ONEKEY Platform Update May 2025: RTOS Firmware Detection, ELF Dependency Mapping & More

ONEKEY just got better.

Just a few months ago we introduced SBOM editing which makes it easier to export precise and reliable SBOM files.  

Now we have looked at our analysis process and made it even more powerful by adding support for RTOS firmware.

Scroll down to the bottom to see some other cool features we’ve added recently.

RTOS Detection

What is RTOS?

RTOS stands for Real-Time Operating System and, as the name suggests, is a special type of operating system that is typically used in deeply embedded environments with limited resources, or in time-critical applications like in healthcare, the automotive industry, and industrial automation.

While a regular operating system like Linux can handle a variety of tasks well, albeit with the occasional delay, with RTOS the focus is on specific functions, customized solutions, and strict time constraints.

What we do

ONEKEY identifies RTOS software components, including libraries, frameworks, and the operating system itself.  

We support many different flavors of RTOS firmware and can detect components specific to these systems such as LWIP, mbedTLS, picoTCP, newlib, uIP, and musl.

Just like with Linux firmware; after finding the components, the platform performs CVE matching, and lists the known vulnerabilities:

How we do it?

Based on machine learning technology, we extract and identify the exact architecture, load address, and components (compiled units) of the RTOS firmware, and the specific functions of the components (symbols).  

To see this information, click on the firmware in the Files page and select the Executable tab:

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Thanks to our binary visualization feature, you can take a look at the contents of individual symbols under the Content tab:

How to enable RTOS analysis?

You can simply enable RTOS detection in your Analysis Configurations:

What we support

There are many RTOS on the market, both open-source and proprietary; ONEKEY currently supports the most popular implementations, for example:

• FreeRTOS

• ESP-IDF

• ThreadX

• Zephyr OS

• uC OS

With an Enterprise subscription, you can start using RTOS detection today!

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Other New Features

ELF dependency visualization

See all links between the ELF files of a firmware. Use the component filter to highlight results belonging to a specific component.

Understanding dependencies can help uncover potential software vulnerabilities. For example, if an ELF file depends on outdated or vulnerable libraries, it could be exploited by attackers.

You can access this function in the Files page of Analysis view.

If you want to check the dependencies of a single ELF file, go to the File details popup.

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Copy status & comments

Copy your manually assigned statuses and comments between firmware with just a few clicks.

This time-saving feature is especially useful when analyzing updated versions of previously reviewed firmware.

To use this function:

1. Depending on what you want to copy, select either the Issues or CVEs page in Firmware analysis view.

2. Click on the Copy status button.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions.

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You can read more about Copy status here: Vulnerability management - Documentation

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New documentation site

A new, prettier, more detailed documentation is now available. Whether you are a new user or a seasoned professional, this resource is designed to support your journey with ONEKEY.

On the platform, you can access it by clicking on the Documentation button at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, you can follow this link: https://docs.onekey.com/

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If you need help, for example with an upgrade to Enterprise, you can reach out to us by filling our contact form.