Foundations of ARM64 Linux Debugging, Disassembling, and Reversing: Analyze Code, Understand Stack Memory Usage, and Reconstruct Original C/C++ Code with ARM64

Gain a solid understanding of how Linux C and C++ compilers generate binary code. This book explains the reversing and binary analysis of ARM64 architecture now used by major Linux cloud providers and covers topics ranging from writing programs in assembly language, live debugging, and static binary analysis of compiled C and C++ code. It is ideal for those working with embedded devices, including mobile phones and tablets.

Using the latest version of Red Hat, you'll look closely at the foundations of diagnostics of core memory dumps, live and postmortem debugging of Linux applications, services, and systems. You'll also work with the GDB debugger and use it for disassembly and reversing. This book uses practical step-by-step exercises of increasing complexity with explanations and many diagrams, including some necessary background topics. In addition, you will be able to analyze such code confidently, understand stack memory usage, and reconstruct original C/C++ code.

And as you'll see, memory forensics, malware, and vulnerability analysis, require an understanding of ARM64 assembly language and how C and C++ compilers generate code, including memory layout and pointers. This book provides the background knowledge and practical foundations you’ll need to understand internal Linux program structure and behavior.

Foundations of ARM64 Linux Debugging, Disassembling, and Reversing is the perfect companion to Foundations of Linux Debugging, Disassembling, and Reversing for readers interested in the cloud or cybersecurity.

What You'll Learn

• Review the basics of ARM64 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 ARM64 assembly language background, and beginners learning Linux software reverse engineering techniques.

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.