Encryption: Rasmatic/RFM69-Arduino-Library

The RFM69CW/RFM69HCW modules (based on the Semtech SX1231/SX1231H) have built in support for AES128 encryption. In this test harness I’m exploring the RFM69 AES128 implementation.

In the Arduino code I found the order of initialisation was critical. Because of the way the Rasmatic library is written the call to vRF69SetAesKey has to be after the vInitialize.

void setup() 
{
  Serial.begin(9600);

  pinMode(SENDER_DETECT_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP);  
  
  radio.Modulation     = FSK;
  radio.COB            = RFM69;
  radio.Frequency      = 915000;
  radio.OutputPower    = 10+18;          //10dBm OutputPower
  radio.PreambleLength = 16;             //16Byte preamble
  radio.FixedPktLength = false;          //packet in message which need to be send
  radio.CrcDisable     = false;          //CRC On
  radio.AesOn          = false;
  radio.SymbolTime     = 416000;         //2.4Kbps
  radio.Devation       = 35;             //35KHz for devation
  radio.BandWidth      = 100;            //100KHz for bandwidth
  radio.SyncLength     = 3;              //
  radio.SyncWord[0]    = 0xAA;
  radio.SyncWord[1]    = 0x2D;
  radio.SyncWord[2]    = 0xD4;

  // Highly secure 16byte fixed length key
  radio.AesKey[0] = 0x0;
  radio.AesKey[1] = 0x1;
  radio.AesKey[2] = 0x2;
  radio.AesKey[3] = 0x3;
  radio.AesKey[4] = 0x4;
  radio.AesKey[5] = 0x5;
  radio.AesKey[6] = 0x6;
  radio.AesKey[7] = 0x7;
  radio.AesKey[8] = 0x8;
  radio.AesKey[9] = 0x9;
  radio.AesKey[10] = 0xA;
  radio.AesKey[11] = 0xB;
  radio.AesKey[12] = 0xC;
  radio.AesKey[13] = 0xD;
  radio.AesKey[14] = 0xE;
  radio.AesKey[15] = 0xF;
  radio.AesOn = true ;

  radio.vInitialize();

  radio.vRF69SetAesKey();

When I first fired up the Arduino client on the Windows 10 IoT Core device I hadn’t configured the AES key but had enabled encryption.

19:21:25 Received 13 byte message =!{��>�_��5
19:21:26.114 RegIrqFlags 01000110
19:21:26 Received 13 byte message ���gǺm,0|��
19:21:26.273 Send-Done
19:21:26.453 RegIrqFlags 00001000
19:21:26.467 Transmit-Done
19:21:27.244 RegIrqFlags 01000110
19:21:27 Received 13 byte message w6�H�Y���#"#
19:21:28.373 RegIrqFlags 01000110
19:21:28 Received 13 byte message c�u�$mԙ���M{
...
Restart Arduino client
...
19:21:34.836 RegIrqFlags 01000110
19:21:34 Received 13 byte message ���gǺm,0|��
19:21:35.965 RegIrqFlags 01000110
19:21:35 Received 13 byte message w6�H�Y���#"#
19:21:36.429 Send-Done
19:21:36.610 RegIrqFlags 00001000
19:21:36.624 Transmit-Done
19:21:37.095 RegIrqFlags 01000110
19:21:37 Received 13 byte message c�u�$mԙ���M{
The program '[1560] backgroundTaskHost.exe' has exited with code -1 (0xffffffff).

When I restarted the Arduino client I got the same sequences of characters in the messages so it looks like the RFM69 encryption is most probably using electronic code book (ECB) rather than a mode with a changing initialisation vector(IV) e.g. cypher block chaining(CBC). (which wasn’t a surprise)

After modifying the Windows 10 IoT Core application to receive and transmit encrypted payloads

/*
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	 AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
	 LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
    OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
	 SOFTWARE

 */
namespace devMobile.IoT.Rfm69Hcw.Encryption
{
	using System;
	using System.Diagnostics;
	using System.Runtime.InteropServices.WindowsRuntime;
	using System.Text;
	using System.Threading.Tasks;
	using Windows.ApplicationModel.Background;
	using Windows.Devices.Gpio;
	using Windows.Devices.Spi;

	public sealed class Rfm69HcwDevice
	{
		private SpiDevice Rfm69Hcw;
		private GpioPin InterruptGpioPin = null;
		private const byte RegisterAddressReadMask = 0X7f;
		private const byte RegisterAddressWriteMask = 0x80;

		public Rfm69HcwDevice(int chipSelectPin, int resetPin, int interruptPin)
		{
			SpiController spiController = SpiController.GetDefaultAsync().AsTask().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
			var settings = new SpiConnectionSettings(chipSelectPin)
			{
				ClockFrequency = 500000,
				Mode = SpiMode.Mode0,
			};

