Fuzzing Against the Machine: Automate vulnerability research with emulated IoT devices on QEMU

Well written and easy to understand with plenty of history provided along with practical examples. Multiple tracks are present in the book based on your level of expertise. Great reference and guide.

"Fuzzing Against the Machine: Automate vulnerability research with emulated IoT devices on QEMU" is a comprehensive guide to understanding and utilizing the powerful tools of emulation and fuzzing in cybersecurity. This book, by Antonio Nappa and Eduardo Blázquez, provides practical examples and real-world use cases to help them grasp the fundamental concepts of fuzzing and emulation and advanced vulnerability research.This book's intended audience is security researchers, embedded firmware and software professionals, and learners interested in emulation. It is also helpful for those involved in vulnerability research and exploitation, software testing, and embedded software development. Basic knowledge of programming (C and Python), operating systems (Linux and macOS), and Linux shell usage, compilation, and debugging is assumed.To gain a complete comprehension of topics within this book, readers should have prior knowledge in the following areas:• General understanding of operating systems, particularly those that are POSIX-compliant• Familiarity with the C and Python programming languages• Basic knowledge of embedded devices and electronicsThe primary audience is early-career cybersecurity researchers or students seeking hands-on experience with fuzzing-embedded software. However, curious readers are also welcome to continue reading. Please refer to the following section, 'To get the most out of this book,' for more information."The book is divided into three main sections: Introduction, Fuzzing, and Emulation. An overview of the book's contents is provided in the Introduction section and an explanation of why these techniques are essential in cybersecurity. The authors stress the need for hands-on experience with these tools, which is part of what this book provides.The Fuzzing section covers everything from basic concepts to advanced techniques. It starts with explaining what fuzzing is and how it works, then moves on to cover topics such as mutation-based fuzzing, coverage-guided fuzzing, and black-box fuzzing. The authors provide practical examples throughout this section to help readers understand how these techniques can be applied in real-world scenarios.The Emulation section focuses on using emulated IoT devices for vulnerability research. It goes through topics such as setting up a virtual environment using QEMU, creating custom firmware images for emulated devices, and using emulated devices for network analysis. This section also includes practical examples to help readers understand how to apply these techniques in their work.The book excels in providing practical examples. The authors provide step-by-step instructions for setting up virtual environments and running tests using various tools. They also include screenshots and code snippets throughout the book to help readers visualize their learning.Another strength of this book is its clear writing style. The authors explain complex concepts in a way that is easy to understand without sacrificing technical accuracy. They also provide definitions for key terms throughout the book, making it accessible even to readers who are new to cybersecurity."Fuzzing Against the Machine" is an excellent resource for anyone interested in cybersecurity, particularly those looking to improve their vulnerability research skills. The book's focus on practical examples and clear writing style make it easy to understand and apply the concepts covered. Regardless of your level of expertise in cybersecurity, this book offers valuable insights and methods applicable to your work.

“Fuzzing Against the Machine” is a good book for learning practical applications of emulation, specifically QEMU, and fuzzing various systems in it. The authors explain the concepts in a way that even someone new to cybersecurity can follow along and understand. The code snippets are definitely helpful, but make sure you get the free pdf that’s included at the end of the book so you can copy and paste if you need to!This book is a must read for any cybersecurity professionals who want to enhance their bug hunting skill set but aren’t very familiar with emulating IoT systems or the tools required for fuzzing them.

Emulation and simulation of potential attacks is a common tactic to learn vulnerabilities and determine ways to decrease attack surfaces. One of these methods that is gaining popularity is fuzzing. Packt's Fuzzing Against the Machine from Antonio Nappa and Eduardo B. provides guidance and steps for performing these fuzzing emulations on IoT devices. It is an excellent practical guide for performing this vulnerability testing. A must have for anyone that is working to research their cybersecurity protection for these devices.

I usually do not write reviews for books. A book is so personal, there are so many reasons why someone is interested in a given content, and so many ways to approach it. But this book was in my read list and when Packt folks approached me asking for an opinion, I thought it was a chance to help both the authors and the interested readers.The way I see it, this book replaces a full week of training on the topic. With the advantage that you are able to take it at your own pace. It has plenty of practical examples, with just enough introductory theory (the theory is highly condensed, so even in 'deep dives' we are talking about only a few pages). And then practical examples and use-cases. The reading is not boring at all, and one can easily follow what is going on thru the text, since the content and outputs are there (and later do it themselves).There are just two (very minimal) down-sides to the book: one is that when you condense the theory so much, there will be gaps. And the other is that references are provided across the book and not organized in a section per chapter. The former IMHO, is actually totally fine and even ideal for the book objectives which is to give hands-on experience on the topic. Anyone interested in diving deep on the theoretical aspects can easily follow other references to do so. The balance and compromises chosen by the authors are great. The later issue (about references) is really a matter of preferences (there are plenty of references, they are just not easy to view altogether, one has to read thru and collect them as they go).For folks that have been doing the work for a long time, the book is valuable to cover different use-cases, making sure one is aware of other tricks (and it is a fast read, therefore worth it). For folks that are just starting, the book is excellent to give then a practical start, with plenty of opportunity to continue from there.