Dynamic Analysis (Phase 4)

Purpose

Observe actual runtime behavior. Verify hypotheses from static analysis. Capture data that's only visible during execution.

Human-in-the-Loop Requirement

CRITICAL: All execution requires human approval.

Before running ANY binary:

Confirm sandbox configuration is acceptable
Verify network isolation if required
Document what execution will attempt
Get explicit approval

Platform Support Matrix

Host Platform	Target Arch	Method	Complexity
Linux x86_64	ARM32/64, MIPS	Native `qemu-user`	Low
Linux x86_64	x86-32	Native or `linux32`	Low
macOS (any)	ARM32/64	Docker + binfmt	Medium
macOS (any)	x86-32	Docker `--platform linux/i386`	Medium
Windows	Any	WSL2 → Linux method	Medium

macOS Docker Setup (One-Time)

# Start Docker runtime (Colima, Docker Desktop, etc.)
colima start

# Register ARM emulation handlers (requires privileged mode)
docker run --rm --privileged --platform linux/arm64 \
  tonistiigi/binfmt --install arm

Docker Mount Best Practices

CRITICAL: On Colima, /tmp mounts often fail silently. Always use home directory paths:

# ✅ GOOD - use home directory
docker run -v ~/code/samples:/work:ro ...

# ❌ BAD - /tmp mounts can fail on Colima
docker run -v /tmp/samples:/work:ro ...

Analysis Options

Method	Isolation	Granularity	Best For
QEMU -strace	High	Syscall level	Initial behavior mapping
QEMU + GDB	High	Instruction level	Detailed debugging
Docker	High	Process level	Cross-arch on macOS
Frida	Medium	Function level	Hooking without recompilation
On-device	Low	Full system	When emulation fails

Option A: QEMU User-Mode with Syscall Trace

Safest approach - runs in isolation with syscall logging.

Setup

# Verify sysroot exists
ls /usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf/lib/libc.so*

# ARM 32-bit execution
qemu-arm -L /usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf -strace -- ./binary

# ARM 64-bit execution
qemu-aarch64 -L /usr/aarch64-linux-gnu -strace -- ./binary

Sysroot Selection

Binary ABI	Sysroot Path	QEMU Flag
ARM glibc hard-float	`/usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf`	`-L`
ARM glibc soft-float	`/usr/arm-linux-gnueabi`	`-L`
ARM64 glibc	`/usr/aarch64-linux-gnu`	`-L`
ARM musl	Custom extraction needed	`-L`

Environment Control

# Set environment variables
qemu-arm -L /sysroot \
  -E HOME=/tmp \
  -E USER=nobody \
  -E LD_DEBUG=bindings \
  -- ./binary

# Unset dangerous variables
qemu-arm -L /sysroot \
  -U LD_PRELOAD \
  -- ./binary

Syscall Analysis

Strace output patterns to watch:

# Network activity
openat.*socket
connect(.*AF_INET
sendto\|send\|write.*socket
recvfrom\|recv\|read.*socket

# File access
openat.*O_RDONLY.*"/etc
openat.*O_WRONLY
stat\|lstat.*"/

# Process operations
execve
fork\|clone

Option B: QEMU + GDB for Deep Debugging

Attach debugger for instruction-level control.

Launch Binary Under GDB

# Start QEMU with GDB server
qemu-arm -g 1234 -L /usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf ./binary &

# Connect with gdb-multiarch
gdb-multiarch -q \
  -ex "set architecture arm" \
  -ex "target remote :1234" \
  -ex "source ~/.gdbinit-gef.py" \
  ./binary

GDB Commands for RE

# Breakpoints
break *0x8400              # Address
break main                 # Symbol
break *0x8400 if $r0 == 5  # Conditional

# Execution control
continue                   # Run until break
stepi                      # Single instruction
nexti                      # Step over calls
finish                     # Run until return

# Inspection
info registers             # All registers
x/20i $pc                  # Disassemble from PC
x/10wx $sp                 # Stack contents
x/s 0x12345                # String at address

# Memory
find 0x8000, 0x10000, "pattern"  # Search memory
dump memory /tmp/mem.bin 0x8000 0x9000  # Extract region

GEF Enhancements

With GEF loaded, additional commands:

gef> vmmap                 # Memory layout
gef> checksec              # Security features
gef> context               # Full state display
gef> hexdump qword $sp 10  # Better hex dump
gef> pcustom               # Structure definitions

Batch Debugging Script

# Create GDB script
cat > analyze.gdb << 'EOF'
set architecture arm
target remote :1234
break main
continue
info registers
x/20i $pc
continue
quit
EOF

# Run batch
gdb-multiarch -batch -x analyze.gdb ./binary

Option C: Frida for Function Hooking

Intercept function calls without modifying binary.

⚠️ Architecture Constraint: Frida requires native-arch execution. It cannot attach to QEMU-user targets.

