#!/usr/bin/env python3 """ARM/Thumb decoding switch, against real Thumb code. Thumb isn't a property of the bytes — it's a mode the CPU is in — so a raw image gives IDA no way to know. At a Thumb entry point it decodes 16-bit instructions as 32-bit ARM and produces confident nonsense, and `c` either fails or carves garbage. `t` switches the mode. Uses experiments/fibonacci.bin (real Thumb), so the encodings are not a guess. Needs IDA. ~40s. """ import asyncio import os import sys sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))) from textual.widgets import Static # noqa: E402 from idatui.app import DecompView, IdaTui, ListingView # noqa: E402 PASS = FAIL = 0 BIN = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))), "experiments", "fibonacci.bin") def check(name, ok, detail=""): global PASS, FAIL if ok: PASS += 1 print(f" ok {name}") else: FAIL += 1 print(f" FAIL {name} {detail}") async def wait(pred, pilot, t=240.0): for _ in range(int(t / 0.05)): await pilot.pause(0.05) try: if pred(): return True except Exception: # noqa: BLE001 pass return False async def run() -> int: # A fresh database every time: the T flag and the segment's addressing mode # are SAVED in the .i64, so a previous run would answer the question for us. for ext in (".i64", ".id0", ".id1", ".id2", ".nam", ".til"): try: os.remove(BIN + ext) except OSError: pass app = IdaTui(open_path=BIN, keepalive=False, load_args="-parm") async with app.run_test(size=(140, 44)) as pilot: await wait(lambda: app._func_index is not None and app._func_index.complete, pilot) await wait(lambda: app._cur is not None, pilot, 60) lst = app.query_one(ListingView) lst.focus() lst.cursor = lst.model.index_of_ea(0) lst._scroll_cursor_into_view() await pilot.pause(0.3) check("starts undefined at the entry", lst.model.get(lst.cursor).kind == "unknown", f"{lst.model.get(lst.cursor).text!r}") # `c` in the wrong mode: this is the failure being fixed. It must NOT # quietly carve garbage — either it refuses, or whatever it makes is not # the Thumb prologue. m0 = lst.model await pilot.press("c") await pilot.pause(2.5) h = lst.model.get(lst.model.index_of_ea(0)) check("`c` alone does not produce the Thumb prologue", h is None or h.kind != "code" or "PUSH" not in h.text.upper(), f"{h.text if h else None!r}") m1 = lst.model await pilot.press("t") await wait(lambda: lst.model is not m1 and lst.model is not None, pilot, 60) await pilot.pause(0.5) status = str(app.query_one("#status", Static).render()) check("the status says it switched to Thumb", "Thumb" in status, status[:90]) # Thumb doesn't exist in AArch64, and -parm on a headerless blob gives a # 64-bit segment, so setting T alone would change nothing and look broken. check("and says it forced the segment to 32-bit", "32-bit" in status, status[:90]) m = lst.model rows = [m.get(m.index_of_ea(ea)) for ea in (0x0, 0x2, 0x4)] check("the entry decodes as Thumb", rows[0] is not None and rows[0].kind == "code" and "PUSH" in rows[0].text.upper(), f"{rows[0].text if rows[0] else None!r}") # 16-bit instructions: the addresses are 2 apart, which is the whole # point — in ARM mode these would be one 4-byte instruction. check("instructions are 16-bit wide", all(r is not None and r.kind == "code" and r.size == 2 for r in rows), f"{[(hex(r.ea), r.size, r.text) for r in rows if r]}") check("and it kept disassembling past the first one", sum(1 for i in range(20) if (m.get(i) or h).kind == "code") > 5, "expected a run of instructions, not one") # Toggling back must be possible — the mode is a guess and guesses get # revised. m2 = lst.model lst.cursor = lst.model.index_of_ea(0) await pilot.press("t") await wait(lambda: lst.model is not m2 and lst.model is not None, pilot, 60) await pilot.pause(0.5) status = str(app.query_one("#status", Static).render()) check("`t` toggles back to ARM", "ARM @" in status, status[:80]) # -- and the reason a carved function wouldn't decompile ---------------- # # Bare 'arm' gives a 64-BIT database. Thumb doesn't exist there, and # Hex-Rays refuses a 32-bit function outright ("only 64-bit functions can be # decompiled in the current database") — so `t` produces correct-looking # disassembly that F5 can never turn into pseudocode. The database's bitness # is fixed at load and cannot be corrected afterwards, so the only honest # thing is to say so. for ext in (".i64", ".id0", ".id1", ".id2", ".nam", ".til"): try: os.remove(BIN + ext) except OSError: pass app = IdaTui(open_path=BIN, keepalive=False, load_args="-parm") # 64-bit async with app.run_test(size=(140, 44)) as pilot: await wait(lambda: app._func_index is not None and app._func_index.complete, pilot) await wait(lambda: app._cur is not None, pilot, 60) lst = app.query_one(ListingView) lst.focus() lst.cursor = lst.model.index_of_ea(0) lst._scroll_cursor_into_view() await pilot.pause(0.3) m = lst.model await pilot.press("t") await wait(lambda: lst.model is not m and lst.model is not None, pilot, 60) await pilot.pause(0.5) status = str(app.query_one("#status", Static).render()) check("a 