Issue 49. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2025-03-10-build-atf-optee-rk3588/ Mon, 10 Mar 2025 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2025-03-10-build-atf-optee-rk3588/ HOWTO: build ATF (Trusted Firmware ARM) and OPTEE for RK3588 To better implement the protection of digital assets in embedded systems, we have chosen the RK3588 as the prototype platform. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-11-17-openbmc-remote-deployment/ Sun, 17 Nov 2024 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-11-17-openbmc-remote-deployment/ OpenBMC Remote OS Deployment: A Simplified Approach Many BMC implementations can accept a disk image and present it as a read-only USB mass storage device inserted into the host machine, allowing the host machine to boot from this “disk” for remote installation of the operating system or maintenance tasks. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-11-01-simplex-protoco-analysis-/ Fri, 01 Nov 2024 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-11-01-simplex-protoco-analysis-/ Background The SimpleX Chat Protocol is utilized by SimpleX Chat clients for message exchange. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-10-12-survey-oss-tls-rfc6979/ Sat, 12 Oct 2024 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-10-12-survey-oss-tls-rfc6979/ Background The original implementation of DSA-type signature algorithms (including ECDSA) requires a random number that belongs to the same type of mathematical object as the private key (an element of GF(p), where p is a prime number). https://hardenedvault.net/products/cascais/ Sat, 07 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/products/cascais/ https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-08-25-slubstick-risk-assessment-embedded-system/ Sun, 25 Aug 2024 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-08-25-slubstick-risk-assessment-embedded-system/ SLUBStick risk assessment for embedded systems The Linux kernel is susceptible to memory safety vulnerabilities due to its size and complexity. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-07-24-nbd/ Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-07-24-nbd/ NBD: A Powerful Tool for data center NBD, the abbreviation for Network Block Device (protocol), is a protocol that was initially implemented in the Linux kernel version 2. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-07-17-demystifying-sftp/ Wed, 17 Jul 2024 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-07-17-demystifying-sftp/ Introduction SFTP is an auxiliary protocol of SSH that allows file transfer between two hosts over the SSH protocol. https://hardenedvault.net/news/2024-04-29-hardened_ubuntu_2404/ Mon, 29 Apr 2024 01:13:37 +0800 https://hardenedvault.net/news/2024-04-29-hardened_ubuntu_2404/ Hardened Linux Canonical released Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, bringing comprehensive upgrades to the free and open-source software components recently. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-03-31-xz-lzma-backdoor-open-source-nuke/ Sun, 31 Mar 2024 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-03-31-xz-lzma-backdoor-open-source-nuke/ xz/liblzma Backdoor: Open Source Nuke? Maybe Not That Bad! Story Background On March 29, 2024, a report exposing a backdoor in the upstream source code of the controversial open-source project, the xz software package, was made public on the oss-security mailing list. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-03-15-openbmc-x11ssh-port/ Fri, 15 Mar 2024 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2024-03-15-openbmc-x11ssh-port/ Supermicro x11ssh-F OpenBMC Porting (WIP) Introduction to BMC and OpenBMC BMC, short for Baseboard Management Controller, is a specialized microcontroller embedded in certain computers, typically servers. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-10-11-key-management-openpgp/ Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-10-11-key-management-openpgp/ Key management of OpenPGP Card Background As blank smartcards supporting Java Card 3. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-08-25-hardened-siem-xdr-ved/ Fri, 25 Aug 2023 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-08-25-hardened-siem-xdr-ved/ Background Modern cybersecurity operation centers significantly depend on two key elements: agent-based security solutions operating on desktops, laptops, and server operating systems, and a threat analysis system, often referred to as a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system or eXtended Detection and Response (XDR). https://hardenedvault.net/news/2023-08-11-ved-ebpf-poc/ Wed, 02 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/news/2023-08-11-ved-ebpf-poc/ We are thrilled to introduce VED-eBPF, an innovative proof-of-concept implementation that showcases the power of eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) technology in enabling robust kernel security monitoring and exploit detection for Linux systems. https://hardenedvault.net/news/2023-08-02-hardenedlinux-aws-marketplace/ Wed, 02 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/news/2023-08-02-hardenedlinux-aws-marketplace/ Hardened Linux AWS has established multiple regions and availability zones worldwide, strictly adhering to security regulations and standards in each region, providing global deployment solutions to enterprises. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-07-16-vault-range-resilience-weaponized-exp-linux/ Sun, 16 Jul 2023 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-07-16-vault-range-resilience-weaponized-exp-linux/ Disclaimer VED (Vault Exploit Defense) test image contains only the VED kernel module, and does not contain any security baselines, access control policies and situational hardening solution. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-07-09-protecting-linux-kernel-why-how/ Sun, 09 Jul 2023 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-07-09-protecting-linux-kernel-why-how/ Introduction We designed Vault Exploits Defense (VED) as a foundation security layer for various flavors of Linux operating system. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-04-18-java-card-runtime-memory-corruption/ Tue, 18 Apr 2023 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-04-18-java-card-runtime-memory-corruption/ Background The key has always been a core target of security protection. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-03-07-tpm2-ref-firmware-security/ Tue, 07 Mar 2023 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-03-07-tpm2-ref-firmware-security/ What is TCG TPM 2.0? Trusted Computing Group (TCG) Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-02-02-smpc/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2023-02-02-smpc/ Prologue SMPC is an interesting topic, whose the applications include systematic security and cryptographic engineering, and this article will discuss its principles, threat models and use-case. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-11-13-msg_msg-recon-mitigation-ved/ Sun, 13 Nov 2022 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-11-13-msg_msg-recon-mitigation-ved/ Why msg_msg? The size of structure is control by userspace Firstly, the length of the msg_msg struct can be indirectly controlled from userspace, which means that msg can overlap the cache of the specified types. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-11-03-critical-infrastructure-supply-chain-security/ Thu, 03 Nov 2022 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-11-03-critical-infrastructure-supply-chain-security/ Background The endless cyber “war” in the levels of OS https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-10-08-alderlake_fw-leak/ Sat, 08 Oct 2022 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-10-08-alderlake_fw-leak/ Leaked story timeline According to the timestamp of the github repository, an unidentified user uploaded the Insyde’s partial firmware solution (4. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-09-13-modern-os-boot-magic/ Tue, 13 Sep 2022 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-09-13-modern-os-boot-magic/ Linux kernel Under x86/amd64 architecture, Linux kernel is usually packed into bzImage format, which contains a partially-filled data structure for boot parameter, and multiple entry points of stages for 16-bit real mode, 32-bit protected mode, and 64-bit long mode if built for amd64, the last stage is a self-decompressing flat binary, which will decompress and execute the gzip-compressed kernel image proper, also in the format of flat binary, stored in its data segment. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-08-07-state-based-fuzzer-update/ Sun, 07 Aug 2022 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-08-07-state-based-fuzzer-update/ 0. VaultFuzzer S0rry, VaultFuzzer is not the main player today. We’re going have little ride with Harbian-QA and GREBE today. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-08-05-next-gen-data-center-web3/ Fri, 05 Aug 2022 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-08-05-next-gen-data-center-web3/ 0. Next generation data center What is the next generation data center? https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-06-27-vaultboot-attestation/ Mon, 27 Jun 2022 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-06-27-vaultboot-attestation/ VaultBoot In the highest level of security profile (CRITICAL), the Vault 111 hardware node enables multi-trust anchors through the chip security features. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-06-16-ved-community-version/ Thu, 16 Jun 2022 01:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-06-16-ved-community-version/ VED - Linux kernel threat detection and prevention system LKM version of VED goes public finally. https://hardenedvault.net/products/vaultboot/ Sat, 11 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/products/vaultboot/ https://hardenedvault.net/products/ved/ Sat, 11 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/products/ved/ https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-05-25-vspp/ Wed, 25 May 2022 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-05-25-vspp/ Story background CTO of cloud-native security company Isovalent announced that their eBPF-based Security Observability and Runtime Enforcement solution Tetragon ( WayBackMachine 20220516 ) become open source after years of development in May 16 2022. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-03-01-poc-cve-2021-26708/ Tue, 01 Mar 2022 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-03-01-poc-cve-2021-26708/ Kernel vulnerability CVE-2021-26708 Alexander Popov has published an article Four Bytes of Power: Exploiting CVE-2021-26708 in the Linux kernel which use a four-byte overwrite vulnerability to do privilege escalation. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-01-15-sgx-deprecated/ Sat, 15 Jan 2022 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2022-01-15-sgx-deprecated/ The rumors about Intel SGX deprecated in new processors has been confirmed, 12th generation processors (Workstation/Desktop/Laptop/embedded platforms) will deprecate SGX and the SGX will continue to support only in high-end Xeon CPU for server: https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-12-17-analysis-cve-2021-44228/ Fri, 17 Dec 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-12-17-analysis-cve-2021-44228/ Risk analysis of Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228) and mitigation Log4Shell is a high impact exploitable bug in Java logging framework logj4. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-09-19-vaultboot/ Sun, 19 Sep 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-09-19-vaultboot/ Background Firmware is a special type of software, mainly used for the control and communication of the underlying hardware. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-09-13-vaultfuzzer/ Mon, 13 Sep 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-09-13-vaultfuzzer/ Background Since the beginning of computer software development, software quality has become an inevitable issue in the field of software testing. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-09-06-ved/ Mon, 06 Sep 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-09-06-ved/ Background In the beginning of the hacker's era, a long-term battle for control of the “CORE” in memory has been waged since Aleph One published the paper Smashing The Stack For Fun And Profit on Phrack Issue 49 in 1996. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-07-16-ciso-seceng_csme/ Fri, 16 Jul 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-07-16-ciso-seceng_csme/ Background The majority of infosec community are trying to ignore the risks below the OS in past decades but it’s impossible to bury all of them at low cost today. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-07-07-vaulthsm_ecdsa-rfc6979/ Wed, 07 Jul 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-07-07-vaulthsm_ecdsa-rfc6979/ Background The original implementation of DSA-type signature algorithm (including ECDSA) needs a random number which belongs to the same mathematical object of the private key (an element of GF(p), in which p is a prime number). https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-06-17-vault_lurch-audit/ Thu, 17 Jun 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-06-17-vault_lurch-audit/ lurch/OMEMO Security Assessment Crypto is a neutral technology just like the natural existence (“For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-06-02-vault1317-thesis/ Wed, 02 Jun 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-06-02-vault1317-thesis/ vault1317/signal-dakez: An authenticated key exchange protocol with a public key concealing and a participation deniability designed for secure messaging Richard B. https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-05-27-hello_vaultworld/ Thu, 27 May 2021 13:37:21 +0200 https://hardenedvault.net/blog/2021-05-27-hello_vaultworld/ https://hardenedvault.net/about/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/about/ https://hardenedvault.net/contact/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/contact/ Why you should contact us! The strength of the security defender’s spirit would then be measured by how much ’truth’ he/she could tolerate. https://hardenedvault.net/faq/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/faq/ https://hardenedvault.net/how-it-works/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/how-it-works/ https://hardenedvault.net/team/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/team/ https://hardenedvault.net/saas/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/saas/ https://hardenedvault.net/services/ Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000 https://hardenedvault.net/services/ For Enterprise Service name Details GNU/Linux hardening and compliance - CIS/STIG