I Jailbroke DeepSeek… And It Got SCARY
https://youtu.be/HDkI_z3IQ9s?si=2ou0gw8vJYkVlB7T

Main Chapters:
Introduction
Memory Addressing
Processes
Interrupts and Exceptions
Timing Measurements
Memory Management
Process Address Space
System Calls
Signals
Process Scheduling
Kernel Synchronization
The Virtual Filesystem
I/O Device Management
Disk Caches
Accessing Regular Files
Swapping
The Ext2 Filesystem
Process Communication
Program Execution
Appendices: System Startup, Modules, Source Code Structure

Karta – Matching Open Sources in Binaries

https://research.checkpoint.com/karta-matching-open-sources-in-binaries/

Obfusk8 v1.5 released!

Enhanced AES string obfuscation with improved decryption reliability and stronger PE obfuscation hardening. Smoother, more resilient code protection.

https://github.com/x86byte/Obfusk8/releases/tag/v1.5

Post-Build PE Obfuscation

Obfusk8 includes a post-build script to further harden the compiled binary by removing forensic artifacts.

* Script Location: Obfusk8/Obfusk8/SCRIPTS/obfuscate_pe.ps1 at main · x86byte/Obfusk8
* What it does:
1. Strips the Rich Header — removes the MSVC build-environment fingerprint that reveals compiler version and toolchain details.
2. Spoofs the TimeDateStamp — replaces the PE header timestamp with a fixed value to obscure build time.
3. Clears the Debug Directory — wipes debug directory entries that could leak PDB paths or build metadata.
* Usage:
Run as a post-build step after compiling:
powershell PowerShell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File Obfusk8/SCRIPTS/obfuscate_pe.ps1 -Path "path\to\Obfusk8.exe"

The script modifies the binary in-place. No backup is created.

We’re building a small community around binary security research, focused on things like:

- Reverse Engineering
- Binary Obfuscation / Deobfuscation
- Exploit Development
- Compiler / interpreters...
- Malware Analysis
- Binary Hardening research

we also work on open source tools and experiments here:
GitHub → BinaryHardening GitHub
Discord → BinaryHardening Discord

Toolkit for Windows internals, vulnerability analysis, and reproducible security research workflows.

https://github.com/kernelstub/NTForge

Bypassing Denuvo in Hogwarts Legacy

https://momo5502.com/posts/2024-03-31-bypassing-denuvo-in-hogwarts-legacy/

A dive into the PE file format

https://0xrick.github.io/win-internals/pe1/
https://0xrick.github.io/win-internals/pe2/
https://0xrick.github.io/win-internals/pe3/
https://0xrick.github.io/win-internals/pe4/
https://0xrick.github.io/win-internals/pe5/
https://0xrick.github.io/win-internals/pe6/
[Mastering PE Structure for Malware Analysis: A Layman’s Guide](https://tech-zealots.com/malware-analysis/pe-portable-executable-structure-malware-analysis-part-2/)
[Peering Inside the PE: A Tour of the Win32 Portable Executable File Format](https://coffi.readthedocs.io/en/latest/peering_inside_pe.pdf)
https://0xrick.github.io/win-internals/pe8/

packages:
- c++ : https://lief.re/doc/stable/formats/pe/cpp.html
- rust : https://docs.rs/pe-parser/latest/pe_parser/
- python : https://pypi.org/project/pe-parser/


questions? :
- [What does "e_lfanew" mean in the DOS header for the PE format?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/47711282/what-does-e-lfanew-mean-in-the-dos-header-for-the-pe-format)
- [Disassemble Windows PE .data section (using python)](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/58775954/disassemble-windows-pe-data-section)
- [Loading a 64-bit Windows PE file from memory](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/68988499/loading-a-64-bit-windows-pe-file-from-memory)

Dispatcher قلب ماشین مجازی

اگر فقط یک قسمت از VMProtect یا هر Virtual Machine رو بخواید تحلیل کنید اون قسمت Dispatcher هست
Dispatcher
مسئول اینه که تصمیم بگیره الان کدوم Opcode باید اجرا بشه
بدون Dispatcher هیچ Opcode ی اجرا نمیشه
فرض کنید این بایت کد رو داریم:

01 10
02 20
03

اینجا:

01 یعنی LOAD
02 یعنی ADD
03 یعنی PRINT

Dispatcher
اولین بایت (01) رو میخونه تشخیص میده Opcode از نوع LOAD هست و کنترل رو به Handler مربوط به LOAD میده

بعد دوباره برمیگرده
حالا Opcode بعدی (02) رو میخونه و Handler مربوط به ADD اجرا میشه
دوباره برمیگرده
در آخر Opcode 03 اجرا میشه
در تمام این مدت فقط Dispatcher داره تصمیم میگیره مرحله بعدی چیه
به همین خاطر بهش میگن قلب ماشین مجازی
در اکثر ماشین‌های مجازی این چرخه دائماً
تکرار میشه:

