Reversing Tools & Basic Methods

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Last updated 7 months ago

Reversing Tools & Basic Methods

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ImGui Based Reversing tools

Software:

ReverseKit:

Wasm decompiler / Wat compiler

Online:

Use to decompile from wasm (binary) to wat (clear text)
Use to compile from wat to wasm
you can also try to use to decompile

Software:

.NET decompiler

dotPeek is a decompiler that decompiles and examines multiple formats, including libraries (.dll), Windows metadata files (.winmd), and executables (.exe). Once decompiled, an assembly can be saved as a Visual Studio project (.csproj).

The merit here is that if a lost source code requires restoration from a legacy assembly, this action can save time. Further, dotPeek provides handy navigation throughout the decompiled code, making it one of the perfect tools for Xamarin algorithm analysis.

With a comprehensive add-in model and an API that extends the tool to suit your exact needs, .NET reflector saves time and simplifies development. Let's take a look at the plethora of reverse engineering services this tool provides:

Provides an insight into how the data flows through a library or component
Provides insight into the implementation and usage of .NET languages and frameworks
Finds undocumented and unexposed functionality to get more out of the APIs and technologies used.
Finds dependencies and different assemblies
Tracks down the exact location of errors in your code, third-party components, and libraries.
Debugs into the source of all the .NET code you work with.

DNSpy Logging

In order to make DNSpy log some information in a file, you could use this snippet:

using System.IO;
path = "C:\\inetpub\\temp\\MyTest2.txt";
File.AppendAllText(path, "Password: " + password + "\n");

DNSpy Debugging

In order to debug code using DNSpy you need to:

First, change the Assembly attributes related to debugging:

From:

[assembly: Debuggable(DebuggableAttribute.DebuggingModes.IgnoreSymbolStoreSequencePoints)]

To:

[assembly: Debuggable(DebuggableAttribute.DebuggingModes.Default |
DebuggableAttribute.DebuggingModes.DisableOptimizations |
DebuggableAttribute.DebuggingModes.IgnoreSymbolStoreSequencePoints |
DebuggableAttribute.DebuggingModes.EnableEditAndContinue)]

And click on compile:

Then save the new file via File >> Save module...:

This is necessary because if you don't do this, at runtime several optimisations will be applied to the code and it could be possible that while debugging a break-point is never hit or some variables don't exist.

Then, if your .NET application is being run by IIS you can restart it with:

iisreset /noforce

Then, in order to start debugging you should close all the opened files and inside the Debug Tab select Attach to Process...:

Then select w3wp.exe to attach to the IIS server and click attach:

Now that we are debugging the process, it's time to stop it and load all the modules. First click on Debug >> Break All and then click on Debug >> Windows >> Modules:

Click any module on Modules and select Open All Modules:

Right click any module in Assembly Explorer and click Sort Assemblies:

Java decompiler

Debugging DLLs

Using IDA

Load rundll32 (64bits in C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe and 32 bits in C:\Windows\SysWOW64\rundll32.exe)
Select Windbg debugger
Select "Suspend on library load/unload"

Configure the parameters of the execution putting the path to the DLL and the function that you want to call:

Then, when you start debugging the execution will be stopped when each DLL is loaded, then, when rundll32 load your DLL the execution will be stopped.

But, how can you get to the code of the DLL that was lodaded? Using this method, I don't know how.

Using x64dbg/x32dbg

Load rundll32 (64bits in C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe and 32 bits in C:\Windows\SysWOW64\rundll32.exe)
Change the Command Line ( File --> Change Command Line ) and set the path of the dll and the function that you want to call, for example: "C:\Windows\SysWOW64\rundll32.exe" "Z:\shared\Cybercamp\rev2\\14.ridii_2.dll",DLLMain
Change Options --> Settings and select "DLL Entry".
Then start the execution, the debugger will stop at each dll main, at some point you will stop in the dll Entry of your dll. From there, just search for the points where you want to put a breakpoint.

Notice that when the execution is stopped by any reason in win64dbg you can see in which code you are looking in the top of the win64dbg window:

Then, looking to this ca see when the execution was stopped in the dll you want to debug.

GUI Apps / Videogames

ARM & MIPS

Shellcodes

Debugging a shellcode with blobrunner

Debugging a shellcode with jmp2it

Debugging shellcode using Cutter

Note that Cutter allows you to "Open File" and "Open Shellcode". In my case when I opened the shellcode as a file it decompiled it correctly, but when I opened it as a shellcode it didn't:

In order to start the emulation in the place you want to, set a bp there and apparently cutter will automatically start the emulation from there:

You can see the stack for example inside a hex dump:

Deobfuscating shellcode and getting executed functions

scdbg.exe -f shellcode # Get info
scdbg.exe -f shellcode -r #show analysis report at end of run
scdbg.exe -f shellcode -i -r #enable interactive hooks (file and network) and show analysis report at end of run
scdbg.exe -f shellcode -d #Dump decoded shellcode
scdbg.exe -f shellcode /findsc #Find offset where starts
scdbg.exe -f shellcode /foff 0x0000004D #Start the executing in that offset

scDbg also counts with a graphical launcher where you can select the options you want and execute the shellcode

The Create Dump option will dump the final shellcode if any change is done to the shellcode dynamically in memory (useful to download the decoded shellcode). The start offset can be useful to start the shellcode at a specific offset. The Debug Shell option is useful to debug the shellcode using the scDbg terminal (however I find any of the options explained before better for this matter as you will be able to use Ida or x64dbg).

