Author: Javier Massey

The ARM Cortex-M7 is a high-performance processor core designed for advanced embedded applications. It features a 3-stage pipeline, floating point unit, and optional MMU for efficient execution of complex tasks. The boot process of the Cortex-M7 initializes critical hardware components and transfers execution to the application code. Reset Sequence When power is first applied to

Reverse engineering ARM binaries involves taking apart and analyzing ARM executable files to understand how they work. This allows researchers and developers to dig into closed-source ARM software, find vulnerabilities, modify behavior, or recreate functionality. The key steps in reverse engineering ARM binaries include: 1. Obtaining the ARM Binary The first step is to acquire

The UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) is a widely used serial communication interface found in many microcontrollers and integrated circuits. But is UART considered a bus? The short answer is no, UART is not technically a bus. Here’s a more detailed explanation: A bus is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer

The ARM Cortex-R82 is the latest high-performance real-time processor from ARM designed for safety-critical applications. It builds upon the successful Cortex-R family of processors and offers significant improvements in performance, power efficiency, and reliability compared to previous generations. Overview The Cortex-R82 is a 32-bit RISC processor optimized for real-time deterministic execution in embedded systems. It

The ARM Cortex-R52+ is the latest processor core in ARM’s Cortex-R series aimed at high-performance real-time applications. Announced in late 2022, the Cortex-R52+ builds upon the capabilities of the previous generation Cortex-R52 processor with enhancements focused on boosting performance, efficiency, and machine learning capabilities. Overview Like other Cortex-R series processors, the Cortex-R52+ is designed for

The main difference between an MMU (Memory Management Unit) and an MPU (Memory Protection Unit) lies in their capabilities for managing memory access. An MMU provides full virtual memory support with address translation and page-level protection. An MPU offers simpler memory protection without address translation. MMU Overview An MMU is a hardware unit that maps

The ARM Cortex-M3 is a 32-bit processor core that is widely used in embedded systems and IoT devices. Its memory layout is optimized for high performance and low power consumption. The Cortex-M3 has a Von Neumann architecture with a unified address space for both code and data. This article provides an overview of the different

LR stands for “Link Register” and is a special register used by ARM processors for function calls and returns. The LR register contains the return address when a function call is made. When a function finishes executing, the LR is used to return to the instruction after the function was called. Function Calls in ARM

Core lockup refers to a situation where a CPU core enters an unrecoverable stuck state and stops functioning correctly. This can happen due to bugs in the CPU design or firmware, unanticipated hardware conditions, or software errors. A core lockup causes the affected core to stop responding to interrupts and executing instructions, rendering it unusable

ARM processors utilize load and store instructions to move data between the processor and memory. The two main instructions for this are LDR and STR. LDR – Load Register The LDR instruction loads a word or byte from memory into a register. Its general syntax is: LDR Rd, [Rn, #offset] Where: For example: LDR R1,