ec8718f05e
* feat(secure_bootloader): add ed25519 key and signing helpers
Scaffolding for PX4 secure-boot firmware signing, split into two
self-contained scripts:
- generate_signing_keys.py: produces <name>.json (private+public hex)
for use by sign_firmware.py and <name>.pub (C-array public key)
for inclusion in the bootloader build via CONFIG_PUBLIC_KEYn.
Refuses to overwrite existing private-key files.
- sign_firmware.py: pads an input .bin to a 4-byte boundary and
appends a 64-byte ed25519 signature, producing a file that drops
directly into the flash slot described by the image TOC.
Optionally appends an R&D certificate binary after the signature.
Replaces the signing path of the old Tools/cryptotools.py that was
removed along with the log-encryption cleanup; the new layout keeps
bootloader-signing tooling separate from log encryption to avoid
confusing the two independent crypto surfaces.
* fix(bootloader): panic if px4_get_secure_random is ever called
sw_crypto's crypto_open() unconditionally references
px4_get_secure_random from its XCHACHA20 path, so even a bootloader
that only performs ed25519 signature verification (and never touches
stream ciphers) pulls in an undefined symbol at link time.
The app build resolves it through nuttx_random.c, which is gated
behind CONFIG_CRYPTO_RANDOM_POOL and only compiled in when the
NuttX random pool is enabled. That config isn't on in the tiny
bootloader NuttX defconfig, and enabling it would pull in a pile
of kernel code the bootloader doesn't need.
Supply the symbol locally, but make it call up_assert() instead of
returning zeros. Silently handing out predictable bytes would be a
serious security bug if anyone later enables the XCHACHA20 path in
the bootloader without wiring up a real RNG. Aborting makes the
mistake impossible to miss.
* fix(bootloader): add PROTO_VERIFY_SIG opcode for upload-time signature check
Today a signed-boot failure is invisible to the uploader: verify_app()
runs inside jump_to_app() after PROTO_BOOT has already rebooted the
chip, so the host sees a successful upload followed by the device
silently staying in the bootloader. There is no protocol-level signal
that the image that was just written is not going to run.
Add PROTO_VERIFY_SIG (0x39) so the host can ask the bootloader to run
find_toc() + verify_app(0) *before* the reboot and get a concrete
OK / FAILED / INVALID answer back over the still-open USB connection.
The new opcode is gated on BOOTLOADER_USE_SECURITY: bootloaders built
without secure boot return cmd_bad (INSYNC/INVALID) so an uploader
can tell "I don't know this command" apart from "verification failed".
Two subtleties required care:
1. PROG_MULTI deliberately defers the very first word of the app
image to a RAM variable (first_word) and only commits it to flash
inside PROTO_BOOT, so a partial upload can never become bootable.
But verify_app() reads directly from flash, so if we verified
before committing first_word, even a valid image would always
fail (the first four bytes at APP_LOAD_ADDRESS would still be
0xffffffff). The handler therefore mirrors the first half of the
PROTO_BOOT handler: gate on STATE_ALLOWS_REBOOT, program the
deferred first word, then run the crypto check.
2. On failure we deliberately do not try to "undo" the first-word
write — H7 flash programming granularity makes it impossible to
revert in place, and the device was going to end up in the same
reject state at the next boot either way. The improvement is
purely that the uploader sees the failure before REBOOT instead
of after.
Chose opcode 0x39 to stay clear of ArduPilot's 0x28 (READ_MULTI) and
0x40 (CHIP_FULL_ERASE), which PX4 does not currently use but which
an AP-compatible uploader might.
ArduPilot also has bootloader secure boot (monocypher ed25519, like
us) but their verification runs at boot time, not upload time — so
neither project currently solves the "upload silently wrote a bad
image" problem. This puts PX4 ahead on that.
* feat(Tools): add --image_signed to mark signed firmware for uploader
px_uploader.py only needs to run signature verification over USB for
images that actually carry a signature — asking the bootloader to
verify an unsigned image would always fail, and the extra round trip
is wasted time for the common unsigned case. It therefore needs a
reliable way to tell the two apart.
We cannot tell by inspecting the bytes: a sign_firmware.py output is
just the raw .bin with 64 bytes of ed25519 signature glued on the
end, indistinguishable in content from an unsigned image of the same
padded length. The natural place to put the flag is the .px4 JSON
envelope, which already carries board_id / version / summary / etc.
