Performing PLC Firmware Security Analysis

When to Use

• When assessing PLC security as part of an IEC 62443 component security evaluation (IEC 62443-4-2)
• When validating firmware integrity after a suspected compromise or supply chain attack
• When evaluating the security of a new PLC platform before deployment in critical infrastructure
• When performing vulnerability research on industrial control system devices in an authorized lab
• When responding to an incident where PLC logic or firmware tampering is suspected

Do not use on live production PLCs without explicit authorization and safety controls in place. Firmware extraction and analysis should be performed on lab devices or offline backups. Never upload PLC firmware to public analysis services. See performing-ics-penetration-testing for authorized live testing procedures.

Prerequisites

• Isolated lab environment with the target PLC hardware or an emulated environment
• PLC programming software for the target platform (Siemens TIA Portal, Rockwell Studio 5000, Schneider EcoStruxure)
• Firmware extraction tools (binwalk, firmware-mod-kit, JTAG/SWD debugger)
• Static analysis tools (Ghidra, IDA Pro, Binary Ninja with ARM/MIPS/PowerPC support)
• Understanding of PLC architecture (real-time OS, ladder logic execution, I/O scanning)
• Reference copy of known-good firmware for integrity comparison

Workflow

Step 1: Acquire PLC Firmware for Analysis

Extract or obtain PLC firmware through authorized methods. This can be done by downloading from the vendor, extracting from a lab device, or obtaining from a project backup.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""PLC Firmware Acquisition and Integrity Verification.

Supports firmware extraction from project files, network downloads,
and binary image comparison against known-good baselines.
"""

import hashlib
import json
import os
import struct
import sys
import zipfile
from datetime import datetime
from pathlib import Path


class PLCFirmwareAcquisition:
    """Handles PLC firmware acquisition from various sources."""

    def __init__(self, output_dir="firmware_analysis"):
        self.output_dir = Path(output_dir)
        self.output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
        self.manifest = {
            "acquisition_date": datetime.now().isoformat(),
            "firmware_samples": [],
        }

    def extract_from_siemens_project(self, project_path):
        """Extract firmware/program blocks from Siemens TIA Portal project.

        TIA Portal projects (.ap16/.ap17) are ZIP archives containing
        XML-encoded PLC program blocks and system configuration.
        """
        print(f"[*] Analyzing Siemens project: {project_path}")
        results = {"platform": "Siemens", "blocks": []}

        if zipfile.is_zipfile(project_path):
            with zipfile.ZipFile(project_path, "r") as zf:
                for info in zf.infolist():
                    # Program blocks are stored as XML in specific paths
                    if "ProgramBlocks" in info.filename or "SystemBlocks" in info.filename:
                        block_data = zf.read(info.filename)
                        block_hash = hashlib.sha256(block_data).hexdigest()

                        block_path = self.output_dir / info.filename.replace("/", "_")
                        block_path.write_bytes(block_data)

                        results["blocks"].append({
                            "name": info.filename,
                            "size": info.file_size,
                            "sha256": block_hash,
                            "extracted_to": str(block_path),
                        })
                        print(f"  [+] Extracted: {info.filename} ({info.file_size} bytes)")

        self.manifest["firmware_samples"].append(results)
        return results

    def extract_from_rockwell_project(self, acd_path):
        """Extract program data from Rockwell Studio 5000 ACD file.

        ACD files contain controller program, tags, and configuration.
        """
        print(f"[*] Analyzing Rockwell project: {acd_path}")
        results = {"platform": "Rockwell/Allen-Bradley", "blocks": []}

        with open(acd_path, "rb") as f:
            header = f.read(256)
            # ACD files have a specific signature
            if b"RSLogix" in header or b"Studio 5000" in header:
                f.seek(0)
                full_data = f.read()
                file_hash = hashlib.sha256(full_data).hexdigest()


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