64-bit database warns that Hex-Rays won't decompile", "64-bit" in status and "decompile" in status, status[:120]) check("and names the fix", "ARMv7-A" in status, status[:120]) # And if you ignore that and carry on, the failure has to say WHY. The # plain decompile tool reports "Decompilation failed at 0x0" and drops # the reason, which is the only part that tells you what to do — with it # missing, F5 doing nothing is indistinguishable from a bug in the TUI. lst.cursor = lst.model.index_of_ea(0) await pilot.pause(0.2) mp = lst.model await pilot.press("p") await wait(lambda: lst.model is not mp and lst.model is not None, pilot, 60) await wait(lambda: app._func_index is not None and len(app._func_index) > 0, pilot, 60) await pilot.press("tab") await wait(lambda: "cannot decompile" in str(app.query_one("#status", Static).render()), pilot, 90) status = str(app.query_one("#status", Static).render()) # The message must say what to DO. Hex-Rays' own sentence ("only 64-bit # functions can be decompiled in the current database") describes the # database, not the fix, and is long enough that a status bar cuts off # the end — which is where an appended hint would have lived. check("a failed decompile names the fix, not just the diagnosis", "Ctrl+L" in status and "ARMv7-A" in status, status[:130]) check("and the reason survives the view reloading under it", "cannot decompile" in status, status[:130]) check("the message fits a narrow status bar", len(status) < 110, f"{len(status)} chars: {status[:130]}") # -- the whole point: a 32-bit database decompiles ---------------------- # for ext in (".i64", ".id0", ".id1", ".id2", ".nam", ".til"): try: os.remove(BIN + ext) except OSError: pass app = IdaTui(open_path=BIN, keepalive=False, load_args="-parm:ARMv7-A") async with app.run_test(size=(140, 44)) as pilot: await wait(lambda: app._func_index is not None and app._func_index.complete, pilot) # A 32-bit ARM database also lets auto-analysis do its job on Thumb code, # which is why this one lands in the symbol picker rather than nowhere. check("a 32-bit ARM database finds functions by itself", len(app._func_index) > 5, f"n={len(app._func_index)}") await pilot.press("escape") await pilot.pause(0.5) f = app._func_index.all_loaded()[0] app._goto_ea(f.addr, push=True) await wait(lambda: app._cur is not None and app.query_one(ListingView).model is not None, pilot, 60) app.query_one(ListingView).focus() await pilot.press("tab") dec = app.query_one(DecompView) got = await wait(lambda: dec.display and dec._texts, pilot, 90) check("Tab decompiles a Thumb function", got and len(dec._texts) > 3, f"lines={len(dec._texts or [])}") check("and it reads like C", any("(" in t and ")" in t for t in (dec._texts or [])[:3]), f"{(dec._texts or [])[:3]}") # -- Thumb entry points from a vector table ----------------------------- # # An ARM function pointer carries the mode in bit 0: odd means Thumb. A # Cortex-M vector table is therefore a list of Thumb entry points, and IDA # won't follow them on a headerless image because nothing says those words # are pointers at all. vec = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))), "experiments", "cortexm.bin") if not os.path.isfile(vec): check("the cortexm fixture exists", False, vec) else: for ext in (".i64", ".id0", ".id1", ".id2", ".nam", ".til"): try: os.remove(vec + ext) except OSError: pass app = IdaTui(open_path=vec, keepalive=False, load_args="-parm:ARMv7-M") async with app.run_test(size=(140, 44)) as pilot: await wait(lambda: app._func_index is not None and app._func_index.complete, pilot) check("a bare vector table gives IDA nothing to go on", len(app._func_index) == 0, f"n={len(app._func_index)}") if type(app.screen).__name__ != "Screen": await pilot.press("escape") await pilot.pause(0.5) app._goto_ea(0, push=True) lst = app.query_one(ListingView) await wait(lambda: lst.model is not None, pilot, 60) lst.focus() lst.cursor = lst.model.index_of_ea(0) lst._scroll_cursor_into_view() await pilot.pause(0.3) await pilot.press("T") await wait(lambda: app._func_index is not None and len(app._func_index) >= 3, pilot, 90) names = sorted(f.name for f in app._func_index.all_loaded()) check("scanning the table finds the Thumb handlers", names == ["sub_200", "sub_240", "sub_280"], f"{names}") # The table also holds an even word (the initial stack pointer), an # even in-range word and an odd word pointing outside the image. All # three must be ignored — marking a data word as code corrupts the # listing, so the cost of a false positive is high. check("and ignores the words that aren't Thumb pointers", len(app._func_index) == 3, f"n={len(app._func_index)}") status = str(app.query_one("#status", Static).render()) check("the result survives the reload AND the reindex", "3 Thumb entries" in status, status[:90]) print(f"\n{PASS} passed, {FAIL} failed") return 1 if FAIL else 0 if __name__ == "__main__": if not os.path.isfile(BIN): print(f"no such binary: {BIN}") raise SystemExit(2) raise SystemExit(asyncio.run(run()))