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Lambda Calculus for Binary Security and Analysis

Staursky, Joseph N
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin161710963374672

Abstract Details

2021, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering and Applied Science: Computer Science.
In the field of binary analysis, representations that make binary data easier to understand are es- sential. Consider an organization that is experiencing issues with its software whose source code has long been lost. In such cases, a reverse engineer will need to comprehend large amounts of binary file data to patch the executable file(s) and repair the system (e.g., [Sta17]). This is both time-consuming and costly. The problem is a lack of variety in current tooling, which makes it dif- ficult for reverse engineers to quickly comprehend the structure and behavior of executable files at runtime. To meet this need, this thesis proposes a binary analysis method that uses lambda calcu- lus to distill data into adjustable levels of detail. By taking information and making it adjustable, a big-picture perspective can be formed along with varying degrees of refinement. In particular, through lambda calculus, lengths of consecutive instructions within a binary will be shown to con- dense down into a single memory state function. The number of instructions to reduce will depend on the granularity of information desired. When more instructions are applied to a reduction, the information granularity becomes ”coarser” or less localized, as subsequent instructions begin to overwrite the values of previous instructions. Using the method proposed, an application to bi- nary analysis is demonstrated as it relates to binary security. Weaknesses are identified within a binary, and it is shown how lambda calculus helps formulate an exploit targeting these weaknesses, thereby solidifying lambda calculus’s role as a viable resource in binary analysis.
Anca Ralescu, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Kenneth Berman, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
David Kapp, PhD (Committee Member)
Temesguen Messay Kebede, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Dan Ralescu, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
54 p.
Computer Science
Binary Analysis; ELF; Lambda Calculus; Return Oriented Programming

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Staursky, J. N. (2021). Lambda Calculus for Binary Security and Analysis [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin161710963374672

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Staursky, Joseph. Lambda Calculus for Binary Security and Analysis. 2021. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin161710963374672.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Staursky, Joseph. "Lambda Calculus for Binary Security and Analysis." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin161710963374672

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin161710963374672
144
© 2021, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Lambda Calculus for Binary Security and Analysis by Joseph N Staursky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.