			// Factory reset pin configuration
			GpioController gpioController = GpioController.GetDefault();
			GpioPin resetGpioPin = gpioController.OpenPin(resetPin);
			resetGpioPin.SetDriveMode(GpioPinDriveMode.Output);
			resetGpioPin.Write(GpioPinValue.High);
			Task.Delay(100);
			resetGpioPin.Write(GpioPinValue.Low);
			Task.Delay(10);

			// Interrupt pin for RX message & TX done notification 
			InterruptGpioPin = gpioController.OpenPin(interruptPin);
			resetGpioPin.SetDriveMode(GpioPinDriveMode.Input);

			InterruptGpioPin.ValueChanged += InterruptGpioPin_ValueChanged;

			Rfm69Hcw = spiController.GetDevice(settings);
		}

		private void InterruptGpioPin_ValueChanged(GpioPin sender, GpioPinValueChangedEventArgs args)
		{
			if (args.Edge != GpioPinEdge.RisingEdge)
			{
				return;
			}

			byte irqFlags = this.RegisterReadByte(0x28); // RegIrqFlags2
			Debug.WriteLine("{0:HH:mm:ss.fff} RegIrqFlags {1}", DateTime.Now, Convert.ToString((byte)irqFlags, 2).PadLeft(8, '0'));
			if ((irqFlags & 0b00000100) == 0b00000100)  // PayLoadReady set
			{
				// Read the length of the buffer
				byte numberOfBytes = this.RegisterReadByte(0x0);

				// Allocate buffer for message
				byte[] messageBytes = new byte[numberOfBytes];

				for (int i = 0; i < numberOfBytes; i++)
				{
					messageBytes[i] = this.RegisterReadByte(0x00); // RegFifo
				}

				string messageText = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetString(messageBytes);
				Debug.WriteLine("{0:HH:mm:ss} Received {1} byte message {2}", DateTime.Now, messageBytes.Length, messageText);
			}

			if ((irqFlags & 0b00001000) == 0b00001000)  // PacketSent set
			{
				this.RegisterWriteByte(0x01, 0b00010000); // RegOpMode set ReceiveMode
				Debug.WriteLine("{0:HH:mm:ss.fff} Transmit-Done", DateTime.Now);
			}
		}

		public Byte RegisterReadByte(byte address)
		{
			byte[] writeBuffer = new byte[] { address &= RegisterAddressReadMask };
			byte[] readBuffer = new byte[1];
			Debug.Assert(Rfm69Hcw != null);

			Rfm69Hcw.TransferSequential(writeBuffer, readBuffer);

			return readBuffer[0];
		}

		public byte[] RegisterRead(byte address, int length)
		{
			byte[] writeBuffer = new byte[] { address &= RegisterAddressReadMask };
			byte[] readBuffer = new byte[length];
			Debug.Assert(Rfm69Hcw != null);

			Rfm69Hcw.TransferSequential(writeBuffer, readBuffer);

			return readBuffer;
		}

		public void RegisterWriteByte(byte address, byte value)
		{
			byte[] writeBuffer = new byte[] { address |= RegisterAddressWriteMask, value };
			Debug.Assert(Rfm69Hcw != null);

			Rfm69Hcw.Write(writeBuffer);
		}

		public void RegisterWrite(byte address, [ReadOnlyArray()] byte[] bytes)
		{
			byte[] writeBuffer = new byte[1 + bytes.Length];
			Debug.Assert(Rfm69Hcw != null);

			Array.Copy(bytes, 0, writeBuffer, 1, bytes.Length);
			writeBuffer[0] = address |= RegisterAddressWriteMask;

			Rfm69Hcw.Write(writeBuffer);
		}

		public void RegisterDump()
		{
			Debug.WriteLine("Register dump");
			for (byte registerIndex = 0; registerIndex <= 0x3D; registerIndex++)
			{
				byte registerValue = this.RegisterReadByte(registerIndex);

				Debug.WriteLine("Register 0x{0:x2} - Value 0X{1:x2} - Bits {2}", registerIndex, registerValue, Convert.ToString(registerValue, 2).PadLeft(8, '0'));
			}
		}
	}


	public sealed class StartupTask : IBackgroundTask
	{
		private const int ChipSelectLine = 1;
		private const int ResetPin = 25;
		private const int InterruptPin = 22;
		private Rfm69HcwDevice rfm69Device = new Rfm69HcwDevice(ChipSelectLine, ResetPin, InterruptPin);

		const double RH_RF6M9HCW_FXOSC = 32000000.0;
		const double RH_RFM69HCW_FSTEP = RH_RF6M9HCW_FXOSC / 524288.0;

		public void Run(IBackgroundTaskInstance taskInstance)
		{
			//rfm69Device.RegisterDump();

