CAPEC-188
Reverse Engineering
An adversary discovers the structure, function, and composition of an object, resource, or system by using a variety of analysis techniques to effectively determine how the analyzed entity was constructed or operates. The goal of reverse engineering is often to duplicate the function, or a part of the function, of an object in order to duplicate or "back engineer" some aspect of its functioning. Reverse engineering techniques can be applied to mechanical objects, electronic devices, or software, although the methodology and techniques involved in each type of analysis differ widely.
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Explain the attack pattern CAPEC-188: Reverse Engineering: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/188.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/188?via=ask-ai-copy, which lists recent CVEs with the weaknesses it exploits. Cite the sources.Opens a third-party assistant; its answer is its own, not cve.bz's. The prompt holds only this attack pattern's id and public links.
Prerequisites
Access to targeted system, resources, and information.
Skills required
- High skill
Understanding of low level programming languages or technologies can be very helpful. For example, when reverse engineering a binary file, an understanding of assembly languages can help to determine the purpose and inner-workings of the code. Another example is reverse engineering an application that relies on networking. Here, an understanding networking protocols can provide insight into application details.
Resources required
The technical resources necessary to engage in reverse engineering differ in accordance with the type of object, resource, or system being analyzed.
Mitigations
Employ code obfuscation techniques to prevent the adversary from reverse engineering the targeted entity.
Weaknesses it exploits
- CWE-1278 Missing Protection Against Hardware Reverse Engineering Using Integrated Circuit (IC) Imaging Techniques
Recent CVEs with these weaknesses
- 6.4CVE-2021-38394
An attacker with physical access to the device can extract the binary that checks for the hardware key and reverse engineer it, which could be used to create a physical duplicate of a valid hardware key. The hardware key allows access to s…
The newest records naming one of them. Each weakness's page lists them all.
Related attack patterns
Examples
When adversaries are reverse engineering software, methodologies fall into two broad categories, 'white box' …
When adversaries are reverse engineering software, methodologies fall into two broad categories, 'white box' and 'black box.' White box techniques involve methods which can be applied to a piece of software when an executable or some other compiled object can be directly subjected to analysis, revealing at least a portion of its machine instructions that can be observed upon execution. 'Black Box' methods involve interacting with the software indirectly, in the absence of the ability to measure, instrument, or analyze an executable object directly. Such analysis typically involves interacting with the software at the boundaries of where the software interfaces with a larger execution environment, such as input-output vectors, libraries, or APIs.
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