# Penguin

> Rehost embedded Linux firmware from an extracted root filesystem using a generated, editable configuration of emulation transformations, then refine it through a guest root shell, forwarded network services and recorded dynamic-analysis output.

- Type: Tool
- Targets: Firmware
- Category: Firmware tools
- Relationship: Foundation tool
- Sources reviewed: 2026-10-17
- Added to the catalog: 2026-10-17
- Original resource: <https://github.com/rehosting/penguin>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/rehosting/penguin/blob/b645cd23852a41781181a651779b82a48c0c3fd3/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/penguin/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/penguin/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/penguin/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- Reviewed release: v3.1.21, published 2026-10-06 and tagged at the reviewed commit. Install by pulling the rehosting/penguin container from Docker Hub and installing its penguin wrapper script; source and Nix builds are documented separately.
- Input is a root-filesystem tarball with permissions and ownership preserved, made with the bundled fw2tar or by hand. Penguin uses whole-system emulation with a replacement kernel selected for the detected architecture; it does not reproduce the original device faithfully or recover source code. Failed rehostings are refined by editing the configuration and rerunning.
- The BAR 2025 workshop paper, co-located with NDSS, reports author-run results on 13,649 embedded Linux images from 69 vendors, with working rehostings for 75% more firmware than the prior state of the art. That evaluation predates this release.
- GPL-2.0-or-later; the README also carries a U.S. Government rights notice. Findings from the emulated system need analyst interpretation.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/rehosting/penguin/blob/b645cd23852a41781181a651779b82a48c0c3fd3/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/rehosting/penguin/blob/b645cd23852a41781181a651779b82a48c0c3fd3/LICENSE>
3. <https://github.com/rehosting/penguin/blob/b645cd23852a41781181a651779b82a48c0c3fd3/docs/workflow.md>
4. <https://github.com/rehosting/penguin/blob/b645cd23852a41781181a651779b82a48c0c3fd3/docs/schema_doc.md>
5. <https://github.com/rehosting/penguin/releases/tag/v3.1.21>
6. <https://www.ndss-symposium.org/wp-content/uploads/bar2025-final10.pdf>

## Related entries

Matched by the same code repository or publication identifier.

- [Target-Centric Firmware Rehosting with Penguin](https://awesomerea.org/papers/paper-penguin/index.md) · Research paper

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## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.