Faulty Cat V2.1

Faulty Cat V2.1 – EMFI & Voltage Glitcher for Embedded Security Testing

Faulty Cat V2.1 is a low-cost, open-source Electromagnetic Fault Injection (EMFI) tool designed for self-study, hobbyist research, and security testing of embedded systems. It is based on a remix/optimization of the ChipSHOUTER PicoEMP project, with a focus on safe operation, high performance, usability, and affordability.

The device enables fault injection attacks to disrupt the normal behavior of microcontrollers or SoCs. It supports two main physical fault-injection techniques: EMFI (electromagnetic) and Crowbar (voltage glitching). These can be used in direct single-shot mode or as automated parameter-swept campaigns. Additional features include automatic SWD/JTAG pin detection on unknown devices, voltage glitching, dedicated trigger pins, analog input for target monitoring, and more.

Key capabilities:

• Electromagnetic Fault Injection (EMFI) for runtime attacks (e.g., authentication bypass, key extraction).
• Integrated glitcher for precise voltage/reset signal manipulation.
• SWD/JTAG scanner for discovering undocumented debug interfaces.
• Firmware v3 (from-scratch rewrite) with improved architecture, CLI/TUI host tool (faultycmd), and extensive documentation.

Important Safety Notes: The device involves high voltage. Always use the plastic shield, never operate without it, and treat the SMA output with extreme caution to avoid electric shock. It is intended for personal, knowledgeable use only—not for professional or educational environments requiring safety certifications.

Specifications

• Model: Faulty Cat V2.1
• Microcontroller: RP2040
• Input Voltage (recommended): 5V (USB-C)
• Operating Voltage: 3.3V
• Memory: 16MB Flash, 264KB RAM, 16KB ROM, 16MB External Flash
• I/O: 6 Digital I/O pins, 6 PWM
• Connectivity: USB Type-C, USB communication
• Power: Supports 3x AA batteries (4.5V)
• Dimensions: Approx. 163mm length × 51.6mm width (board); package ~18 × 12.5 × 3 cm
• Weight: ~50g (device)
• Color: Black
• Includes: Faulty Cat board, inductor (coil/probe tip)
• Does not include: Batteries, battery holder, USB-C cable
• Open Source: Hardware (KiCad) and firmware available on GitHub; firmware v3 with full documentation for glitching, safety, JTAG/SWD, etc.

GitHub: https://github.com/ElectronicCats/faultycat

Real photos: