Lab 4: Introduction To x86 Assembly
Lab 4: Introduction To x86 Assembly
Overview
Today, we continue to cover low-level programming details that are essential for understanding software
vulnerabilities like buffer overflow attacks and format string exploits. You will get exposure to the following:
• Understanding conventions used by compiler to translate high-level programs to low-level assembly code
(in our case, using Gnu C Compiler (gcc) to compile C programs).
• The ability to read low-level assembly code (in our case, Intel x86).
• Being able to use gdb (the Gnu Debugger) to read the low-level code produced by gcc and understand
its execution.
In tutorials based on this handout, we will learn about all of the above in the context of some simple
examples.
• EAX, EBX, ECX, EDX are 32-bit registers used for general storage.
• ESI and EDI are 32-bit indexing registers that are sometimes used for general storage.
• ESP is the 32-bit register for the stack pointer, which holds the address of the element currently at the
top of the stack. The stack grows “up” from high addresses to low addresses. So pushing an element
on the stack decrements the stack pointer, and popping an element increments the stack pointer.
• EBP is the 32-bit register for the base pointer, which is the address of the current activation frame on
the stack (more on this below).
• EIP is the 32-bit register for the instruction pointer, which holds the address of the next instruction to
execute.
At the end of this handout is a two-page “Code Table” summarizing Intel x86 instructions. The Code
Table uses the standard Intel conventions for writing instructions. But the GNU assembler in Linux uses
the so-called AT&T conventions, which are different. Some examples:
1
AT&T Format Intel Format Meaning
movl $4, %eax movl eax, 4 Load 4 into EAX.
addl %ebx, %eax addl eax, ebx Put sum of EAX and EBX into EAX.
pushl $X pushl [X] Push the contents of memory location
named X onto the stack.
popl %ebp popl ebp Pop the top element off the stack and put
it in EBP.
movl %ecx, -4(%esp) movl [esp - 4] ecx Store contents of ECX into memory at an
address that is 4 less than the contents of
ESP.
leal 12(%ebp), %eax leal eax [ebp + 12] Load into EAX the address that is 12 more
than the contents of EBP.
movl (%ebx,%esi,4), %eax movl eax [ebx + 4*esi] Load into EAX the contents of the mem-
ory location whose address is the sum of
the contents of EBX and four times the
contents of ESI.
cmpl $0, 8(%ebp) cmpl [ebp + 8] 0 Compare the contents of memory at an
address 8 more than the contents of EBP
with 0. (This comparison sets flags in the
machine that can be tested by later in-
structions.)
jg L1 jg L1 Jump to label L1 if last comparison indi-
cated “greater than”.
jmp L2 jmp L2 Unconditional jump to label L2.
call printf call printf Call the printf subroutine.
We will focus on instructions that operate on 32-bit words (which have the l suffix), but there are ways
to manipulate quantities of other sizes (the b suffix operates indicates byte operations and the w suffix
indicates 16-bit-word operations).
2
Typical Calling Conventions for Compiled C Code
The stack is typically organized into a list of activation frames. Each frame has a base pointer that
points to highest address in the frame; since stacks grow from high to low, this is at the bottom of the
frame:1
1. The caller pushes the subroutine arguments on the stack from last to first.
2. The caller uses the call instruction to call the subroutine. This pushes the return address (address
of the instruction after the call instruction) on the stack and jumps to the entry point of the called
subroutine.
3. In order to create a new frame, the callee pushes the old base pointer and remembers the current stack
address as the new base pointer via the following instructions:
4. The callee then allocates local variables and performs its computation.
3. It returns control to the caller via the ret instruction, which pops the return address off the stack and
jumps there.
4. The caller is responsible for removing arguments to the call from the stack.
1
We will follow the convention of displaying memory on the page increasing from low to high addresses.
3
Writing Assembly Code by Hand for the SOS Program
Following the above conventions, we can write assembly code by hand for the sum-of-squares program
we studied last time:
#include <stdio.h>
# HANDWRITTEN ASSEMBLY CODE FOR THE SOS PROGRAM (in the file sos.s)
4
.globl main # Main entry point is visible to outside world
main: # Label for main() function
pushl %ebp # \ Standard callee entrance
movl %esp, %ebp # /
# int a = atoi(argv[1])
subl $8, %esp # Allocate space for local variables a and b
movl 12(%ebp), %eax # %eax <- argv pointer
addl $4, %eax # %eax <- pointer to argv[1]
pushl (%eax) # push string pointer in argv[1] as arg to atoi()
call atoi # %eax <- atoi(argv[1])
movl %eax, -4(%ebp) # a <- %eax
addl $4, %esp # pop arg to atoi off stack
# int b = atoi(argv[2])
movl 12(%ebp), %eax # %eax <- argv pointer
addl $8, %eax # %eax <- pointer to argv[2]
pushl (%eax) # push string pointer in argv[2] as arg to atoi()
call atoi # %eax <- atoi(argv[2])
movl %eax, -8(%ebp) # b <- %eax
addl $4, %esp # pop arg to atoi off stack
# printf("sos(%i,%i)=%d\n", a, b, sos(a,b))#
# First calculate sos(a,b) and push it on stack
pushl -8(%ebp) # push b
pushl -4(%ebp) # push a
call sos # %eax <- sos(a,b)
addl $8, %esp # pop args to sos off stack
pushl %eax # push sos(a,b)
# Push remaining args to printf
pushl -8(%ebp) # push b
pushl -4(%ebp) # push a
pushl $.fmt # push format string for printf
# Now call printf
call printf
addl $16, %esp # pop args to printf off stack (not really necessary)
leave # \ Standard callee exit
ret # /
# END OF ASSEMBLY CODE FILE
5
Compiling sos.c to Assembly Code
Writing assembly code by hand is tedious and error prone. This is why compilers were invented! They
automatically translate code that’s written at a higher level than assembly2 into assembly instructions.
These instructions can be assembled into even lower level machine code – the bits that can actually be
executed on a processor like an x86.
We can use gcc to compile sos.c into assembly code as follows:3
This creates the file sos.s shown below. Note that the code is a bit different than what we generated
by hand.
6
.globl main
.type main, @function
main:
pushl %ebp
movl %esp, %ebp
andl $-16, %esp
subl $32, %esp
movl 12(%ebp), %eax
addl $4, %eax
movl (%eax), %eax
movl %eax, (%esp)
call atoi
movl %eax, 24(%esp)
movl 12(%ebp), %eax
addl $8, %eax
movl (%eax), %eax
movl %eax, (%esp)
call atoi
movl %eax, 28(%esp)
movl 28(%esp), %eax
movl %eax, 4(%esp)
movl 24(%esp), %eax
movl %eax, (%esp)
call sos
movl $.LC0, %edx
movl %eax, 12(%esp)
movl 28(%esp), %eax
movl %eax, 8(%esp)
movl 24(%esp), %eax
movl %eax, 4(%esp)
movl %edx, (%esp)
call printf
leave
ret
.size main, .-main
.ident "GCC: (GNU) 4.4.1 20090725 (Red Hat 4.4.1-2)"
.section .note.GNU-stack,"",@progbits
Even though the code looks different, it behaves the same way, as demonstrated by compiling it to
machine code:
7
Optimizing sos.c
Invoking gcc with an optimization flag (-O1, -O2, -O3) can create more compact code by using clever
optimizations.
8
Using GDB to Disassemble Code
What if we don’t have the source code to generate assembly code, but only the binary code? Then we
can use the GNU Debugger (gdb) to disassemble the binary, as shown below:
(gdb) disassemble sq
Dump of assembler code for function sq:
0x080483f4 <sq+0>: push %ebp
0x080483f5 <sq+1>: mov %esp,%ebp
0x080483f7 <sq+3>: mov 0x8(%ebp),%eax
0x080483fa <sq+6>: imul 0x8(%ebp),%eax
0x080483fe <sq+10>: pop %ebp
0x080483ff <sq+11>: ret
End of assembler dump.
9
A Recursive Factorial Program
Below is a C program for recursively calculating factorials.
10
Hand-written x86 Assembly for Recursive Factorial Program
Below is the result of hand-compiling the factorial program using the calling conventions studied earlier:
11
Using GDB again
Suppose we uncomment the line in fact-by-hand.s containing call print stack and recompile as
follows:
Here, the -c option creates a .o object file for the function print stack defined in print stack.c (not
shown here). This function displays a representation of the stack when invoked.
Let’s use gbd to disassemble fact-by-hand:
12
Displaying the Stack
The hand-compiled factorial program uses a stack display program named print stack that displays
the state of the stack when it’s called. Let’s see what it does in the case of invoking the factorial program
on 3:4
----------------------------------TOP-OF-STACK---------------------------------
bfc2e688: bfc2e690
bfc2e68c: 08048462
bfc2e690: bfc2e69c
------------------
bfc2e694: 08048478
bfc2e698: 00000000
bfc2e69c: bfc2e6a8
------------------
bfc2e6a0: 08048478
bfc2e6a4: 00000001
bfc2e6a8: bfc2e6b4
------------------
bfc2e6ac: 08048478
bfc2e6b0: 00000002
bfc2e6b4: bfc2e6c8
------------------
bfc2e6b8: 0804849c
bfc2e6bc: 00000003
bfc2e6c0: bfc2f647 ->3
bfc2e6c4: 00000003
bfc2e6c8: bfc2e748 ->
------------------
bfc2e6cc: 0014da86
bfc2e6d0: 00000002
bfc2e6d4: bfc2e774
bfc2e6d8: bfc2e780
bfc2e6dc: 0045b000
bfc2e6e0: 00000000
bfc2e6e4: ffffffff
bfc2e6e8: 00133fc4
bfc2e6ec: 0804826e
bfc2e6f0: 00000001
bfc2e6f4: bfc2e730 ->
bfc2e6f8: 00122de6
bfc2e6fc: 00134818
bfc2e700: 0045b2d8
bfc2e704: 002a2ff4
bfc2e708: 00000000
bfc2e710: bfc2e748 ->
bfc2e714: 58fc02d6
bfc2e718: f48535a9
bfc2e71c: 00000000
bfc2e728: 00000002
bfc2e72c: 080483a0
bfc2e730: 00000000
bfc2e734: 00128fd0
bfc2e738: 0014d9ab
bfc2e73c: 00133fc4
bfc2e740: 00000002
bfc2e744: 080483a0
bfc2e748: 00000000
------------------
bfc2e74c: 080483c1
bfc2e750: 08048480
4
A problem in the print stack function prevents it from printing the whole stack and returning the value. But you get
the idea ...