Disassembling using CyberChef

This obfuscator modifies all the instructions for mov(yeah, really cool). It also uses interruptions to change executions flows. For more information about how does it works:

apt-get install libcapstone-dev
apt-get install libz3-dev

Rust

To find the entry point search the functions by ::main like in:

In this case the binary was called authenticator, so it's pretty obvious that this is the interesting main function. Having the name of the functions being called, search for them on the Internet to learn about their inputs and outputs.

Delphi

Just press ATL+f7 (import python plugin in IDA) and select the python plugin.

This plugin will execute the binary and resolve function names dynamically at the start of the debugging. After starting the debugging press again the Start button (the green one or f9) and a breakpoint will hit in the beginning of the real code.

It is also very interesting because if you press a button in the graphic application the debugger will stop in the function executed by that bottom.

Golang

Just press ATL+f7 (import python plugin in IDA) and select the python plugin.

This will resolve the names of the functions.

Compiled Python

In this page you can find how to get the python code from an ELF/EXE python compiled binary:

GBA - Game Body Advance

If you get the binary of a GBA game you can use different tools to emulate and debug it:

When pressed, each key has a value to identify it:

A = 1
B = 2
SELECT = 4
START = 8
RIGHT = 16
LEFT = 32
UP = 64
DOWN = 128
R = 256
L = 256

So, in this kind of program, the interesting part will be how the program treats the user input. In the address 0x4000130 you will find the commonly found function: KEYINPUT.

In the previous image you can find that the function is called from FUN_080015a8 (addresses: 0x080015fa and 0x080017ac).

In that function, after some init operations (without any importance):

void FUN_080015a8(void)

{
  ushort uVar1;
  undefined4 uVar2;
  undefined4 uVar3;
  ushort uVar4;
  int iVar5;
  ushort *puVar6;
  undefined *local_2c;
  
  DISPCNT = 0x1140;
  FUN_08000a74();
  FUN_08000ce4(1);
  DISPCNT = 0x404;
  FUN_08000dd0(&DAT_02009584,0x6000000,&DAT_030000dc);
  FUN_08000354(&DAT_030000dc,0x3c);
  uVar4 = DAT_030004d8;

It's found this code:

  do {
    DAT_030004da = uVar4; //This is the last key pressed
    DAT_030004d8 = KEYINPUT | 0xfc00;
    puVar6 = &DAT_0200b03c;
    uVar4 = DAT_030004d8;
    do {
      uVar2 = DAT_030004dc;
      uVar1 = *puVar6;
      if ((uVar1 & DAT_030004da & ~uVar4) != 0) {

The last if is checking uVar4 is in the last Keys and not is the current key, also called letting go off a button (current key is stored in uVar1).

        if (uVar1 == 4) {
          DAT_030000d4 = 0;
          uVar3 = FUN_08001c24(DAT_030004dc);
          FUN_08001868(uVar2,0,uVar3);
          DAT_05000000 = 0x1483;
          FUN_08001844(&DAT_0200ba18);
          FUN_08001844(&DAT_0200ba20,&DAT_0200ba40);
          DAT_030000d8 = 0;
          uVar4 = DAT_030004d8;
        }
        else {
          if (uVar1 == 8) {
            if (DAT_030000d8 == 0xf3) {
              DISPCNT = 0x404;
              FUN_08000dd0(&DAT_02008aac,0x6000000,&DAT_030000dc);
              FUN_08000354(&DAT_030000dc,0x3c);
              uVar4 = DAT_030004d8;
            }
          }
          else {
            if (DAT_030000d4 < 8) {
              DAT_030000d4 = DAT_030000d4 + 1;
              FUN_08000864();
              if (uVar1 == 0x10) {
                DAT_030000d8 = DAT_030000d8 + 0x3a;

In the previous code you can see that we are comparing uVar1 (the place where the value of the pressed button is) with some values:

First, it's compared with the value 4 (SELECT button): In the challenge this button clears the screen
Then, it's comparing it with the value 8 (START button): In the challenge this checks is the code is valid to get the flag.
- In this case the var DAT_030000d8 is compared with 0xf3 and if the value is the same some code is executed.
In any other cases, some cont (DAT_030000d4) is checked. It's a cont because it's adding 1 right after entering in the code. If less than 8 something that involves adding values to **DAT_030000d8 ** is done (basically it's adding the values of the keys pressed in this variable as long as the cont is less than 8).

So, in this challenge, knowing the values of the buttons, you needed to press a combination with a length smaller than 8 that the resulting addition is 0xf3.

Game Boy

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