Finding the documentation for parsing data found in BLE Advertising Respones - parsing

This is not a programming related question. It's a question about where to find the right documentation.
If this is not the right place to ask, please let me know and I'll move the question
I'm working on a C++-Deamon for parsing recieved BLE Advertising Packages (like hcidump from bleuz). For this I'm focusing on parsing only LE Advertising Report events (Bluetooth Core Specification 7.7.65.2, S. 2382 ff)
E. g: I need to extract the local name and the 16-bit UUID. This information can be found (if broadcasted) in the field "data".
I can extract the data part from the Advertising Event Packet (since it's described in the Core Specification how these packages are arranged) but I can't parse the data. I wasn't able to find a description of the codes used in this data frame.
I also went through the Core Specification Supplement, but I couldn’t find the corresponding codes. I only found some examples:
See Site 26: Apparently the byte 0x09 indicates that the following n bytes are the broadcasted name of the BLE-Device.
Or Site 25: 0x03 seems to indicate that a "Complete list of 16-bit Service UUIDs" is following.
So far I gained my knowledge about this by just going throught these (incomplete) list of examples I found and from looking at the source code of hcidump.c.
Now the question is: Where can I find the official complete list to those bytes/codes?
Just an example of the package content I revieve:
Respone: 04 3E 1C 02 01 04 01 55 19 19 E4 8D FE 10 0F 09 54 65 73 74
20 49 50 53 50 20 6E 6F 64 65 C5
It should be able to extract the following data
HCI Event: LE Meta Event (0x3e) plen 28
LE Advertising Report
SCAN_RSP - Scan Response (4)
bdaddr FE:8D:E4:19:19:55 (Random)
Complete local name: 'Test IPSP node'
RSSI: -61

After going throught the whole Bluetooth SIG, I finally found the site where these codes are described:
https://www.bluetooth.com/specifications/assigned-numbers/generic-access-profile/

Related

iOS network extension packet parsing

I am developing a VPN (iOS Network Extension), and using C/C++ to read file-descriptor directly (instead of Swift), currently it successfully captures device's request Packets, but I don't know how to parse iOS's packets, I could not even find what network layer or protocol the packets are formatted in.
I converted Packet's binary into Hex to be able to decode with online tools; below are samples of what I need to parse:
000000024500003B5461000040110C390A07000208080808FA2D0035002739B4DE790100000100000000000003777777056170706C6503636F6D0000010001
000000024500003CBAE200004011A5B60A07000208080808E48A0035002892DAE43B01000001000000000000037777770669636C6F756403636F6D0000010001
00000002450000375324000040110D7A0A07000208080808DD7F003500232BBA841801000001000000000000056170706C6503636F6D0000010001
But when tried parsing with online decoder, they fail saying invalid packet.
What network layer or protocol is above?
Note that above are 3 packet samples (not one splitted by me).
It's tun-layer protocol with 4 bytes prefix:
1. Once we use C/C++ to read file-descriptor, in NEPacketTunnelProvider like:
let tunFd = self.packetFlow.value(forKeyPath: "socket.fileDescriptor") as! Int32
// ... pass above to C/C++ backend
Instead of using Swift like:
self.packetFlow.readPackets { [weak self] (packets: [Data], protocols: [NSNumber]) in
// Handle packets here...
}
2. There are 4 additional bytes prefixed to the tun-layer packet (e.g. 00 00 00 02), each time we read packets.
3. To allow most online-tools to understand the packet, remove those starting 4 bytes, and instead prefix it with Mac-Header-Hex like:
01 00 5E 00 00 09 C2 01 17 23 00 00 08 00
Note that by doing above, we convert initial tun-layer packet to a tap-layer packet.
Also, remember to prefix again those 4 bytes, once writing a packet into the file-descriptor (after removing Mac-Header).
Update 2021; Apple discourages accessing file-descriptor directly (and it may be removed in future iOS releases).