Add --image_signed to px_mkfw.py, which sets "image_signed": true
in the emitted JSON. The flag has no effect on what bytes actually
end up on the device — it just tells the uploader "this blob has a
signature, please verify it before booting".
* feat(Tools): verify firmware signature before reboot
After PROG_MULTI + GET_CRC, send a new VERIFY_SIG opcode (0x39) to
the bootloader to check the ed25519 signature over the freshly
flashed image *before* sending REBOOT. This way a signature failure
is reported as a clean error from the uploader script, instead of a
silent "device stays in bootloader after reboot" that leaves the user
guessing.
The uploader always probes VERIFY_SIG. The bootloader is the source
of truth for whether secure boot is enabled:
- INSYNC/OK -> verification passed, proceed to REBOOT
- INSYNC/FAILED -> raise; "Signature does not verify against any
trusted key" if the firmware claims to be signed,
"Secure bootloader rejected an unsigned image"
otherwise (= helpful guidance for the common
misconfiguration of uploading default firmware
to a secureboot bootloader)
- INSYNC/INVALID -> bootloader has no secure boot. Quietly proceed
unless the firmware metadata says image_signed,
in which case raise.
- recv timeout -> assume a pre-VERIFY_SIG bootloader, proceed.
Surfaces a "Verifying image signature... passed" line on the upload
status path when the firmware is marked signed, so users get a clear
positive signal that the secure-boot pipeline ran end-to-end.
Also drop the redundant logger.error in the upload() loop, which was
duplicating the error message printed by the top-level handler in
main() for every UploadError path (not specific to verify_signature,
but only became obvious once these clean error messages started
firing in normal usage).
* fix(cmake): fix .px4board variant resolution to require exact match
px4_config.cmake matched the requested CONFIG against each candidate
.px4board with `MATCHES`, which is a regex partial match. For a
config like `px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader_secureboot`, the iteration over
.px4board files (alphabetical glob order) would match
`bootloader.px4board` first — because "px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader" is a
prefix of "px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader_secureboot" — and stop, silently
selecting the wrong board config.
Use `STREQUAL` instead so each candidate has to match the full
requested CONFIG. Existing single-label cases (e.g. exact match on
`px4_fmu-v2_default` or `px4_fmu-v2`) are unaffected because they
were already exact in practice; this just plugs the prefix-match
hole that any future `<label>_<suffix>` variant would trip over.
* fix(nuttx): support bootloader_<variant> labels
Boards can ship bootloader variants beyond the default `bootloader`
label — e.g. a `bootloader_secureboot` that adds crypto + keystore
Kconfig on top of the same source tree. Two pieces of build glue
were hardcoded to the exact label `bootloader` and need to relax to
match any `bootloader_*` label:
1. platforms/nuttx/CMakeLists.txt picked the bootloader linker
script and bootloader-specific library list only when the label
was exactly `bootloader`. Any other label (including
`bootloader_secureboot`) silently fell through to the app build,
producing nonsensical link flags. Match `^bootloader` instead,
and explicitly set SCRIPT_PREFIX to `bootloader_` so all
bootloader variants share the single existing linker script
regardless of their full label.
2. platforms/nuttx/cmake/px4_impl_os.cmake selects the NuttX config
subdirectory by exact label match, falling back to `nsh` when no
matching directory exists. For `bootloader_secureboot` that fell
through to `nsh`, dragging in a full app-style NuttX with cromfs,
networking, and the full heap subsystem — a 128 KB bootloader
sector overflowed by ~50 KB. Add an intermediate fallback: if the
label starts with `bootloader` and a `bootloader/` subdir exists,
use that instead of `nsh`.
Both changes are backward-compatible: existing single-label
`bootloader` builds take exactly the same path as before. They only
gain the ability for boards to add `bootloader_<suffix>.px4board`
files without duplicating bootloader build wiring.
* feat(build): auto-sign secure-boot images via BOARD_SECUREBOOT
Add a Kconfig pair that boards can opt into:
CONFIG_BOARD_SECUREBOOT -- bool: sign the .px4 with ed25519
CONFIG_BOARD_SECUREBOOT_KEY -- string: path to JSON private key
(default: Tools/test_keys/test_keys.json)
When set, the .px4 build rule inserts a Tools/secure_bootloader/sign_firmware.py
step between the unsigned .bin and px_mkfw.py, and passes --image_signed
so the .px4 envelope's metadata flags it for the uploader's VERIFY_SIG
step. The unsigned .bin is still produced alongside the .px4, so users
can sign with their own key out-of-tree if they prefer.
A BOARD_SECUREBOOT_KEY environment variable overrides the Kconfig path
at build time, mirroring the override pattern used for CONFIG_PUBLIC_KEYn
in stub_keystore. This makes release builds practical:
BOARD_SECUREBOOT_KEY=/secure/path/release.json make px4_<board>_secureboot
Relative paths in the Kconfig are resolved against the repo root (not
the build directory) so the same value works regardless of where the
build runs from.
Default builds are byte-identical to before; the new code path is gated
on CONFIG_BOARD_SECUREBOOT being set.
* feat(boards): add secureboot demo variant + docs
Two coordinated build variants demonstrate end-to-end secure boot
on px4_fmu-v6x without touching the default builds:
px4_fmu-v6x_secureboot -- the app, with TOC + signing
px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader_secureboot -- the matching secure bootloader
App side (secureboot.px4board):
- Selects nuttx-config/scripts/secureboot-script.ld via
CONFIG_BOARD_LINKER_PREFIX. The script is a copy of the default
layout plus a fixed 0x800 reservation past the vector table for
the image TOC, and an empty .signature section at end-of-FLASH
so sign_firmware.py knows where the appended ed25519 signature
will land.
- Compiles src/toc.c (a four-entry IMAGE_MAIN_TOC matching the
layout used elsewhere in the tree) into drivers_board, gated on
PX4_BOARD_LABEL == secureboot so the default build still
produces the existing layout.
- Sets CONFIG_BOARD_SECUREBOOT=y so the .px4 build rule signs the
image with the upstream test key by default.
Bootloader side (bootloader_secureboot.px4board):
- Enables CONFIG_BOARD_CRYPTO + DRIVERS_SW_CRYPTO + DRIVERS_STUB_KEYSTORE,
which links monocypher and the stub keystore into the bootloader.
- Bakes Tools/test_keys/key0.pub in as CONFIG_PUBLIC_KEY0, paired
with the test_keys.json the app variant signs with.
- hw_config.h gates BOOTLOADER_USE_SECURITY, BOOTLOADER_SIGNING_ALGORITHM
(CRYPTO_ED25519), and BOARD_IMAGE_TOC_OFFSET (0x800) on PX4_CRYPTO,
so they only activate in this variant.
Together the two variants implement the workflow:
make px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader_secureboot # build + flash via SWD once
make px4_fmu-v6x_secureboot upload # signs with test key, verifies
Bootloader fits in 128 KB (~57 KB used) thanks to --gc-sections
stripping the unused libtomcrypt code; nothing in the bootloader
binary depends on monocypher beyond the ed25519 verifier.
Replace the bundled test key for production with
Tools/secure_bootloader/generate_signing_keys.py output and update
both .px4board files (or set BOARD_SECUREBOOT_KEY at build time) —
see docs/en/advanced_config/bootloader_secure_boot.md.
* fix(boards): cap H7 bootloader linker scripts at 128 KB
Roughly half of the H7 boards in tree had `LENGTH = 2048K` for the
bootloader sector in their bootloader_script.ld, even though the
matching app linker script places APP_LOAD_ADDRESS at 0x08020000 —
i.e. the bootloader actually only owns the first 128 KB sector.
The 2048K constraint is wrong: it lets a bootloader that grew past
the 128 KB sector silently overflow into the app sector at link
time and corrupt the start of the app on flash. The linker should
fail the build instead.
The current default bootloader is ~46 KB, well under 128 KB on every
affected board, so this change is a no-op for default builds. It
just plugs a footgun for anyone adding bootloader features (secure
boot, extra UI, network boot, ...) that would have otherwise
silently grown into the app's flash range.
Boards fixed:
3dr-style H7 reference boards: cubepilot/cubeorange,
cubepilot/cubeorangeplus, holybro/durandal-v1, narinfc/h7
vendor variants: corvon/743v1, cuav/nora, cuav/x7pro,
gearup/airbrainh743, hkust/nxt-dual, hkust/nxt-v1,
matek/h743, matek/h743-mini, matek/h743-slim,
micoair/h743, micoair/h743-aio, micoair/h743-lite,
micoair/h743-v2, x-mav/ap-h743r1, x-mav/ap-h743v2
Boards already correct (LENGTH = 128K) are unchanged.
