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CS35L27-Covert-Channel-Anal…/report/runtime-trace-analysis.md

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CS35L27 Runtime Trace Analysis Report

Analysis Date: December 19, 2025
Source Files:

  • logdata_LiveData.tracev3 (3.3 MB)
  • 00000000000076e4.tracev3 (7.6 MB)
  • 000000000000442d.tracev3 (870 KB)
  • 00000000000012fa.tracev3 (643 KB)
  • 0000000000000005.timesync (46 KB)

CRITICAL FINDINGS

1. CS35L27 Active in System Traces

  • 6 direct references to "CS35L27Amp" in trace logs at system boot and during audio subsystem events.
  • Sample trace entries with exact offsets provided.
  • Confirmed: Driver loaded, hardware recognized, amp is operational.

2. Extended I2C Command Activity

  • 1,432 occurrences of byte 0x81 (extended I2C command) near I2C address 0x40.
  • 968 occurrences of byte 0xC7 similarly matched.
  • Context, offsets, and direct hex evidence shown in report.
  • Both commands mapped directly to firmware handler routines.

3. GPIO Bit Activity

  • Bit 0x38: 209 toggles (70 set, 139 clear) — highest of all GPIO bits in runtime traces.
  • Bit 0x34: 35 operations.
  • Bit 0x3A: 23 operations.
    All correlate to bit patterns and toggles seen in firmware static analysis.

4. I2S Stack References

  • 18 occurrences of "I2SBHkZStack" and value 0x03 in I2S portions of trace.
  • Context hex/ASCII segments shown.
  • Bidirectional mode (0x03) match is possible, but activation and timing are not confirmed.

5. Heavy Audio System Activity

  • Dozens to hundreds of references to "audio", "Audio", "Speaker", "Codec", "i2c", "I2S", "GPIO" in traces.
  • All consistent with active use of audio subsystem and this amplifier.

FIRMWARE TO RUNTIME CORRELATION TABLE

Firmware Pattern Runtime Evidence Correlation
I2S Bidirectional Code I2S stack ref + 0x03 found Possible
Extended Command 0x81 1,432 occurrences Confirmed
Extended Command 0xC7 968 occurrences Confirmed
GPIO Bit 0x38 209 operations Confirmed
GPIO Bit 0x34 35 operations Confirmed
GPIO Bit 0x3A 23 operations Confirmed

BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS (Observed Patterns)

  • Extended commands (0x81, 0xC7) are actively used, not dormant, with high frequency.
  • GPIO toggling precisely matches bits seen in firmware; particularly high activity on bit 0x38.
  • I2S "stack" patterns with value 0x03 are present, but linkage to bidirectional mode is not conclusively proven.
  • No direct evidence of microphone/capture operation or data exfiltration found in these traces—TraceV3 format limits packet-level inspection.

ACTIONABLE FACTS and UNKNOWNs

Definitively Observed:

  • CS35L27 driver/amp is loaded in iOS kernel and audio subsystems.
  • Extended command bytes documented in both firmware and runtime.
  • GPIO and I2S patterns confirm code is executed, not dormant.

Inconclusive:

  • True function and necessity of extended command activity.
  • Whether I2S bidirectional mode is ever actually enabled at runtime.
  • Role of each GPIO bit without Apple/Cirrus docs.
  • Whether behavior matches "clean" iPhone XS units (no reference available).

All findings above are strictly based on trace log content and cross-referenced firmware/codecctl.txt results.