x86 Disassembly

Ever wonder what the relationship was between the C programming language, Assembly Language, and machine code on the x86 family of microprocessors? Learn the art of disassembly and reverse engineering on the x86 platform with the x86 Disassembly wikibook!

Preface

The act of program creation, using common compilers and assemblers, takes software from an information-rich source code format and transforms it into a difficult-to-read machine code format. The reverse process, trying to convert machine code into a human-readable format, is significantly more difficult and requires high-level intuition and pattern matching skills.

This book is going to discuss the disassembly and decompilation of x86 machine code and x86 assembly code.

This book is new and could use your help. We need help with proof-reading, content authoring, editing and more. This is a wiki, so feel free to join in.

Table of Contents

• Cover
• Introduction

Tools

• Assemblers and Compilers
• Disassemblers and Decompilers
• Disassembly Examples
• Analysis Tools

Platforms

• Microsoft Windows
  • Windows Executable Files
• GNU/Linux
  • Linux Executable Files
• OS X
  • OS X Executable Files

Code Patterns

• The Stack
• Functions and Stack Frames
  • Functions and Stack Frame Examples
• Calling Conventions
  • Calling Convention Examples
• Branches
  • Branch Examples
• Loops
  • Loop Examples

Data Patterns

• Variables
  • Variable Examples
• Data Structures
• Objects and Classes
• Floating Point Numbers
  • Floating Point Examples

Difficulties

• Code Optimization
  • Optimization Examples
• Code Obfuscation
• Debugger Detectors

Resources and Licensing

• Resources
• Licensing
• Manual of Style