Scenario	Works?	Alternative
Native binary (x86_64 on x86_64)	✅	-
Cross-arch under QEMU-user	❌	Use on-device frida-server
Docker native-arch container	✅	-
Docker cross-arch (emulated)	❌	Use on-device frida-server

For cross-arch Frida, deploy frida-server to the target device:

# On target device:
./frida-server &

# On host:
frida -H device:27042 -f ./binary -l hook.js --no-pause

Basic Hook

// hook_connect.js
Interceptor.attach(Module.findExportByName(null, "connect"), {
  onEnter: function(args) {
    console.log("[connect] Called");
    var sockaddr = args[1];
    var family = sockaddr.readU16();
    if (family == 2) { // AF_INET
      var port = sockaddr.add(2).readU16();
      var ip = sockaddr.add(4).readByteArray(4);
      console.log("  Port: " + ((port >> 8) | ((port & 0xff) << 8)));
      console.log("  IP: " + new Uint8Array(ip).join("."));
    }
  },
  onLeave: function(retval) {
    console.log("  Return: " + retval);
  }
});

# Run with Frida
frida -f ./binary -l hook_connect.js --no-pause

Tracing All Calls to Library

// trace_libcurl.js
var libcurl = Process.findModuleByName("libcurl.so.4");
if (libcurl) {
  libcurl.enumerateExports().forEach(function(exp) {
    if (exp.type === "function") {
      Interceptor.attach(exp.address, {
        onEnter: function(args) {
          console.log("[" + exp.name + "] called");
        }
      });
    }
  });
}

Memory Inspection

// dump_memory.js
var base = Module.findBaseAddress("binary");
console.log("Base: " + base);

// Dump region
var data = base.add(0x1000).readByteArray(256);
console.log(hexdump(data, { offset: 0, length: 256 }));

Option D: Docker-Based Cross-Architecture (macOS)

Use Docker for cross-arch execution when native QEMU unavailable.

ARM32 Binary on macOS

docker run --rm --platform linux/arm/v7 \
  -v ~/code/samples:/work:ro \
  arm32v7/debian:bullseye-slim \
  sh -c '
    # Fix linker path mismatch (common issue)
    ln -sf /lib/ld-linux-armhf.so.3 /lib/ld-linux.so.3 2>/dev/null || true

    # Install dependencies if needed (check rabin2 -l output)
    apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -qq -y libcap2 libacl1 2>/dev/null

    # Run with library debug output (strace alternative)
    LD_DEBUG=libs /work/binary args
  '

ARM64 Binary on macOS

docker run --rm --platform linux/arm64 \
  -v ~/code/samples:/work:ro \
  arm64v8/debian:bullseye-slim \
  sh -c 'LD_DEBUG=libs /work/binary args'

x86 32-bit Binary on macOS

docker run --rm --platform linux/i386 \
  -v ~/code/samples:/work:ro \
  i386/debian:bullseye-slim \
  sh -c '/work/binary args'

Tracing Limitations in Docker/QEMU User-Mode

Method	Works?	Alternative
strace	❌ (ptrace not implemented)	`LD_DEBUG=files,libs`
ltrace	❌ (same reason)	Direct observation or Frida
gdb	✓ (with QEMU `-g` flag)	N/A

LD_DEBUG Options (strace alternative)

LD_DEBUG=libs     # Library search and loading
LD_DEBUG=files    # File operations during loading
LD_DEBUG=symbols  # Symbol resolution
LD_DEBUG=bindings # Symbol binding details
LD_DEBUG=all      # Everything (verbose)

Option E: On-Device Analysis

When emulation fails or device-specific behavior needed.

Remote GDB via gdbserver

# On target device (via SSH/ADB)
gdbserver :1234 ./binary

# On host (with port forward)
ssh -L 1234:localhost:1234 user@device &
gdb-multiarch -q \
  -ex "target remote localhost:1234" \
  ./binary

Remote strace (if available)

# On target device
strace -f -o /tmp/trace.log ./binary

# Pull log
scp user@device:/tmp/trace.log .

Sandbox Configuration

Minimal Sandbox (nsjail)

nsjail \
  --mode o \
  --chroot /sysroot \
  --user 65534 \
  --group 65534 \
  --disable_clone_newnet \
  --rlimit_as 512 \
  --time_limit 60 \
  -- /binary

QEMU with Resource Limits

# CPU time limit
timeout 60 qemu-arm -L /sysroot -strace ./binary

# Memory limit via cgroup (requires setup)
cgexec -g memory:qemu_sandbox qemu-arm -L /sysroot ./binary

Anti-Analysis Detection

Before dynamic analysis, check for common anti-debugging/anti-analysis patterns:

Static Detection (Pre-Execution)

# Check for anti-debug strings/imports
strings -a binary | grep -Ei 'ptrace|anti|debugger|seccomp|LD_PRELOAD|/proc/self'

# r2: Look for ptrace/prctl/seccomp imports
r2 -q -c 'iij' binary | jq '.[].name' | grep -Ei 'ptrace|prctl|seccomp'

# Common anti-analysis indicators:
# - ptrace(PTRACE_TRACEME) - Prevent debugger attach
# - prctl(PR_SET_DUMPABLE, 0) - Prevent core dumps
# - seccomp - Syscall filtering
# - /proc/self/status checks - Detect TracerPid

Runtime Detection

# If native execution possible:
strace -f ./binary 2>&1 | grep -E 'ptrace|prctl|seccomp|/proc/self'

Mitigation Strategies

Pattern	Detection	Bypass
`ptrace(TRACEME)`	Returns EPERM if debugger attached	Patch call to NOP, use QEMU
`/proc/self/status` check	Reads TracerPid field	Use QEMU (no /proc emulation)
Timing checks	`gettimeofday`/`rdtsc` loops	Single-step with GDB, patch checks
Self-checksum	Reads own binary/memory	Compute expected checksum, patch

When anti-analysis detected: Prefer QEMU-strace over GDB (fewer detection vectors), or patch checks in r2 before execution.