13
bfc2e754: 00000002
bfc2e758: bfc2e774
bfc2e75c: 08048930
bfc2e760: 08048920
bfc2e764: 001237e0
bfc2e768: bfc2e76c
bfc2e76c: 00134660
bfc2e770: 00000002
bfc2e774: bfc2f63a ->fact-by-hand
bfc2e778: bfc2f647 ->3
bfc2e77c: 00000000
bfc2e780: bfc2f649 ->BIBINPUTS=:/home/fturbak/church/lib/bibtex
bfc2e784: bfc2f674 ->DVIPSHEADERS=.:/usr/share/texmf/dvips//:/home/fturbak/lib/tex/psfonts/cmpsfont/pfb:/home/fturbak/l
bfc2e788: bfc2f709 ->TWHOMEDIR=/home/cs307/public_html/tw
bfc2e78c: bfc2f72e ->HOSTNAME=localhost.localdomain
bfc2e790: bfc2f74d ->BSTINPUTS=:/home/fturbak/church/lib/bibtex:/home/fturbak/lib/tex/jfp
bfc2e794: bfc2f792 ->SHELL=/bin/bash
bfc2e798: bfc2f7a2 ->TERM=dumb
bfc2e79c: bfc2f7ac ->CATALINA_HOME=/home/tomcat
bfc2e7a0: bfc2f7c7 ->HISTSIZE=1000
bfc2e7a4: bfc2f7d5 ->SSH_CLIENT=149.130.163.181 4858 22
bfc2e7a8: bfc2f7f8 ->OLDPWD=/home/cs342/download/assembly-intro
bfc2e7ac: bfc2f823 ->QTDIR=/usr/lib/qt-3.3
bfc2e7b0: bfc2f839 ->QTINC=/usr/lib/qt-3.3/include
bfc2e7b4: bfc2f857 ->SSH_TTY=/dev/pts/1
bfc2e7b8: bfc2f86a ->USER=cs342
bfc2e7bc: bfc2f875 ->EMACS=t
bfc2e7c0: bfc2f87d ->LS_COLORS=
bfc2e7c4: bfc2f888 ->TERMCAP=
bfc2e7c8: bfc2f891 ->COLUMNS=80
bfc2e7cc: bfc2f89c ->MAIL=/var/spool/mail/cs342
bfc2e7d0: bfc2f8b7 ->PATH=/usr/java/sdk/bin:/usr/network/bin:/usr/local/smlnj/bin:/usr/lib/qt-3.3/bin:/usr/kerberos/sbi
bfc2e7d4: bfc2f98c ->PWD=/home/cs342/download/assembly-intro
bfc2e7d8: bfc2f9b4 ->LANG=en_US.UTF-8
bfc2e7dc: bfc2f9c5 ->SSH_ASKPASS=/usr/libexec/openssh/gnome-ssh-askpass
bfc2e7e0: bfc2f9f8 ->TEXINPUTS=:/home/cs230/lib/tex:/home/cs342/lib/tex:/home/fturbak/lib/tex:/home/cs230/lib/tex:/home
bfc2e7e4: bfc2fcd3 ->SHLVL=2
bfc2e7e8: bfc2fcdb ->HOME=/home/cs342
bfc2e7ec: bfc2fcec ->LOGNAME=cs342
bfc2e7f0: bfc2fcfa ->PRINTER=minil
bfc2e7f4: bfc2fd08 ->QTLIB=/usr/lib/qt-3.3/lib
bfc2e7f8: bfc2fd22 ->CVS_RSH=ssh
bfc2e7fc: bfc2fd2e ->CLASSPATH=:/home/cs230/download/HiLo:/home/cs230/download/TextFun:/home/cs230/download/TextStats:/
bfc2e800: bfc2fe53 ->SSH_CONNECTION=149.130.163.181 4858 149.130.136.42 22
bfc2e804: bfc2fe89 ->NPX_PLUGIN_PATH=/usr/java/j2sdk1.4.0/jre/plugin/i386/ns4
bfc2e808: bfc2fec2 ->LESSOPEN=|/usr/bin/lesspipe.sh %s
bfc2e80c: bfc2fee4 ->TWLOADPATH=.:/home/cs307/public_html/tw/textures:/home/cs307/public_html/tw/objects:/home/cs307/pu
bfc2e810: bfc2ff95 ->DISPLAY=localhost:11.0
bfc2e814: bfc2ffac ->INSIDE_EMACS=23.1.1,comint
bfc2e818: bfc2ffc7 ->G_BROKEN_FILENAMES=1
bfc2e81c: bfc2ffdc ->_=./fact-by-hand
bfc2e820: 00000000
bfc2e824: 00000020 [^@^@^@ ]
bfc2e828: 003b9414
bfc2e82c: 00000021 [^@^@^@!]
bfc2e830: 003b9000
bfc2e834: 00000010
Segmentation fault
14