Case study

VFS495 fingerprint reader on Linux: reconstructing capture and login

VFS495 fingerprint reader on Linux reconstructs capture and login support for the Validity USB 138a:003f sensor. It documents USB and secure-session behavior, descrambles captured images, and bridges the vendor-driven capture path to libfprint virtual_image, fprintd and PAM.

Targets: Binary · Protocol
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
Evidence class: C2 code & docs, no demo or download

Stars: 9
Last commit: 2026-09-15
Language: Python

GitHub data as of 2026-11-10

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Evidence

Observed: Code, documentation and a download method observed; no demo found.
Checked: 2026-11-08

How evidence classes are assigned

Requirements & limits

Prerequisites: A VFS495 USB 138a:003f reader and HP's separately obtained proprietary Linux driver are required.
Limits: The working capture path runs the vendor binary under gdb as root; the native libfprint driver remains unfinished.
Testing evidence: The author reports end-to-end login on an HP EliteBook running Debian 13.
License: MIT license.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{vfs495-linux-case,
  title = {{VFS495 fingerprint reader on Linux: reconstructing capture and login}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/saifulmd0/vfs495-linux}},
  url = {https://github.com/saifulmd0/vfs495-linux},
  urldate = {2026-11-06},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/vfs495-linux-case/}}
}

Plain text

VFS495 fingerprint reader on Linux: reconstructing capture and login. https://github.com/saifulmd0/vfs495-linux (accessed 2026-11-06). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/vfs495-linux-case/

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About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.

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Primary sources

README.md GitHub · saifulmd0/vfs495-linux · Revision 18a2f4d
docs/SSL_PROTOCOL.md GitHub · saifulmd0/vfs495-linux · Revision 18a2f4d
driver/README.md GitHub · saifulmd0/vfs495-linux · Revision 18a2f4d
LICENSE GitHub · saifulmd0/vfs495-linux · Revision 18a2f4d