FAST_READ with ACR1255U

I'm currently using this NFC reader ACR1255 to reads NTAG213 with an text ndef on it on an iOS app
I'm currently doing 2 read commands for 16 bytes each (because i know the size of my ndef message) but i find it not really reliable
While reading the NTAG213 doc I found the FAST_READ command but I can't seem to use it ?
I'm kinda new at NFC and it's a pretty mess for me I'm not sure i'm doing something wrong ?
For the moment i'm sending this apdu to read: "FF B0 00 04 10" and "FF B0 00 04 10" and concat the result and I got my ndef message
But for the FAST_READ I try this : "FF 3A 04 00 00" and I receive "6A 81" for function not supported.
Is there a protocol compatibily I didn't see ? Or someone has an idea ?
Seems like your end index is incorrect, it should be 4 or more.
Working example.

Parsing variable byte length message

I'd like to parse a proprietary message with the following format. The messages are of variable length from 8bytes to 16 bytes. If the message is more than 8 bytes, it is put into multi packet message.
Byte0 Byte1 Byte2 Byte3 Byte4 Byte5 Byte6 Byte7-14 Byte15
Header Header Flags SlaveID Sequence Command Command Data Chksum
I send these messages to a device and expect a response from said device with similar format. I know what the messages are supposed to say, but I'm really struggling to find a away to parse the data in real time and display the information in somesort of GUI framework. Currently, I'm planning on dumping the data into a .txt/.csv file and post-processing with matlab.
I'm a hardware guy. This is not my strong suit.
Example:
Command, Reponse
0xAC 04 01 01 00 8C 01 01 chksum
0x04 AC 83 01 00 8C 01 01 0B D9 chksum
0x8c01 command to test power supply 0x01
Device echos the command and power supply it was checking and also returns the bit-shifted value of the power supply voltage 0x0BD9

Understanding iBeacon data : the power field and other bytes

I am new to the Bluetooth system and I am trying to understand the data used for the new Apple's technology : iBeacon.
There is already some nice answers which explain how it works and I have been reading everything I could find (especially the Bluetooth Specification). Still, I am missing some points and I will go for an example first : (I am using the Set Advertising Data Command, it misses here the hcitool cmd before the OGF)
0x08 0x0008 1E 02 01 1A 1A FF 4C 00 02 15 E2 C5 6D B5 DF FB 48 D2 B0 60 D0 F5 A7 10 96 E0 00 00 00 00 C5 00
I will list here what I didn't understand or find information about.
Is there any information anywhere about the OGF (here it is 0x08)? I know it stands for OpCode Group Field, but contratry to the OCF which follows the OGF, I didn't find anything.
What does the 02 01 1A 1A bytes line stand for? I know that the first byte, 1E, tells the length of the rest of the data and after that line, starting with FF, you get the manufacturer specific data. But I couldn't find anything about those 4 bytes.
How does the power byte work? Here it is C5. I know that what I get is the dBm value when ranging my iBeacon (on my iPhone for instance). And I know that the higher the value (on that power byte), the higher the power which means more accuracy but also more energy consumption. But how do you use that byte? What are the min and max values you can set? Or is there any kind of formula there? Do you get a set dBm value (at one meter from your iBeacon) for a set value on the byte?
Thank you.
Answers to the first two questions can be found in the gigantic Bluetooth 4.0 Core spec.
The OGF of 0x08 groups OCF commands for LE Controllers:
For the LE Controller Commands, the OGF code is defined as 0x08.
(Bluetooth Specification Version 4.0 [Vol 2], page 1114)
Because the 0x0008 OCF command is a controller command, you have to use the 0x08 OGF code with it. Confused? Forget it. Just know you use 0x08 0x0008 to set the advertising data using hcitool.
The byte sequence starting the advertisement is as follows:
1E Number of bytes that follow in the advertisement
02 Number of bytes that follow in first AD structure
01 Flags AD type
1A Flags value 0x1A = 000011010
bit 0 (OFF) LE Limited Discoverable Mode
bit 1 (ON) LE General Discoverable Mode
bit 2 (OFF) BR/EDR Not Supported
bit 3 (ON) Simultaneous LE and BR/EDR to Same Device Capable (controller)
bit 4 (ON) Simultaneous LE and BR/EDR to Same Device Capable (Host)
1A Number of bytes that follow in second (and last) AD structure
FF Manufacturer specific data AD type
4C Company identifier code LSB
00 Company identifier code MSB (0x004C == Apple)
02 Byte 0 of iBeacon advertisement indicator
15 Byte 1 of iBeacon advertisement indicator
-- Bluetooth Specification Version 4.0 [Vol 3], "ADVERTISING AND SCAN RESPONSE DATA FORMAT" p. 375
-- Bluetooth Specification Version 4.0 [Vol 3], Appendix C (NORMATIVE): EIR AND AD FORMATS", p. 401
The power field is simply a one byte two's complement number representing the "measured power" in RSSI at one meeter away. In simpler terms
Here is how that works:
Hold an iBeacon scanner (like Locate for iBeacon for iOS) one meter away from your iBeacon transmitter.
Read its signal strength in RSSI. It will be a number between -1 and -127. (-1 is very strong, -127 is very weak)
Convert this number into a hex using two's complement. (Add 256 then convert to hex)
Note: The power field can be 80-FF. If it is 00, iOS will not do a distance calculation at all. You can read more on how this is used here.

