MIFARE DESFire EV1 data question

[Unknown Unknown]

Hey there!

I'm developing a security system for my home and I've been wondering if MIFARE DESFire EV1 cards can be cloned without knowing the keys?

When I read the DESFire EV1 card with a NFC phone, the only data displayed is the ID of the card and when I want to read the memory of the card, it says that
the chip isn't supported. I've read online that this is due to the phone NFC chips not being compatible with MIFARE, is this right?

My question is, if someone purchases a reader online that can read this type of cards (DESFire EV1), will he be able to clone the card without knowing the keys? Meaning, will the reader still display encrypted data blocks without decrypting them or will they only be displayed if you get the keys right?

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[TapLinx Support]

Hi Unknown,

Be sure, you cannot clone a MIFARE DESFire EV1/EV2! You can configure all files on a DESFire to read without permission (if you are the card issuer), but you can also protect the access permission of every file with a key. In this case you have to authenticate with this key before the access is granted.

The MIFARE Team

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[Boukalane Anass]

i have an empty MIFARE DESFire EV1 card , i wonder if i can download an applet on it using Java Card Development Kit 3.0.5u1 , i did some test on the virtual card and it's working fine , but when i try to dwonload on the real card it fails

any suggestion ?

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[TapLinx Support]

Hi Boukalane,

Sorry, but you cannot download an applet on a MIFARE DESFire. It is impossible.

The TapLink team

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[Boukalane Anass]

thank you for your answer , i want to write some data on a MIFARE DESFire empty Card , so i don't know from where i can start.
is there any samples ? and can i use Java Card Development Kit 3.0.5u1 to write and read data ?

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[TapLinx Support]

Hello Boukalane,

You should have a look to the MIFARE DESFire EV1 architecture to understand how data is managed on this card. The DESFire supports a directory system which is called “application”. Before you write data to the card, you have to create an application with a set of permissions and keys and then you can create files.

The DESFire supports a so called “Native Command Set”, ISO/IEC 7816-4 command set and you can format a DESFire to a NFC Forum Type 4 Tag with an own command set.

The public datasheet can be found here:
MIFARE DESFire EV1:
http://www.nxp.com/documents/short_data_sheet/MF3ICDX21_41_81_SDS.pdf

MIFARE DESFire EV2:
http://www.nxp.com/documents/short_data_sheet/MF3DX2_MF3DHX2_SDS.pdf

To get the native datasheet, you have to sign a NDA. The ISO/IEC 7816-4 command set is published in the public data sheet and using the DESFire as Type 4 Tag, a application note is available:

http://www.nxp.com/documents/application_note/AN11004.pdf

Regards,
The TapLinx team

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