

Fuzzing on Edison: field report - Nowaker
http://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/edison_fuzz/

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1o57
The x86 compatibility is what is amazing here. I almost used the processor
that the Edison uses on this year's Defcon badges for that very reason...

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rasz_pl
amazing why? so you can have that sweet sweet compatibility with Windows 3.11?
or access to cutting edge BCD opcodes? maybe its the price point of 4x faster
ARM SoCs? or 1Wat at idle when connected to a network?

~~~
1o57
Amazing because a bunch of already existing tools could be used immediately,
that's why.

Good to see you understand the purpose and design constraints oh so well...

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rasz_pl
what tools do you mean? other than binary only windows applications that you
wouldnt run anyway because there is no GPU on this thing(unless you manage to
install headless windows).

apt-get whatever works just fine on arm

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jsnell
Just because the source is available doesn't mean the tool is portable, or
even ported. You won't be able to apt-get install afl-fuzz (the tool used in
this article) on Arm.

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rasz_pl
coincidently you wont be able to download afl-fuzz in binary form either,
because only the source is available, so your argument is what?

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StavrosK
Has anyone tried the Edison? Is it good? It seems to me that it's a Raspberry
Pi with better specs, wifi, etc, plus Arduino compatibility, which sounds
amazing, but I haven't figured out how it connects to stuff. How do I power
the little die? Do I need breakout boards for everything?

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elecengin
The Raspberry Pi is intended for a different use - it's comparing apples to
oranges.

The Edison is intended for embedded applications - it has no display support
built in (like DVI/HDMI), less USB support, and less "plug-and-play" ports.

SparkFun did a great write-up on unfair comparisons between the two platforms:
[https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1603](https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1603)

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joezydeco
See, that's where I don't get what Edison is about.

If I want a SoC capable of doing low cost user-interface type embedded tasks I
need parallel LCD support (or at least LVDS). I'd get an NXP LPC18/40 or an
STM32 at the low end or an i.MX5/6 at the high end. Way cheaper with way
better application support.

If I wanted to do IoT sensing/reporting, this whole thing is just overkill.
Again, a low cost LPC or STM coupled with a GainSpan or TI radio module (that
I can bake directly to my PCB). To me, and I could be wrong here, IoT isn't
about putting 500 MHz computing resources at the nodes and certainly not for a
$75 BOM adder.

At least the LPC and STM are chips I can put directly down on my board and run
out of the box. An SOM with a single-sourced connector (and Hirose is
notorious for designing unique stuff nobody else wants to duplicate) is just
commercial suicide.

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StavrosK
I want a low-power, Wifi-enabled computer for various projects. Arduino shield
compatibility means that I can create things like my license-plate-reading
garage door opener, or irrigation system, while combining a fast processor and
lots of RAM with all the nice hardware Arduino has.

~~~
joezydeco
And that's fine for that kind of application. You could also do just as much
with a cheaper system (but you'd need a lot more software work so maybe that's
Intel key point: you can shovel in all the X86 code you've been slogging
around with you for decades).

But, in my opinion, the examples you mentioned are not IoT. Unless you're
planning to put one of these at every sprinkler head.

~~~
StavrosK
They aren't, but you said you don't get what the Edison is about, so I
mentioned a few cases it's perfect for.

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aidenn0
How did I completely miss the Edison? I love the idea of a dual-core x86 for
running something like linux with a moderately powered MCU as a RTP. Does
anyone know what it means by "<1W of power consumption" which is the power
I've seen? I assume it will peak at over 1W with all 3 cores running all out?
I'd like to see separate idle/loaded values for that.

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joosters
I wonder if the performance can be improved by adding a heat sink? The CPU
might be throttling itself if running at 100% for a while.

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xedarius
Maybe I could use the Edison as a foundation to build something I've been
after for a while.

I'd like a 'thing' that would attach to the back of a pair of bookshelf
speakers and allow me to stream music through the speakers via Bluetooth. The
'thing' would also need to act as an amp. I had seen 'The Vamp' but this
doesn't offer stereo.

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rasz_pl
you mean like this $4 dongle ? [http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PC-A2DP-3-5mm-Stereo-
Bluetooth-Musi...](http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PC-A2DP-3-5mm-Stereo-Bluetooth-
Music-Receiver-Audio-Dongle-Adapter-Excellent-/321543100579)

~~~
xedarius
Not quite no, I would be after something to turn passive speakers into active
speakers.

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rasz_pl
you dont have an amplifier? buy one on craiglist/garage sale/whatever

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xedarius
I do have an amp, a giant amp, point is I want to make the speakers portable
and add bluetooth streaming.

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bluelightning
FWIW, there's a patch out for the OpenSSH / systemd / screen issue mentioned
in the blog post; KillMode=process was missed out in the service file.

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Narishma
I think the author is wrong about the CPU supporting HT. Merrifield is based
on the Silvermont micro-architecture, which does away with HT and replaces it
with OOE.

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dharma1
would be nice if it ran Ubuntu

