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Binary Analysis Cookbook
Binary Analysis Cookbook

Binary Analysis Cookbook: Actionable recipes for disassembling and analyzing binaries for security risks

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Binary Analysis Cookbook

32-bit Assembly on Linux and the ELF Specification

A conversation with a colleague of mine, and his dislike for learning assembly, helped me to realize that my tastes are a bit weird, and frankly, I'm more than OK with that. As a matter of fact, I have a huge passion for assembly after taking some training myself a number of years ago. I really appreciated how digestible the instructor of that training process made the material because it took away my initial fear and anxiety about learning what seemed like, at the time, a terribly complicated programming language. It's my hope that, after reading through this chapter, you too get an appreciation for the value of knowing assembly, not only for its use in binary analysis, but in information security in general. Since learning about 32-bit and 64-bit assembly on Linux, I've found a new appreciation for those binary...

Technical requirements

Differences between Intel and AT&T syntax

When working with 32-bit assembly on our Ubuntu virtual machines, we will encounter two primary syntaxes. The default configuration of our tools follows the AT&T syntax format, but we will use the Intel syntax throughout each recipe in this book. In later chapters, we will include recipes for configuring some of our tools to display the Intel syntax.

This recipe will walk us through the subtle differences between AT&T syntax, the default, and the Intel syntax, the format we will use going forward. Don't worry about some of the tools that are used in this recipe just yet as we will cover them in detail in Chapter 5, Linux Tools for Binary Analysis.

Getting ready

To...

Introduction to the IA-32 registers

Before we jump into 64-bit assembly on Linux, it's important to learn about 32-bit x86 assembly on Linux since it will make the transition to 64-bit go much more smoothly. While I understand most modern hosts run 64-bit operating systems, I'm a firm believer in solidifying basic knowledge before moving on to the current standard. With that said, I also don't believe we need to go too far back for the purposes of preparing you for the examples in this book. We'll go over the 8-bit and 16-bit registers while covering the 32-bit registers.

In modern 32-bit x86 processors, there are a total of eight general-purpose registers, six segment registers, an EFLAGS register, and an instruction pointer register. Some processors even contain additional registers to handle floating-point mathematical operations and extended registers for...

Introducing common IA-32 instructions

Whether you plan to develop your own shellcode in assembly or get better at understanding disassembled binaries, the following instructions will serve you well. In this section, we'll learn about instructions that copy values; instructions that will allow us to redirect program flow by jumping elsewhere in the program; instructions that allow us to add or subtract, multiply, or divide; instructions that show us how to safely zero out registers to avoid pesky NULL bytes; instructions that allow us to interact with and manipulate the stack; and many, many more. Just a word of warning: this will be a long recipe because I want to make sure we cover as many instructions in detail as possible. This will not be a complete list of instructions but will be more than enough to get us started.

This recipe will help to solidify our knowledge of...

Making IA-32 system calls on Linux

Now that we have a very rudimentary understanding of IA-32 registers and instructions, we can move on to the next very interesting topic when it comes to assembly. That is, how do we make system calls on Linux in our assembly programs? If you're into shellcode, know what a reverse shell is, and have used commercial or open-source tools to generate shellcode of this nature, then this recipe will help you to develop your own. We won't necessarily develop a reverse shell in this recipe; instead, we will go over the necessary knowledge for you to accomplish that kind of task. Believe me, I would enjoy writing a book on various techniques to weaponize assembly for the benefit of those who, like me, gravitate toward the offensive side of information security. Nonetheless, what you will learn in this recipe will definitely serve you well and...

Introducing the ELF 32-bit specification

The executable and linking format, or ELF for short, and its widespread use on Linux is the focus of this book. In this recipe, we will learn how to extract the important pieces of information in regards to the ELF specification as we dive into analyzing the binaries in this book. While there will be a heavy emphasis on disassembly throughout the later recipes in this book, the information that we'll gain by knowing the ELF specification will only aid us in gathering the information that's necessary for us to understand the important parts of any binary we analyze.

I also want to be clear that this particular recipe could have been expanded into a book itself, but I intentionally condensed the ELF 32-bit specification down to the absolutely necessary information for working through the later recipes. I encourage you to read the...

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Key benefits

  • Adopt a methodological approach to binary ELF analysis on Linux
  • Learn how to disassemble binaries and understand disassembled code
  • Discover how and when to patch a malicious binary during analysis

Description

Binary analysis is the process of examining a binary program to determine information security actions. It is a complex, constantly evolving, and challenging topic that crosses over into several domains of information technology and security. This binary analysis book is designed to help you get started with the basics, before gradually advancing to challenging topics. Using a recipe-based approach, this book guides you through building a lab of virtual machines and installing tools to analyze binaries effectively. You'll begin by learning about the IA32 and ELF32 as well as IA64 and ELF64 specifications. The book will then guide you in developing a methodology and exploring a variety of tools for Linux binary analysis. As you advance, you'll learn how to analyze malicious 32-bit and 64-bit binaries and identify vulnerabilities. You'll even examine obfuscation and anti-analysis techniques, analyze polymorphed malicious binaries, and get a high-level overview of dynamic taint analysis and binary instrumentation concepts. By the end of the book, you'll have gained comprehensive insights into binary analysis concepts and have developed the foundational skills to confidently delve into the realm of binary analysis.

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone looking to learn how to dissect ELF binaries using open-source tools available in Linux. If you’re a Linux system administrator or information security professional, you’ll find this guide useful. Basic knowledge of Linux, familiarity with virtualization technologies and the working of network sockets, and experience in basic Python or Bash scripting will assist you with understanding the concepts in this book

What you will learn

  • Traverse the IA32, IA64, and ELF specifications
  • Explore Linux tools to disassemble ELF binaries
  • Identify vulnerabilities in 32-bit and 64-bit binaries
  • Discover actionable solutions to overcome the limitations in analyzing ELF binaries
  • Interpret the output of Linux tools to identify security risks in binaries
  • Understand how dynamic taint analysis works

Product Details

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Publication date : Sep 20, 2019
Length: 396 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781789807608
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Product Details

Publication date : Sep 20, 2019
Length: 396 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781789807608
Category :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
Setting Up the Lab Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
32-bit Assembly on Linux and the ELF Specification Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
64-bit Assembly on Linux and the ELF Specification Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating a Binary Analysis Methodology Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Linux Tools for Binary Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Analyzing a Simple Bind Shell Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Analyzing a Simple Reverse Shell Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Identifying Vulnerabilities Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Understanding Anti-Analysis Techniques Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
A Simple Reverse Shell With Polymorphism Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Another Book You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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jsamuel Nov 06, 2019
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A great product that gets right into the code! Most of the time, when I am doing a Capture the Flag or competition that involves reversing, I will just run a strings file as a "Hail Mary" to hopefully pull the flag. It rarely works.This book did an excellent job of stepping me through reviewing, understanding, and tweaking code to understand what goes on behind the scenes. The chapters are broken in up to slowly ramp up the more challenging items. Each section has code examples for homework and a follow-up discussion. This is perfect for my learning style.If you are thinking about getting into the field or are already a veteran this should be right on your bookshelf next to Practical Malware Analysis!
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