* fix(ci): add pynacl to Python requirements
Tools/secure_bootloader/sign_firmware.py uses PyNaCl for ed25519
signing, and the .px4 build rule for boards with CONFIG_BOARD_SECUREBOOT
calls it as part of the normal build (e.g. px4_fmu-v6x_secureboot).
Without pynacl in the dev requirements, those builds fail in CI and
fresh dev setups.
* docs(update): Subedit
* docs(update): Fix example error I made
* fix(docs): document BOOT and SIG1 regions
* fix(platforms): style fix
* fix(ci): workaround to get pip dependency
* fix(ci): fall back to plain pip on older build containers
The voxl2 build image ships a pip that predates --break-system-packages
(added in pip 23.0.1), so the install step blew up with "no such option".
Modern containers enforce PEP 668 and need the flag; older ones don't
support it but also don't enforce PEP 668, so plain pip works there.
Try the modern flag first, fall back if pip rejects it.
Signed-off-by: Julian Oes <julian@oes.ch>
* fix(build): strip BUILD_DIR_SUFFIX from CONFIG in cmake-build
cmake-build was passing the full build-dir name (including any
BUILD_DIR_SUFFIX like _replay or _failsafe_web) as -DCONFIG=, which
the board-lookup in cmake/px4_config.cmake then tried to match
against <vendor>_<model>_<label> .px4board files. That used to work
by accident because px4_config.cmake matched with regex MATCHES, but
since the switch to STREQUAL (needed to disambiguate
bootloader_secureboot from bootloader) the suffixed CONFIG no longer
matches anything and LABEL ends up empty, tripping a CMake error in
kconfig.cmake.
Pass the bare CONFIG and keep the suffix only on the build dir so
both concerns are independent.
Signed-off-by: Julian Oes <julian@oes.ch>
---------
Signed-off-by: Julian Oes <julian@oes.ch>
Co-authored-by: Hamish Willee <hamishwillee@gmail.com>
9.3 KiB
Bootloader Update
The PX4 Bootloader is used to load firmware for Pixhawk boards (PX4FMU, PX4IO).
Pixhawk controllers usually come with an appropriate bootloader version pre-installed. However in some cases it is not present, or an older version is present that needs to be updated, or the board has been bricked and needs to be erased and the bootloader reinstalled.
This topic explains how to build the PX4 bootloader, and several methods for flashing it to a board.
::: info
- You can use QGC Bootloader Update with firmware that includes the
bl-updatemodule. This is the easiest way to update the bootloader, provided the board is able to load firmware. - You can also use the Debug Probe to update the bootloader. This is useful for updating/fixing the bootloader when the board is bricked.
- On FMUv6X-RT you can install bootloader/unbrick boards via USB. This is useful if you don't have a debug probe.
:::
QGC Bootloader Update (SYS_BL_UPDATE)
The easiest way to update the bootloader is to first use QGroundControl to install firmware that contains the desired/latest bootloader. You can then initiate bootloader update on next restart by setting the parameter: SYS_BL_UPDATE.
This approach can be used if the bl-update module is present in the firmware.
The easiest way to check this is just to see if the SYS_BL_UPDATE parameter is found in QGroundControl.
::: warning
Boards that include the module will have the line CONFIG_SYSTEMCMDS_BL_UPDATE=y in their default.px4board file (for examples see this search).
You can enable this key in your own custom firmware if needed.
:::
The steps are:
-
Insert an SD card (enables boot logging to debug any problems).
-
Update the Firmware with an image containing the new/desired bootloader.
::: info The updated bootloader might be included in the default firmware for your board or supplied in custom firmware. :::
-
Wait for the vehicle to reboot.
-
Find and enable the parameter SYS_BL_UPDATE.
-
Reboot (disconnect/reconnect the board). The bootloader update will only take a few seconds.
Generally at this point you may then want to update the firmware again using the correct/newly installed bootloader.
A specific example of this process for updating the FMUv2 bootloader is given below.
Building the PX4 Bootloader
PX4 Bootloader FMUv6X and later
Boards starting with FMUv6X (STM32H7) use the in-tree PX4 bootloader.
This can be built from within the PX4-Autopilot directory using the make command and the board-specific target with a _bootloader suffix.
