Vector35 / Vector35/binaryninja-api

Unable to create ExternalSymbols in non-PE views

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Component: BinaryViewType Effort: Trivial Impact: Low
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Version and Platform (required):

  • Binary Ninja Version: 4.1.5403-dev Personal (45205530)
  • OS: Ubuntu Linux
  • OS Version: 22.04
  • CPU Architecture: x64

Bug Description:
When in a non-PE view, symbols of type ExternalSymbol will not get created.

Steps To Reproduce:
Please provide all steps required to reproduce the behavior:

  1. In an ELF view or empty file create a section with SectionSemantics.ExternalSectionSemantics
  2. Define a symbol in that section with SymbolType.ExternalSymbol
  3. The log will output an analysis update, but the symbol does not render in the view. It seems like it doesn't get created in any way.

Expected Behavior:
I would expect an ExternalSymbol to be created and rendered in the section. If doing the above steps on a PE binary, you get the expected results.

Additional Information:
Doing these steps through the API or GUI gives the same results. This is also the same result if created with define_auto_symbol or define_auto_symbol_and_var_or_function

I maintain binaryninja-xbe which loads PE-like binaries

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Reproduce the issue in an ELF view or empty file by creating an external section and defining an ExternalSymbol through the API or GUI. Start with define_auto_symbol and define_auto_symbol_and_var_or_function, then compare non-PE behavior with a PE view. Done means the ExternalSymbol is created and rendered in the section for non-PE views.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
api, reverse-engineering
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

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