خواندن Opcode

تشخیص نوع Opcode

اجرای Handler

برگشت به Dispatcher

خواندن Opcode بعدی

به این چرخه معمولا Fetch → Decode → Execute گفته میشه

تقریبا تمام CPU های دنیا هم با همین ایده کار میکنن
تنها تفاوت اینه که CPU دستورهای واقعی پردازنده رو اجرا میکنه ولی ماشین مجازی دستورهای اختصاصی خودش رو
وقتی Dispatcher رو داخل دیس‌ اسمبل پیدا کنید معمولا چند نشونه میبینی:

یک حلقه که دائما تکرار میشه

خواندن یک بایت از حافظه یا جدول Opcode ها

یک پرش غیرمستقیم یا انتخاب بین چند Handler

برگشت دوباره به ابتدای حلقه

به همین دلیل تحلیلگرها معمولا از Dispatcher شروع میکنن چون تمام مسیرهای اجرا از اون عبور میکنن

تمرین:

یک برنامه ساده بنویس که فقط سه Opcode داشته باشه:

LOAD
XOR
PRINT

بعد Dispatcher اونو رسم کنید
لازم نیست کد بنویسید فقط روی کاغذ مشخص کنید هر Opcode بعد از Dispatcher به کجا میره
وقتی این مفهوم رو کاملا درک کنید فهمیدن ماشین‌های مجازی پیچیده مثل VMProtect خیلی ساده‌تر میشه



Dispatcher is the heart of the virtual machine

If you want to analyze only one part of VMProtect or any Virtual Machine, that part is Dispatcher

Dispatcher
is responsible for deciding which Opcode should be executed now

Without Dispatcher, no Opcode can be executed

Suppose we have this byte code:

01 10

02 20

03

Here:

01 means LOAD

02 means ADD

03 means PRINT

Dispatcher
reads the first byte (01) and recognizes that the Opcode is of type LOAD and passes control to the Handler related to LOAD

Then it returns again

Now it reads the next Opcode (02) and the Handler related to ADD is executed

It returns again
Finally, Opcode 03 is executed

All this time, only Dispatcher is deciding what the next step is

That is why it is called the heart of the virtual machine

In most virtual machines, this cycle
is constantly
repeated:

Reading Opcode

Determining type Opcode

Execution of Handler

Return to Dispatcher

Read next Opcode

This cycle is usually called Fetch → Decode → Execute

Almost all CPUs in the world work with the same idea

The only difference is that the CPU executes the actual processor instructions, but the virtual machine executes its own instructions

When you find the Dispatcher in the disassembler, you will usually see a few signs:

A loop that repeats itself over and over

Reading a byte from memory or the Opcode table

An indirect jump or selection between several Handlers

Return to the beginning of the loop

That is why analysts usually start with the Dispatcher because all execution paths pass through it

Exercise:

Write a simple program that has only three Opcodes:

LOAD
XOR
PRINT

Then draw the Dispatcher

You don't need to write the code, just mark on paper where each Opcode goes after the Dispatcher

Once you fully understand this concept, understanding machines Complex virtualization like VMProtect becomes much simpler

@reverseengine

Persistence ماندگاری داده

فرض کنید فایل زیر رو ذخیره میکنید:

report.docx

بعد سیستم رو خاموش میکنید
روز بعد دوباره روشن میکنید
فایل هنوز وجود داره

چرا؟

چون داده روی حافظه دائمی ذخیره شده
اگر سیستم‌عامل Persistence نداشت:
با خاموش شدن سیستم همه چیز پاک میشد

هیچ فایلی وجود نداشت
هیچ دیتابیسی وجود نداشت

وظیفه سیستم‌عامل

سیستم‌عامل باید:

فایل‌ها رو ذخیره میکنن
پوشه‌ها رو مدیریت میکنن
خرابی اطلاعات رو کاهش میده
عملیات دیسک رو مدیریت میکنن

چرا برای مهندسی معکوس مهمه؟

چون بدافزارها و برنامه‌ها دائما با موارد زیر کار میکنن:

Files
Registry
Logs
Databases
Disk I/O

اگر File System رو نفهمید تحلیل بسیاری از رفتارهای برنامه سخت میشه




Persistence of data

Suppose you save the following file:

report.docx

Then you shut down the system

You turn it back on the next day
The file still exists

Why?

Because the data is stored in permanent memory

If the operating system did not have persistence:

Everything would be erased when the system was shut down

There would be no files

There would be no databases

Operating system tasks

The operating system must:

Store files

Manage folders

Reduce data corruption

Manage disk operations

Why is it important for reverse engineering?

Because malware and programs constantly work with:

Files

Registry

Logs

Databases

Disk I/O

If you do not understand the File System, it becomes difficult to analyze many of the behavior of the program

@reverseengine