Table of Contents for
The IDA Pro Book, 2nd Edition

Version ebook / Retour

Cover image for bash Cookbook, 2nd Edition The IDA Pro Book, 2nd Edition by Chris Eagle Published by No Starch Press, 2011
  1. Cover
  2. The IDA Pro Book
  3. PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION OF THE IDA PRO BOOK
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Introduction
  6. I. Introduction to IDA
  7. 1. Introduction to Disassembly
  8. The What of Disassembly
  9. The Why of Disassembly
  10. The How of Disassembly
  11. Summary
  12. 2. Reversing and Disassembly Tools
  13. Summary Tools
  14. Deep Inspection Tools
  15. Summary
  16. 3. IDA Pro Background
  17. Obtaining IDA Pro
  18. IDA Support Resources
  19. Your IDA Installation
  20. Thoughts on IDA’s User Interface
  21. Summary
  22. II. Basic IDA Usage
  23. 4. Getting Started with IDA
  24. IDA Database Files
  25. Introduction to the IDA Desktop
  26. Desktop Behavior During Initial Analysis
  27. IDA Desktop Tips and Tricks
  28. Reporting Bugs
  29. Summary
  30. 5. IDA Data Displays
  31. Secondary IDA Displays
  32. Tertiary IDA Displays
  33. Summary
  34. 6. Disassembly Navigation
  35. Stack Frames
  36. Searching the Database
  37. Summary
  38. 7. Disassembly Manipulation
  39. Commenting in IDA
  40. Basic Code Transformations
  41. Basic Data Transformations
  42. Summary
  43. 8. Datatypes and Data Structures
  44. Creating IDA Structures
  45. Using Structure Templates
  46. Importing New Structures
  47. Using Standard Structures
  48. IDA TIL Files
  49. C++ Reversing Primer
  50. Summary
  51. 9. Cross-References and Graphing
  52. IDA Graphing
  53. Summary
  54. 10. The Many Faces of IDA
  55. Using IDA’s Batch Mode
  56. Summary
  57. III. Advanced IDA Usage
  58. 11. Customizing IDA
  59. Additional IDA Configuration Options
  60. Summary
  61. 12. Library Recognition Using FLIRT Signatures
  62. Applying FLIRT Signatures
  63. Creating FLIRT Signature Files
  64. Summary
  65. 13. Extending IDA’s Knowledge
  66. Augmenting Predefined Comments with loadint
  67. Summary
  68. 14. Patching Binaries and Other IDA Limitations
  69. IDA Output Files and Patch Generation
  70. Summary
  71. IV. Extending IDA’s Capabilities
  72. 15. IDA Scripting
  73. The IDC Language
  74. Associating IDC Scripts with Hotkeys
  75. Useful IDC Functions
  76. IDC Scripting Examples
  77. IDAPython
  78. IDAPython Scripting Examples
  79. Summary
  80. 16. The IDA Software Development Kit
  81. The IDA Application Programming Interface
  82. Summary
  83. 17. The IDA Plug-in Architecture
  84. Building Your Plug-ins
  85. Installing Plug-ins
  86. Configuring Plug-ins
  87. Extending IDC
  88. Plug-in User Interface Options
  89. Scripted Plug-ins
  90. Summary
  91. 18. Binary Files and IDA Loader Modules
  92. Manually Loading a Windows PE File
  93. IDA Loader Modules
  94. Writing an IDA Loader Using the SDK
  95. Alternative Loader Strategies
  96. Writing a Scripted Loader
  97. Summary
  98. 19. IDA Processor Modules
  99. The Python Interpreter
  100. Writing a Processor Module Using the SDK
  101. Building Processor Modules
  102. Customizing Existing Processors
  103. Processor Module Architecture
  104. Scripting a Processor Module
  105. Summary
  106. V. Real-World Applications
  107. 20. Compiler Personalities
  108. RTTI Implementations
  109. Locating main
  110. Debug vs. Release Binaries
  111. Alternative Calling Conventions
  112. Summary
  113. 21. Obfuscated Code Analysis
  114. Anti–Dynamic Analysis Techniques
  115. Static De-obfuscation of Binaries Using IDA
  116. Virtual Machine-Based Obfuscation
  117. Summary
  118. 22. Vulnerability Analysis
  119. After-the-Fact Vulnerability Discovery with IDA
  120. IDA and the Exploit-Development Process
  121. Analyzing Shellcode
  122. Summary
  123. 23. Real-World IDA Plug-ins
  124. IDAPython
  125. collabREate
  126. ida-x86emu
  127. Class Informer
  128. MyNav
  129. IdaPdf
  130. Summary
  131. VI. The IDA Debugger
  132. 24. The IDA Debugger
  133. Basic Debugger Displays
  134. Process Control
  135. Automating Debugger Tasks
  136. Summary
  137. 25. Disassembler/Debugger Integration
  138. IDA Databases and the IDA Debugger
  139. Debugging Obfuscated Code
  140. IdaStealth
  141. Dealing with Exceptions
  142. Summary
  143. 26. Additional Debugger Features
  144. Debugging with Bochs
  145. Appcall
  146. Summary
  147. A. Using IDA Freeware 5.0
  148. Using IDA Freeware
  149. B. IDC/SDK Cross-Reference
  150. Index
  151. About the Author