What format is this string in? [closed]

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Closed 10 years ago.
I'm trying to figure out what data an iPhone game app is sending. It uses the GKTurnBasedMatch framework.
I've captured some of its packets and I found a promising XML message with this string as the value for a game-state key:
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
Base64, of course! So I decoded it and got:
{"GameGuid":"bd120afb-3c64-4e76-937a-fe1628e1db57","GameData":"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"}
Looks like a dict with another Base64 string in the GameData key. However, Base64 decoding that gives me a bunch of binary data:
02 01 14 c2 a9 69 f2 22 d1 bd 5c 10 7d 6f 96 b4 .....i."..\.}o..
e1 e2 9c 55 a3 51 ac 6d e7 5c a5 dc c2 c2 37 6c ...U.Q.m.\....7l
3e 2e 07 7d 89 23 b1 6d 11 6f bf 0e a0 da e4 ab >..}.#.m.o......
d9 18 17 4d cc aa 73 d6 17 b9 f7 55 15 ed 60 b9 ...M..s....U..`.
which is uncompressible:
>>> len(game_data)
4114
>>> len(game_data.encode("zlib"))
4125
It's not zlib-encoded:
>>> game_data.decode("zlib")
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<pyshell#126>", line 1, in <module>
game_data.decode("zlib")
File "C:\Python27\lib\encodings\zlib_codec.py", line 43, in zlib_decode
output = zlib.decompress(input)
error: Error -3 while decompressing data: incorrect header check
And it's not even zlib without the header:
>>> def inflate(data):
import zlib
decompress = zlib.decompressobj(
-zlib.MAX_WBITS # see above
)
inflated = decompress.decompress(data)
inflated += decompress.flush()
return inflated
>>> inflate("roflcopters".encode("zlib")[2:])
'roflcopters'
>>> inflate(game_data)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<pyshell#130>", line 1, in <module>
inflate(game_data)
File "<pyshell#128>", line 6, in inflate
inflated = decompress.decompress(data)
error: Error -3 while decompressing: invalid distance too far back
I've tried using this online Objective-C compiler along with various classes like NSUnarchiver, NSKeyedUnarchiver, and NSPropertyListSerialization, but no luck, yet. Those all seem to produce output which at least has recognizable strings in it so even if they are used, something else must be going on as well.
The only similarity between different batches has been that they all start with 0x0201. Everything else seems totally different, even for subsequent updates for the same match, which makes me wonder if there's some obfuscation/encryption going on...
Any tips on where I can go from here?
It's almost certainly some proprietary structure from within the game, serialized out to bytes. 0x0201 could well be versioning for a struct, or just a set of flags that doesn't change across blobs you've seen.
There's no need to assume this is intentionally obfuscated or encrypted data. Standard textual (JSON, XML) and binary (bplist) containers are increasingly ubiquitous and often make one's life easier, but there's nothing nefarious about representing data in a more raw binary format if it's convenient. (See below re: encryption)
To really reverse engineer this in any more detail may be a Sisyphean task: figure out what the values in the binary blob are, numerically or otherwise. Match up the game state data with known (or unknown) values for the game. Do reverse engineering on the code to see what it's writing. That's some varsity stuff, but it's possible.
Re: encryption: encryption, or at least signing, is common in some parts of online gaming to prevent tampering with game state by bots to gain advantage. Whether that's happening here or not is anyone's guess. A bunch of floating point numbers that represent world positions could look similarly random.

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