A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#1

Post by adulau » Sat, May 12, 2018, 10:02 AM UTC

A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics
github.com

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#2

Post by jitl » Sat, May 12, 2018, 6:34 PM UTC

Could this tool be used to produce eg a statically-linked version of `curl` that would work the same on any Linux, without needing to build curl from sources?

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#3

Post by dzdt » Sat, May 12, 2018, 6:44 PM UTC

I read the readme. I still don't know what is "rewriting" a binary or why one would want to do it. Can someone explain?

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#4

Post by _nalply » Sat, May 12, 2018, 7:01 PM UTC

dzdt wrote: post #3

I read the readme. I still don't know what is "rewriting" a binary or why one would want to do it. Can someone explain?

Have a look at the example icount.py: It rewrites binaries to count the number of instructions executed.

Therefore it seems the rewriter can modify already existing binaries corresponding to some rules in Python files by inserting additional instructions.

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#5

Post by resoluteteeth » Sat, May 12, 2018, 7:41 PM UTC

jitl wrote: post #2

Could this tool be used to produce eg a statically-linked version of `curl` that would work the same on any Linux, without needing to build curl from sources?

It does not appear that "static binary rewriter" in this context means that it turns dynamically linked binaries into statically linked binaries, so probably not.

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#6

Post by shadowfacts » Sat, May 12, 2018, 8:00 PM UTC

This is the paper referenced in the README: http://web.cse.ohio-state.edu/~lin.3021/file/NDSS18a.pdf

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#7

Post by [deleted] » Sat, May 12, 2018, 8:57 PM UTC

jitl wrote: post #2

Could this tool be used to produce eg a statically-linked version of `curl` that would work the same on any Linux, without needing to build curl from sources?

[deleted]

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#8

Post by jitl » Sat, May 12, 2018, 8:58 PM UTC

resoluteteeth wrote: post #5

jitl wrote: post #2

Could this tool be used to produce eg a statically-linked version of `curl` that would work the same on any Linux, without needing to build curl from sources?

It does not appear that "static binary rewriter" in this context means that it turns dynamically linked binaries into statically linked binaries, so probably not.

So, what does the word “static” mean in this context, that the binary’s behavior does not change?

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#9

Post by detaro » Sat, May 12, 2018, 9:06 PM UTC

dzdt wrote: post #3

I read the readme. I still don't know what is "rewriting" a binary or why one would want to do it. Can someone explain?

Take a binary and make changes to it (without breaking anything unintentionally). E.g. add hooks for performance measurements, add additional security checks, make it use/not use specific CPU instructions.

Re: A static binary rewriter that does not use heuristics

#10

Post by waterhouse » Sat, May 12, 2018, 9:07 PM UTC

jitl wrote: post #8

resoluteteeth wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does not appear that "static binary rewriter" in this context means that it turns dynamically linked binaries into statically linked binaries, so probably not.

So, what does the word “static” mean in this context, that the binary’s behavior does not change?

I imagine it means that it takes the binary file, generates a new binary file, and is done, as opposed to rewriting things at runtime or needing profiling information from a prior run of the binary.