Error Recovery

Error	Cause	Solution
`Unsupported syscall`	QEMU limitation	Try Qiling or on-device
`Invalid ELF image`	Wrong arch/sysroot	Verify `file` output
`Segfault at 0x0`	Missing library	Check `ldd` equivalent
`QEMU hangs`	Blocking on I/O	Add timeout, check strace
`Anti-debugging`	Detection code	Use Frida stalker mode
`exec format error` in Docker	binfmt not registered	Run `tonistiigi/binfmt --install arm`
`ld-linux.so.3 not found`	Linker path mismatch	Create symlink in container
`libXXX.so not found`	Missing dependency	`apt install` in container
Empty mount in Docker	Colima /tmp issue	Use `~/` path instead of `/tmp/`
`ptrace: Operation not permitted`	strace in QEMU	Use `LD_DEBUG` instead

Output Format

Record observations as structured data:

{
  "experiment": {
    "id": "exp_001",
    "method": "qemu_strace",
    "command": "qemu-arm -L /usr/arm-linux-gnueabihf -strace ./binary",
    "duration_secs": 12,
    "exit_code": 0
  },
  "syscall_summary": {
    "network": {
      "socket": 2,
      "connect": 1,
      "send": 5,
      "recv": 3
    },
    "file": {
      "openat": 4,
      "read": 12,
      "close": 4
    }
  },
  "network_connections": [
    {
      "family": "AF_INET",
      "address": "192.168.1.100",
      "port": 8443,
      "protocol": "tcp"
    }
  ],
  "files_accessed": [
    {"path": "/etc/config.json", "mode": "read"},
    {"path": "/var/log/app.log", "mode": "write"}
  ],
  "hypotheses_tested": [
    {
      "hypothesis_id": "hyp_001",
      "result": "confirmed",
      "evidence": "connect() to 192.168.1.100:8443 observed"
    }
  ]
}

Knowledge Journaling

After dynamic analysis, record findings for episodic memory:

[BINARY-RE:dynamic] {filename} (sha256: {hash})

Execution method: {qemu-strace|qemu-gdb|frida|on-device}
DECISION: Approved execution with {sandbox_config} (rationale: {why_safe})

Runtime observations:
  FACT: Binary reads {path} (source: strace openat)
  FACT: Binary connects to {ip}:{port} (source: strace connect)
  FACT: Binary writes to {path} (source: strace write)
  FACT: Function {addr} receives args {values} at runtime (source: gdb)

Syscall summary:
  Network: {socket|connect|send|recv counts}
  File: {open|read|write|close counts}
  Process: {fork|exec|clone counts}

HYPOTHESIS UPDATE: {confirmed or refined theory} (confidence: {new_value})
  Confirmed by: {runtime observation}
  Contradicted by: {if any}

New questions:
  QUESTION: {runtime-discovered unknown}

Answered questions:
  RESOLVED: {question} → {runtime evidence}

Example Journal Entry

[BINARY-RE:dynamic] thermostat_daemon (sha256: a1b2c3d4...)

Execution method: qemu-strace
DECISION: Approved execution with network-blocked sandbox (rationale: static analysis shows outbound only, no server)

Runtime observations:
  FACT: Binary reads /etc/thermostat.conf at startup (source: strace openat)
  FACT: Binary attempts connect to 93.184.216.34:443 (source: strace connect)
  FACT: Binary writes to /var/log/thermostat.log (source: strace openat O_WRONLY)
  FACT: sleep(30) called between network attempts (source: strace nanosleep)

Syscall summary:
  Network: socket(2), connect(1-blocked), send(0), recv(0)
  File: openat(4), read(12), write(8), close(4)
  Process: none

HYPOTHESIS UPDATE: Telemetry client confirmed - reads config, attempts HTTPS to thermco servers every 30s (confidence: 0.95)
  Confirmed by: connect() to expected IP, sleep(30) timing, config file read
  Contradicted by: none

Answered questions:
  RESOLVED: "Does it actually phone home?" → Yes, connect() to 93.184.216.34:443 observed
  RESOLVED: "What files does it access?" → /etc/thermostat.conf (read), /var/log/thermostat.log (write)

Next Steps

→ binary-re-synthesis to compile findings into report → Additional static analysis if new functions identified → Repeat with different inputs if behavior varies

binary-re:dynamic-analysis