			// regOpMode standby
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x01, 0b00000100);

			// BitRate MSB/LSB
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x03, 0x34);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x04, 0x00);

			// Frequency deviation
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x05, 0x02);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x06, 0x3d);

			// Calculate the frequency accoring to the datasheett
			byte[] bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes((uint)(915000000.0 / RH_RFM69HCW_FSTEP));
			Debug.WriteLine("Byte Hex 0x{0:x2} 0x{1:x2} 0x{2:x2} 0x{3:x2}", bytes[0], bytes[1], bytes[2], bytes[3]);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x07, bytes[2]);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x08, bytes[1]);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x09, bytes[0]);

			// RegRxBW
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x19, 0x2a);

			// RegDioMapping1
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x26, 0x01);

			// Setup preamble length to 16 (default is 3) RegPreambleMsb RegPreambleLsb
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x2C, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x2D, 0x10);

			// RegSyncConfig Set the Sync length and byte values SyncOn + 3 custom sync bytes
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x2e, 0x90);

			// RegSyncValues1 thru RegSyncValues3
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x2f, 0xAA);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x30, 0x2D);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x31, 0xD4);

			// RegPacketConfig1 Variable length with CRC on
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x37, 0x90);

			// Set the AES key and turn on AES RegPacketConfig2
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x3D, 0x03);
	
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x3E, 0x00);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x3F, 0x01);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x40, 0x02);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x41, 0x03);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x42, 0x04);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x43, 0x05);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x44, 0x06);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x45, 0x07);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x46, 0x08);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x47, 0x09);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x48, 0x0A);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x49, 0x0B);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x4A, 0x0C);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x4B, 0x0D);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x4C, 0x0E);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x4D, 0x0F);
			
/*
			// Clear out the AES key
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x3E, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x3F, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x40, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x41, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x42, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x43, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x44, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x45, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x46, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x47, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x48, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x49, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x4A, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x4B, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x4C, 0x0);
			rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x4D, 0x0);
*/			

			rfm69Device.RegisterDump();

			while (true)
			{
				// Standby mode while loading message into FIFO
				rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x01, 0b00000100);

				byte[] messageBuffer = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("hello world " + DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString());
				rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x0, (byte)messageBuffer.Length);
				rfm69Device.RegisterWrite(0x0, messageBuffer);

				// Transmit mode once FIFO loaded
				rfm69Device.RegisterWriteByte(0x01, 0b00001100);

				Debug.WriteLine("{0:HH:mm:ss.fff} Send-Done", DateTime.Now);

				Task.Delay(5000).Wait();
			}
		}
	}
}

I could see inbound messages from the transmit Arduino and Windows 10 device interleaved on the receive Arduino.

21:06:12.735 -> RX start
21:06:12.735 -> 0x0: 0x0
21:06:12.769 -> 0x1: 0x10
21:06:12.769 -> 0x2: 0x0
…
21:06:13.453 -> 0x3B: 0x0
21:06:13.453 -> 0x3C: 0x1
21:06:13.487 -> 0x3D: 0x1
21:06:15.218 -> MessageIn:hello world 9:06:15 PM
21:06:20.317 -> MessageIn:hello world 9:06:20 PM
21:06:24.559 -> MessageIn:Hello world:0
21:06:25.384 -> MessageIn:hello world 9:06:25 PM
21:06:28.009 -> MessageIn:Hello world:1
21:06:30.454 -> MessageIn:hello world 9:06:30 PM
21:06:31.455 -> MessageIn:Hello world:2
21:06:34.939 -> MessageIn:Hello world:3
21:06:35.596 -> MessageIn:hello world 9:06:35 PM
21:06:38.389 -> MessageIn:Hello world:4
21:06:40.666 -> MessageIn:hello world 9:06:40 PM
21:06:41.838 -> MessageIn:Hello world:5
21:06:45.316 -> MessageIn:Hello world:6
21:06:45.731 -> MessageIn:hello world 9:06:45 PM
21:06:48.761 -> MessageIn:Hello world:7
21:06:50.799 -> MessageIn:hello world 9:06:50 PM
21:06:52.214 -> MessageIn:Hello world:8

The next step will be merging and refactoring the test harness to extract the code for accessing the RFM69 registers into a separate class, then defining enumerations and constants for all the RFM69 settings.