ghidra/GhidraDocs/GhidraClass/Debugger/A3-Breakpoints.md

Using Breakpoints

This module assumes you know how to launch termmines in Ghidra using GDB and know where to find the basic Debugger GUI components. If not, please refer to the previous modules.

This module will address the Breakpoints window in more depth. While the breakpoint manager is able to deal with a system of targets, we will only deal with a single target at a time.

Breakpoints

Most likely, this window is empty if you have been following the lesson.

From here, you can toggle and delete existing breakpoints. There are several ways to set a new breakpoint:

1. From any static or dynamic listing window, including Disassembly, Memory/Hex, and the Decompiler, right-click and select Set Breakpoint, press K on the keyboard, or double-click the margin.
2. From the Terminal window, use the GDB command, e.g., break main.

The advantage of using the listings is that you can quickly set a breakpoint at any address. The advantage of using the Terminal window is that you can specify something other than an address. Often, those specifications still resolve to addresses, and Ghidra will display them. Ghidra will memorize breakpoints by recording them as special bookmarks in the program database. There is some iconography to communicate the various states of a breakpoint. When all is well and normal, you should only see enabled and disabled breakpoints. If the target is terminated (or not launched yet), you may also see ineffective breakpoints.

Examining Minesweeper Board Setup

Suppose we want to cheat at termmines. We might like to understand how the mines are placed. Knowing that the mines are placed randomly, we might hypothesize that it is using the srand and rand functions from the C standard library. While we can test that hypothesis by examining the imports statically, we might also like to record some actual values, so we will approach this dynamically. (This is the Debugger course, after all.) The breakpoint on srand will allow us to capture the random seed. The breakpoint on rand will help us find the algorithm that places the mines.

Set the Breakpoints

In the Terminal, type the GDB commands to set breakpoints on srand and rand:

break srand
break rand

The breakpoint window should now be updated:

For a single target, the lower panel of the Breakpoints window does not add much information, but it does have some. We will start with the top panel. This lists the logical breakpoints, preferring static addresses.

• The left-most column State indicates the breakpoint's state. Here, we see the inconsistent overlay, because Ghidra cannot save the breakpoint without a program database. That is because srand and rand are in a different module, and we have not yet imported it into Ghidra.
• The next column Name is the name of the breakpoint. This is for informational purposes only. You can rename a breakpoint however you like, and it will have no effect on the target nor back-end debugger.
• The next column Address gives the address of the breakpoint. Notice that the addresses were resolved, even though the breakpoints were specified by symbol. Typically, this is the static address of the breakpoint; however, if the module image is not imported, yet, this will be the dynamic address, subject to relocation or ASLR.
• The next column Image gives the name of the program database containing the breakpoint. Again, because the module has not been imported yet, this column is blank.
• The next column Length gives the length of the breakpoint. In GDB, this generally applies to watchpoints only.
• The next column Kinds gives the kinds of breakpoint. Most breakpoints are software execution breakpoints, indicated by "SW_EXECUTE." That is, they are implemented by patching the target's memory with a special instruction that traps execution — INT3 on x86. There are also hardware execution breakpoints indicated by "HW_EXECUTE," and access breakpoints indicated by "HW_READ" and/or "HW_WRITE". NOTE: GDB would call access breakpoints watchpoints. An advantage to software breakpoints is that you can have a practically unlimited number of them. Some disadvantages are they can be detected easily, and they are limited to execution breakpoints.
• The next column Locations counts the number of locations for the breakpoint. For a single-target session, this is most likely 1.
• The final column Sleigh is only applicable to the emulator. It indicates that the breakpoint's behavior has been customized with Sleigh code. This is covered in Emulation.

Now, we move to the bottom panel. This lists the breakpoint locations, as reported by the back-end debugger(s). The State, Address, and Sleigh columns are the same as the top, but for the individual dynamic addresses.

• The Name column is the name as designated by the back-end.
• The Trace column indicates which target contains the location. The text here should match one of the tabs from the Dynamic Listing panel.
• The Comment column is a user-defined comment. Its default value is the specification that generated it, e.g., srand.

Toggling the Breakpoints

While there is no need to toggle the breakpoints right now, it is a good time to demonstrate the feature. There are several ways to toggle a breakpoint:

1. In any listing, as in setting a breakpoint, right-click and select a toggle action, press K on the keyboard, or double-click its icon in the margin.
2. From the Model window, expand the Breakpoints node and double-click a breakpoint, or select one with the keyboard and press ENTER.
3. From the Breakpoints window, single-click the breakpoint's status icon, right-click an entry and select a toggle action, or create a selection and use a toggling action from the local toolbar. Either panel works, but the top panel is preferred to keep the breakpoints consistent. The local toolbar also has actions for toggling all breakpoints in the session.
4. From the Terminal window, use the GDB commands, e.g., disable 2.

Practice toggling them. Notice that no matter how you toggle the breakpoints, the display updates. You might also type info break into the Terminal to confirm the effect of toggling breakpoints in the GUI. When you are finished, ensure both breakpoints are enabled.

