From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from smtp.forwardemail.net (smtp.forwardemail.net [121.127.44.73]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 (128/128 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.subspace.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 62B2E33E7 for ; Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:13:20 +0000 (UTC) Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; arc=none smtp.client-ip=121.127.44.73 ARC-Seal:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1776125602; cv=none; b=h2/yS8Vq0EDPb/NeHDynXfEAM7yCHHcE/m5NNjlAHCBzsRdbyzqsnnFQj4y7y32R6vXaFF1/3AoA4BmtWZf7OgayLKBOARIYTCmReAVzt8+wh8EJ+LZJiIi5BJ63cW9+rKcWAP1NR1Om4d/H04N3nU4s1K04cFvHnYRJVgX026Y= ARC-Message-Signature:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1776125602; c=relaxed/simple; bh=jL9WLZFDk2hi9oFYTtBZIRNy5tdekSoo1/lRAL9IAqs=; h=Mime-Version:Content-Type:Date:Message-Id:Subject:From:To; b=fvGs61ZaDeAp2SVOnlUV/Ddq5XIZDfBfsSpo0mtqyo/INSsbnuj5TaogQKWWLjmlT4Al63F+RESz2+x+xV0sDYJW4zCaze5Z8iMuXhvjY3Bw0uHKeelfTY4Cl3kow85txgrIHq/pXR5kUWyU/UHpIplwN+v4ESPfeJ3K3LkDJyg= ARC-Authentication-Results:i=1; smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=pass (p=none dis=none) header.from=ubuntu.com; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=fe-bounces.ubuntu.com; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=ubuntu.com header.i=@ubuntu.com header.b=PumOAm6q; arc=none smtp.client-ip=121.127.44.73 Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dmarc=pass (p=none dis=none) header.from=ubuntu.com Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; spf=pass smtp.mailfrom=fe-bounces.ubuntu.com Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=ubuntu.com header.i=@ubuntu.com header.b="PumOAm6q" DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=ubuntu.com; h=To: From: Subject: Message-Id: Date: Content-Type: Content-Transfer-Encoding: Mime-Version; q=dns/txt; s=fe-953a8a3ca9; t=1776125599; bh=jL9WLZFDk2hi9oFYTtBZIRNy5tdekSoo1/lRAL9IAqs=; b=PumOAm6quTaoWwGfG7kWLrUOYuLZLe9mVCkos79sdCVmchBpDZtWc+MFQnATd2DO5kLEOQL9t Myg91cVATcYewi9jcqajLpods23ZaqcdJDXTiJfUiNltJBeDRktk2LI+H/AMr1DOWqhxZ3gcTmQ 1IppyKmhWsbjjzJSlJmlQmTSZyJofHhRlug1rgc6kJqpwsjZiIrGLxmDmfCfhl6yRRWGQCwzaTU sHgacL7A2OQRSeqWT2h3NCIkxEw+4DTEn1LVC7Itwfml0gOD5TFuOmXtpajRCU2zEOP7QbcmH1g ldXB8YINeXO1Mslek+gczxCY/W3EnXmG52gtkYjcFJmQ== X-Forward-Email-ID: 69dce51911ae2e8efa0d45ca X-Forward-Email-Sender: rfc822; jpeisach@ubuntu.com, smtp.forwardemail.net, 121.127.44.73 X-Forward-Email-Version: 2.7.0 X-Forward-Email-Website: https://forwardemail.net X-Complaints-To: abuse@forwardemail.net X-Report-Abuse: abuse@forwardemail.net X-Report-Abuse-To: abuse@forwardemail.net Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org List-Id: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=Flowed Date: Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:44:07 -0400 Message-Id: Subject: Firmware for reverse engineering b43? From: "Joshua Peisach" To: , X-Mailer: aerc 0.21.0 Hi all, As I've been getting into kernel development, I found the b43 driver as a suitable place for me to work in, given its status as orphan and my access to it having an old iMac. When it comes to figuring out what code to write and how to implement functions, I see that there has been a mix of answers across the driver. Lots of functions refer to specs RE'd from the 4.x firmware[1], but my own install uses 5.x firmware. Additionally, the 6.x firmware is available. For my reverse engineering process, I opened the firmware in Ghidra and basically try to map the functionality to the driver, which appears to be what was done with the 4.x specs? But, as I compare to the newer firmware, some functions have been moved or replaced. And sometimes, the newer firmware functions contradict the RE'd 4.x specs, or have extra steps in its process. Take b43_nphy_perical, or as known in the v4 firmware, wlc_phy_perical_nphy. I got to this function because wlc_nphy_init calls it. But actually, the RE'd version says init calls wlc_phy_perical_nphy_run, which the firmware says is not the case (it goes through wlc_phy_perical_nphy first, which has its own conditions). So, which is the best source of truth(s) for this driver? The v4.x specs, the v5 firmware, or the v6 firmware? Which one should be used, and which has a higher priority level over the other? Keep in mind the v4 specs came before the release of Ghidra; now that it exists, we can refer to it instead of manually probing functionality. I've even seen Ghidra show different instructions than the 4.x spec. Thanks, -Josh [1]: https://bcm-v4.sipsolutions.net