Pentax K10D firmware reverse engineering/hacking

ergoa · 07-27-2022, 03:55 PM - **3 Likes**

Hello everyone!

Been thinking of posting here for a long time. I've owned a Pentax K10D for some time now, been doing some astrophotography and portraits with it. As I'm also interested in cybersecurity and hardware hacking I did a quick Google search to find previous attempts at reverse engineering the firmware of the camera. Been checking the firmware with IDA Pro out for some time and found quite some interesting things. I've focused on reversing the script interpreter, as I was surprised not a lot of documentation exists about it.

If anyone was working on the firmware when the previous attemps were happening or just knows something about it then please let me know!
In the grand scheme I'd love to replace the official firmware with an open source one to hopefully push the camera to it's limits. The replacement could be done with a software exploit to overwrite the existing one or by just flashing it with a custom firmware.

As a fun fact, I've found a small format string exploit in the script interpreter, but I haven't found a good use for it yet. Might show us a little behind the scenes of the script interpreter

Cheers,
ergoa

Last edited by MarkJerling; 07-27-2022 at 04:03 PM. Reason: Removed link.

MarkJerling · 07-27-2022, 04:04 PM

Welcome to the forum. I've removed the link to your page and will send you a PM about it.

MarkJerling · 07-27-2022, 04:42 PM - **1 Like**

You may find this discussion useful: Hacking / Modifying the K-50 - PentaxForums.com

jjdgti · 08-02-2022, 06:20 AM

Originally posted by ergoa

Hello everyone!

Been thinking of posting here for a long time. I've owned a Pentax K10D for some time now, been doing some astrophotography and portraits with it. As I'm also interested in cybersecurity and hardware hacking I did a quick Google search to find previous attempts at reverse engineering the firmware of the camera. Been checking the firmware with IDA Pro out for some time and found quite some interesting things. I've focused on reversing the script interpreter, as I was surprised not a lot of documentation exists about it.

If anyone was working on the firmware when the previous attemps were happening or just knows something about it then please let me know!
In the grand scheme I'd love to replace the official firmware with an open source one to hopefully push the camera to it's limits. The replacement could be done with a software exploit to overwrite the existing one or by just flashing it with a custom firmware.

As a fun fact, I've found a small format string exploit in the script interpreter, but I haven't found a good use for it yet. Might show us a little behind the scenes of the script interpreter

Cheers,
ergoa

Ergoa,
interesting topic. Keep us posted on your progress.

ergoa · 09-13-2022, 09:17 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by MarkJerling

You may find this discussion useful: Hacking / Modifying the K-50 - PentaxForums.com

Thanks for the links! I've looked at most of Pentax hacking discussions. Reversing the firmware is quite annoying cause of a not so popular architecture. Slowly making progress, but nothing cool to show as of now. Just identifying basic functions in the firmware.

07-27-2022, 03:55 PM - 3 Likes	#1
ergoa New Member Join Date: Jul 2022 Posts: 2	Pentax K10D firmware reverse engineering/hacking Hello everyone! Been thinking of posting here for a long time. I've owned a Pentax K10D for some time now, been doing some astrophotography and portraits with it. As I'm also interested in cybersecurity and hardware hacking I did a quick Google search to find previous attempts at reverse engineering the firmware of the camera. Been checking the firmware with IDA Pro out for some time and found quite some interesting things. I've focused on reversing the script interpreter, as I was surprised not a lot of documentation exists about it. If anyone was working on the firmware when the previous attemps were happening or just knows something about it then please let me know! In the grand scheme I'd love to replace the official firmware with an open source one to hopefully push the camera to it's limits. The replacement could be done with a software exploit to overwrite the existing one or by just flashing it with a custom firmware. As a fun fact, I've found a small format string exploit in the script interpreter, but I haven't found a good use for it yet. Might show us a little behind the scenes of the script interpreter Cheers, ergoa Last edited by MarkJerling; 07-27-2022 at 04:03 PM. Reason: Removed link.

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07-27-2022, 04:04 PM	#2
MarkJerling Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wairarapa, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 20,406	Welcome to the forum. I've removed the link to your page and will send you a PM about it.

07-27-2022, 04:42 PM - 1 Like	#3
MarkJerling Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wairarapa, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 20,406	You may find this discussion useful: Hacking / Modifying the K-50 - PentaxForums.com

08-02-2022, 06:20 AM	#4
jjdgti Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NJ Posts: 1,824	Originally posted by ergoa Hello everyone! Been thinking of posting here for a long time. I've owned a Pentax K10D for some time now, been doing some astrophotography and portraits with it. As I'm also interested in cybersecurity and hardware hacking I did a quick Google search to find previous attempts at reverse engineering the firmware of the camera. Been checking the firmware with IDA Pro out for some time and found quite some interesting things. I've focused on reversing the script interpreter, as I was surprised not a lot of documentation exists about it. If anyone was working on the firmware when the previous attemps were happening or just knows something about it then please let me know! In the grand scheme I'd love to replace the official firmware with an open source one to hopefully push the camera to it's limits. The replacement could be done with a software exploit to overwrite the existing one or by just flashing it with a custom firmware. As a fun fact, I've found a small format string exploit in the script interpreter, but I haven't found a good use for it yet. Might show us a little behind the scenes of the script interpreter Cheers, ergoa Ergoa, interesting topic. Keep us posted on your progress.

09-13-2022, 09:17 AM - 2 Likes	#5
ergoa New Member Join Date: Jul 2022 Posts: 2 Original Poster	Originally posted by MarkJerling You may find this discussion useful: Hacking / Modifying the K-50 - PentaxForums.com Thanks for the links! I've looked at most of Pentax hacking discussions. Reversing the firmware is quite annoying cause of a not so popular architecture. Slowly making progress, but nothing cool to show as of now. Just identifying basic functions in the firmware.