Foundations of Linux Debugging, Disassembling, and Reversing - by Dmitry Vostokov (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Review topics ranging from Intel x64 assembly language instructions and writing programs in assembly language, to pointers, live debugging, and static binary analysis of compiled C and C++ code. This book is ideal for Linux desktop and cloud developers.

Using the latest version of Debian, you'll focus on the foundations of the diagnostics of core memory dumps, live and postmortem debugging of Linux applications, services, and systems, memory forensics, malware, and vulnerability analysis. This requires an understanding of x64 Intel assembly language and how C and C++ compilers generate code, including memory layout and pointers.

This book provides the back-ground knowledge and practical foundations you'll need in order to master internal Linux program structure and behavior. It consists of practical step-by-step exercises of increasing complexity with explanations and ample diagrams. You'll also work with the GDB debugger and use it for disassembly and reversing.

By the end of the book, you will have a solid understanding of how Linux C and C++ compilers generate binary code. In addition, you will be able to analyze such code confidently, understand stack memory usage, and reconstruct original C/C++ code. Foundations of Linux Debugging, Disassembling, and Reversing is the perfect companion to Foundations of ARM64 Linux Debugging, Disassembling, and Reversing for readers interested in the cloud or cybersecurity.

What You'll Learn

• Review the basics of x64 assembly language
• Examine the essential GDB debugger commands for debugging and binary analysis
• Study C and C++ compiler code generation with and without compiler optimizations
• Look at binary code disassembly and reversing patterns
• See how pointers in C and C++ are implemented and used

Who This Book Is For

Software support and escalation engineers, cloud security engineers, site reliability engineers, DevSecOps, platform engineers, software testers, Linux C/C++ software engineers and security researchers without Intel x64 assembly language background, beginners learning Linux software reverse engineering techniques, and engineers coming from non-Linux environments.

From the Back Cover

Review topics ranging from Intel x64 assembly language instructions and writing programs in assembly language, to pointers, live debugging, and static binary analysis of compiled C and C++ code. This book is ideal for Linux desktop and cloud developers.

Using the latest version of Debian, you'll focus on the foundations of the diagnostics of core memory dumps, live and postmortem debugging of Linux applications, services, and systems, memory forensics, malware, and vulnerability analysis. This requires an understanding of x64 Intel assembly language and how C and C++ compilers generate code, including memory layout and pointers.

This book provides the back-ground knowledge and practical foundations you'll need in order to master internal Linux program structure and behavior. It consists of practical step-by-step exercises of increasing complexity with explanations and ample diagrams. You'll also work with the GDB debugger and use it for disassembly and reversing.

By the end of the book, you will have a solid understanding of how Linux C and C++ compilers generate binary code. In addition, you will be able to analyze such code confidently, understand stack memory usage, and reconstruct original C/C++ code. Foundations of Linux Debugging, Disassembling, and Reversing is the perfect companion to Foundations of ARM64 Linux Debugging, Disassembling, and Reversing for readers interested in the cloud or cybersecurity.

You will:

• Review the basics of x64 assembly language
• Examine the essential GDB debugger commands for debugging and binary analysis
• Study C and C++ compiler code generation with and without compiler optimizations
• Look at binary code disassembly and reversing patterns
• See how pointers in C and C++ are implemented and used

About the Author

Dmitry Vostokov is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, educator, scientist, inventor, and author. He is the founder of the pattern-oriented software diagnostics, forensics, and prognostics discipline (Systematic Software Diagnostics), and Software Diagnostics Institute (DA+TA: DumpAnalysis.org + TraceAnalysis.org). Vostokov has also authored books on software diagnostics, anomaly detection and analysis, software and memory forensics, root cause analysis and problem solving, memory dump analysis, debugging, software trace and log analysis, reverse engineering, and malware analysis. He has over 25 years of experience in software architecture, design, development, and maintenance in various industries, including leadership, technical, and people management roles. In his spare time, he presents various topics on Debugging.TV and explores Software Narratology, its further development as Narratology of Things and Diagnostics of Things (DoT), Software Pathology, and Quantum Software Diagnostics. His current interest areas are theoretical software diagnostics and its mathematical and computer science foundations, application of formal logic, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data mining to diagnostics and anomaly detection, software diagnostics engineering and diagnostics-driven development, diagnostics workflow, and interaction. Recent interest areas also include cloud native computing, security, automation, functional programming, and applications of category theory to software development and big data. He is based out of Dublin, Ireland.