For FMUv6X the command is:
make px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader
This will build the bootloader binary as build/px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader/px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader.elf, which can be flashed via SWD or DFU.
If you are building the bootloader you should be familiar with one of these options already.
If you need a HEX file instead of an ELF file, use objcopy:
arm-none-eabi-objcopy -O ihex build/px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader/px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader.elf px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader.hex
PX4 Bootloader FMUv5X and earlier
PX4 boards up to FMUv5X (before STM32H7) used the PX4 bootloader repository.
The instructions in the repo README explain how to use it.
Debug Probe Bootloader Update
The following steps explain how you can "manually" update the bootloader using a compatible Debug Probe:
-
Get a binary containing the bootloader (either from dev team or build it yourself).
-
Get a Debug Probe. Connect the probe to your PC via USB and setup the
gdbserver. -
Go into the directory containing the binary and run the command for your target bootloader in the terminal:
-
FMUv6X
arm-none-eabi-gdb px4_fmu-v6x_bootloader.elf -
FMUv6X-RT
arm-none-eabi-gdb px4_fmu-v6xrt_bootloader.elf -
FMUv5
arm-none-eabi-gdb px4fmuv5_bl.elf
::: info H7 Bootloaders from PX4/PX4-Autopilot are named with pattern
*._bootloader.elf. Bootloaders from PX4/PX4-Bootloader are named with the pattern*_bl.elf. ::: -
-
The gdb terminal appears and it should display (something like) the following output:
GNU gdb (GNU Tools for Arm Embedded Processors 7-2017-q4-major) 8.0.50.20171128-git Copyright (C) 2017 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html> This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. Type "show copying" and "show warranty" for details. This GDB was configured as "--host=x86_64-linux-gnu --target=arm-none-eabi". Type "show configuration" for configuration details. For bug reporting instructions, please see: <https://www.sourceware.org/gdb/bugs/>. Find the GDB manual and other documentation resources online at: <https://www.sourceware.org/gdb/documentation/>. For help, type "help". Type "apropos word" to search for commands related to "word"... Reading symbols from px4fmuv5_bl.elf...done. -
Find your
<dronecode-probe-id>by running anlscommand in the /dev/serial/by-id directory. -
Now connect to the debug probe with the following command:
tar ext /dev/serial/by-id/<dronecode-probe-id> -
Power on the Pixhawk with another USB cable and connect the probe to the
FMU-DEBUGport.::: info If using a Zubax BugFace BF1 you may need to remove the case in order to connect to the
FMU-DEBUGport (e.g. on Pixhawk 4 you would do this using a T6 Torx screwdriver). ::: -
Use the following command to scan for the Pixhawk's SWD and connect to it:
(gdb) mon swdp_scan (gdb) attach 1 -
Load the binary into the Pixhawk:
(gdb) load
After the bootloader has updated you can Load PX4 Firmware using QGroundControl.
FMUv2 Bootloader Update
If QGroundControl installs the FMUv2 target (see console during installation), and you have a newer board, you may need to update the bootloader in order to access all the memory on your flight controller. This example explains how you can use QGC Bootloader Update to update the bootloader.
::: info Early FMUv2 Pixhawk-series flight controllers had a hardware issue that restricted them to using 1MB of flash memory. The problem is fixed on newer boards, but you may need to update the factory-provided bootloader in order to install FMUv3 Firmware and access all 2MB available memory. :::
To update the bootloader:
-
Insert an SD card (enables boot logging to debug any problems).
-
Update the Firmware to PX4 master version (when updating the firmware, check Advanced settings and then select Developer Build (master) from the dropdown list). QGroundControl will automatically detect that the hardware supports FMUv2 and install the appropriate Firmware.
Wait for the vehicle to reboot.
-
Find and enable the parameter SYS_BL_UPDATE.
-
Reboot (disconnect/reconnect the board). The bootloader update will only take a few seconds.
-
Then Update the Firmware again. This time QGroundControl should autodetect the hardware as FMUv3 and update the Firmware appropriately.
::: info If the hardware has the Silicon Errata it will still be detected as FMUv2 and you will see that FMUv2 was re-installed (in console). In this case you will not be able to install FMUv3 hardware. :::
Other Boards (Non-Pixhawk)
Boards that are not part of the Pixhawk Series will have their own mechanisms for bootloader update.
For boards that are preflashed with Betaflight, see Bootloader Flashing onto Betaflight Systems.