NOTE: In all parts of the GUI, except the Model window, Ghidra prefers to toggle breakpoint locations. Without getting into details, this is the second level down of breakpoints shown in the Model tree. If you set a breakpoint, and GDB calls this breakpoint 2, then you toggle it in the listing, Ghidra will toggle, e.g., breakpoint location 2.1, not the breakpoint specification 2. If you disable breakpoint 2 using the Model or Terminal window, it may become impossible to toggle the breakpoint in the Listing or Breakpoints windows. If you find your session in this condition, just re-enable the troublesome breakpoints in the Model or Terminal window.

Importing libc

While the Debugger can operate without importing external modules, it generally works better when you have. The symbols srand and rand are in libc. If you would like to save the breakpoints we placed on them, you must import the module. You could do this in the usual manner, but the Debugger offers a convenient way to import missing modules.

1. Navigate to a dynamic address that would be mapped to the missing module. For our scenario, the easiest way to do that is to double-click an address in the Breakpoints window. Either one points somewhere in libc.

2. Check the Debug Console window for a note about the missing module:

   

3. Click the import button — leftmost of the remedial actions. It will display a file browser pointed at the library file.

4. Proceed with the import and initial analysis as you would in the CodeBrowser.

Once imported, the Breakpoints window should update to reflect the static addresses, the breakpoints should become consistent, and the Static Listing should now be synchronized when navigating within libc. NOTE: Ghidra has not automatically disassembled the dynamic listing, because the program counter has not actually landed there, yet.

Troubleshooting

If it seems nothing has changed, except now you have a second program database open, then the new module may not be successfully mapped.

1. Re-check the Debug Console window and verify the note has been removed.
2. If not, it might be because the module is symlinked in the file system, so the name of the module and the name of the program database do not match.
3. Ensure that libc is the current program (tab) in the Static Listing.
4. In the Modules window, right-click on libc, and select Map Module to libc. (Names and titles will likely differ.)

Capturing the Random Seed

We can now allow termmines to execute, expecting it to hit the srand breakpoint first. Click Resume. If all goes well, the target should break at srand. If you have never written code that uses srand before, you should briefly read its manual page. It takes a single parameter, the desired seed. That parameter contains the seed this very moment! We can then examine the value of the seed by hovering over param_1 in the decompiler.

We will cover other ways to examine memory and registers in the Machine State module. We have contrived termmines so that its random seed will always start with 0x5eed____. If you see that in the value displayed, then you have successfully recovered the seed. This seed will be used in an optional exercise at the end of this module. You might write it down; however, if you re-launch termmines between now and then, you will have a different seed.

Locating the Mine Placement Algorithm

Press Resume again. This time, the target should break at rand. We are not interested in the rand function itself, but rather how the placement algorithm is using it. Press Step Out to allow the target to return from rand. If you still have the Decompiler up, you should be in a code block resembling:

while (iVar2 = DAT_00604164, iVar1 = DAT_00604160, iVar10 < _DAT_00604168) {
  iVar3 = rand();
  iVar2 = DAT_00604164;
  iVar11 = rand();
  lVar7 = (long)(iVar11 % iVar2 + 1) * 0x20 + (long)(iVar3 % iVar1 + 1);
  bVar14 = *(byte *)((long)&DAT_00604160 + lVar7 + 0x1c);
  if (-1 < (char)bVar14) {
    iVar10 = iVar10 + 1;
    *(byte *)((long)&DAT_00604160 + lVar7 + 0x1c) = bVar14 | 0x80;
  }
}

If you are thinking, "I could have just found rand in the symbol table and followed its XRefs," you are correct. However, it is useful to use a dynamic debugging session to drive your analysis chronologically through execution of the target, even if much of that analysis is still static. The advantages of a dynamic session along side static analysis should become more apparent as you progress through this course.

Exercise: Diagram the Mines

You goal is to capture the location of all the mines. You will probably want to disable the breakpoints on rand and srand for now. Devise a strategy using breakpoints and the control buttons (Step, Resume, etc.) so that you can observe the location of each mine. Use pen and paper to draw a diagram of the board, and mark the location of each mine as you observe the algorithm placing it. There should only be 10 mines in Beginner mode. Once the mines are placed, press Resume. Check you work by winning the game. Alternatively, you can intentionally lose to have the game reveal the mines.

Troubleshooting

You may find that running both GDB and termmines in the same Terminal makes viewing the game board difficult. The next time you launch, be sure to use the Configure and Launch sub-menu, then enable the Inferior TTY option. This should start two Terminals, one with GDB and a second dedicated to termmines. The game board will no longer be corrupted by GDB's prompts and diagnostics. You will probably want to undock the termmines Terminal and resize it to fit the board.

Optional Exercise: Replicate the Boards (Forward Engineering)

You will need a C development environment for this exercise. Because, as we have now confirmed, termmines is importing its random number generator from the system, we can write a program that uses that same generator. Further, because we can capture the seed, and we know the placement algorithm, we can perfectly replicate the sequence of game boards for any termmines session.

Write a program that takes a seed from the user and prints a diagram of the first game board with the mines indicated. Optionally, have it print each subsequent game board when the user presses ENTER. Check your work by re-launching termmines, capturing its seed, inputting it into your program, and then winning the game. Optionally, win 2 more games in the same session.