Desktop Behavior During Initial Analysis

A tremendous amount of activity takes place within the IDA desktop during the initial autoanalysis of a newly opened file. You can gain an understanding of this analysis by observing various desktop displays during the analysis process. Desktop activity you may observe includes the following:

  • Progress messages printed to the Output window

  • Initial location and disassembly output generated for the disassembly window

  • Initial population of the Functions window, followed by periodic updates as the analysis progresses

  • Transformation of the navigation band as new areas of the binary are recognized as code and data, blocks of code are further recognized as functions, and, finally, functions are recognized specifically as library code using IDA’s pattern-matching techniques

  • The current position indicator traversing the navigation band to show the regions currently being analyzed

The following output is representative of messages generated by IDA during the initial analysis of a newly opened binary file. Notice that the messages form a narrative of the analysis process and offer insight into the sequence of operations performed by IDA during that analysis.

Loading file 'C:\IdaBook\ch4_example.exe' into database...
  Detected file format: Portable executable for 80386 (PE)
    0. Creating a new segment  (00401000-0040C000) ... ... OK
    1. Creating a new segment  (0040C000-0040E000) ... ... OK
    2. Creating a new segment  (0040E000-00411000) ... ... OK
  Reading imports directory...
    3. Creating a new segment  (0040C120-0040E000) ... ... OK
  Plan  FLIRT signature: Microsoft VisualC 2-10/net runtime
  autoload.cfg: vc32rtf.sig autoloads mssdk.til
  Assuming __cdecl calling convention by default
  main() function at 401070, named "_main"
  Marking typical code sequences...
  Flushing buffers, please wait...ok
  File 'C:\IdaBook\ch4_example.exe' is successfully loaded into the database.
  Compiling file 'C:\Program Files\IdaPro\idc\ida.idc'...
    Executing function 'main'...
  Compiling file 'C:\Program Files\IdaPro\idc\onload.idc'...
  Executing function 'OnLoad'...
  IDA is analysing the input file...
 You may start to explore the input file right now.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Python 2.6.5 (r265:79096, Mar 19 2010, 21:48:26) [MSC v.1500 32 bit (Intel)]
  IDAPython v1.4.2 final (serial 0) (c) The IDAPython Team
  <idapython@googlegroups.com>
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Using FLIRT signature: Microsoft VisualC 2-10/net runtime
  Propagating type information...
  Function argument information has been propagated
 The initial autoanalysis has been finished.

Two particularly helpful progress messages are You may start to explore the input file right now and The initial autoanalysis has been finished . The first message informs you that IDA has made enough progress with its analysis that you can begin navigating through the various data displays. Navigating does not imply changing, however, and you should wait to make any changes to the database until the analysis phase has been completed. If you attempt to change the database prior to completion of the analysis phase, the analysis engine may come along later and modify your changes further, or you may even prevent the analysis engine from doing its job correctly. The second of these messages, which is fairly self-explanatory, indicates that you can expect no more automatic changes to take place in the desktop data displays. At this point it is safe to make any changes you like to the database.