Vector35 / Vector35/binaryninja-api

Better handling of conflicing symbol name information from PDB and PE exports

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Component: DebugInfo DebugInfo: PDB Effort: Low Impact: Low
Dominant language
C++
Stars
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Forks
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

When we build a Debug DLL with MSVC, and there is a function named myFunc in it. Now, for the very same function, the DLL will export it as myFunc since this is how the .exe file is gonna find it. The PDB file calls it j_myFunc because this is how the debug build names it.

The problem is, when we load the PDB, the name is overwritten and we only see j_myFunc as its name. I do not know why loading the symbol info from PDB causes this, since we support multiple symbols at the same address.

image

If we do not load the PDB, the actual name is obtained:

image

library.zip

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Research direction

Reproduce the conflict with the attached library.zip by comparing symbol names with and without loading its PDB. Trace the symbol-loading path for the PDB and PE exports, then verify that both names remain available for the same address and that the exported name is not overwritten.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
reverse-engineering
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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