Drone / UAV Security
Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are increasingly used in military, commercial, and consumer applications. Security vulnerabilities in RF communication, GPS navigation, and firmware create opportunities for hijacking, spoofing, and unauthorized surveillance. This guide covers drone penetration testing from RF to firmware analysis.
Legal and Safety Warning
Drone Architecture
🎮 Control Systems
- • Flight Controller (Pixhawk, ArduPilot)
- • Radio Receiver (2.4GHz/5.8GHz)
- • Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC)
- • Remote Controller (RC transmitter)
- • Ground Control Station (GCS)
📡 Communication
- • RC Protocol (PPM, SBUS, IBUS)
- • Video Downlink (FPV camera)
- • Telemetry (MAVLink, LTM)
- • Wi-Fi / Bluetooth (DJI app control)
- • 4G/5G (cellular connectivity)
🧭 Navigation
- • GPS Module (position data)
- • IMU (gyroscope, accelerometer)
- • Barometer (altitude)
- • Compass (magnetometer)
- • Optical Flow (visual positioning)
Common Attack Vectors
1. RF Signal Hijacking
Capture RC protocol (PPM/SBUS) with SDR, replay or inject malicious control commands. Requires HackRF or USRP.
2. GPS Spoofing
Transmit fake GPS signals at higher power than satellites (−130 dBm). Drone believes it's at spoofed location and flies there.
3. Wi-Fi / App Exploitation
Consumer drones (DJI, Parrot) use Wi-Fi for control. Exploit mobile app vulnerabilities, MITM attacks, or weak authentication.
4. Firmware Backdoors
Extract firmware via JTAG/UART, reverse engineer for hardcoded credentials or backdoors. Upload malicious firmware to flight controller.
Drone Hacking Techniques
🎯 Signal Injection
Use HackRF to transmit fake RC signals, overriding legitimate controller.
Tools: HackRF One, GNU Radio, gr-ieee802-15-4
🛰️ GPS Simulation
Use GPS-SDR-SIM with HackRF to broadcast fake GPS coordinates.
Tools: gps-sdr-sim, HackRF, high-gain antenna
📶 Wi-Fi Deauth
Deauthenticate drone from controller, forcing return-to-home or landing.
Tools: aircrack-ng, mdk4, ESP8266 deauther
📹 Video Interception
Capture FPV video feed (often unencrypted on 5.8GHz analog or Wi-Fi).
Tools: RTL-SDR, EZ-Wifibroadcast, Wifibroadcast
Essential Drone Hacking Tools
Hardware
- • HackRF One
- • BladeRF
- • USRP
- • RTL-SDR
- • YARD Stick One
Software
- • GNU Radio
- • gps-sdr-sim
- • Drone-Hijacker
- • MAVProxy
- • QGroundControl
Analysis
- • Universal Radio Hacker
- • Inspectrum
- • Wireshark (MAVLink)
- • Binwalk (firmware)
Legal Research Resources
Guide Contents
Drone Fundamentals
UAV architecture and attack surface overview.
RF Communications
Understanding drone radio frequency communications.
RF Hijacking
Taking control of drones via signal injection and jamming.
GPS Spoofing
GPS spoofing attacks on drone navigation.
Drone Firmware
Reverse engineering drone firmware.
Video Interception
Intercepting drone video feeds.
MAVLink Protocol
Attacking the MAVLink communication protocol.
Autonomous Systems
Attacking autonomous drone navigation.
Counter-Drone
Detection and neutralization of hostile drones.