Bypassing Canary and PIE Protections

This skill helps you bypass binary protections when a target has both canary and PIE (Position Independent Executable) enabled.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• checksec

  shows a binary has canary and PIE protections
• You need to brute-force stack addresses (canary, RBP, RIP)
• You want to calculate base addresses from leaked values for ROP chains
• You're dealing with a binary that doesn't leak addresses naturally

Understanding the Protection

When a binary has both canary and PIE:

• Canary: A random value placed on the stack that's checked before function return
• PIE: The binary loads at a random address each time, making hardcoded addresses useless

Note:

checksec

might not detect canary in statically compiled binaries. Look for a value saved at function start and checked before exit.

The Brute-Force Approach

To bypass PIE, you need to leak an address. If the binary doesn't leak addresses, brute-force the stack:

1. Brute-force the canary (8 bytes on x64)
2. Brute-force the saved RBP (next 8 bytes after canary)
3. Brute-force the saved RIP (next 8 bytes after RBP)

The stack layout in a vulnerable function looks like:

[buffer] [canary: 8 bytes] [saved RBP: 8 bytes] [saved RIP: 8 bytes]

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Brute-Force the Canary

Use the brute-force script to find the canary value:

python scripts/brute_force_stack.py --target localhost:8788 --canary-offset 1176

The script will:

• Send guesses byte-by-byte
• Detect correct bytes when the program outputs something or doesn't crash
• Return the full canary value

Step 2: Brute-Force RBP and RIP

After getting the canary, continue brute-forcing:

python scripts/brute_force_stack.py --target localhost:8788 --canary-offset 1176 --continue-rbp-rip

This will give you:

• RBP: The saved base pointer
• RIP: The saved instruction pointer (return address)

Step 3: Calculate Useful Addresses

From the leaked values, calculate addresses you need:

Calculate Shellcode Position

Use RBP to find where your shellcode is in the stack:

# After leaking RBP, calculate shellcode position
INI_SHELLCODE = RBP - offset_to_shellcode

To find the offset:

1. Set a breakpoint after leaking RBP in your debugger
2. Check where your shellcode is located
3. Calculate the distance between shellcode and RBP

Calculate PIE Base Address

Use RIP to calculate the binary's base address:

# Mask off the last 12 bits (4096 bytes = page size)
elf.address = RIP - (RIP & 0xfff)

For example:

• Leaked RIP:

  0x562002970ecf

• Base address:

  0x562002970000

To verify, use

objdump -d vulnerable_binary

and check the disassembly addresses.

Step 4: Build Your ROP Chain

Now that you have the base address, you can:

1. Calculate addresses of gadgets in the binary
2. Build a valid ROP chain
3. Redirect execution to your shellcode or gadgets

Important Considerations

False Positives in Brute-Force

Some addresses might not crash the server even if they're incorrect. To handle this:

1. Add delays between requests to the server
2. Verify multiple times before accepting a byte as correct
3. Check for consistent behavior across multiple attempts

The brute-force script includes a delay parameter:

python scripts/brute_force_stack.py --target localhost:8788 --delay 0.1

Assumptions

• The return address belongs to the main binary code (usually true if the vulnerability is in the binary)
• You're working with x64 binaries (8-byte values)
• The binary doesn't have ASLR disabled (otherwise PIE bypass isn't needed)

Example Workflow

from pwn import *
from scripts.brute_force_stack import get_bf

# Connect to target
def connect():
    return remote("localhost", 8788)

# Brute-force canary
canary_offset = 1176
base = "A" * canary_offset
print("Brute-Forcing canary")
base_canary = get_bf(connect, base, "SOME OUTPUT")
CANARY = u64(base_canary[len(base_canary)-8:])

# Brute-force RBP
print("Brute-Forcing RBP")
base_canary_rbp = get_bf(connect, base_canary, "SOME OUTPUT")
RBP = u64(base_canary_rbp[len(base_canary_rbp)-8:])

# Brute-force RIP
print("Brute-Forcing RIP")
base_canary_rbp_rip = get_bf(connect, base_canary_rbp, "SOME OUTPUT")
RIP = u64(base_canary_rbp_rip[len(base_canary_rbp_rip)-8:])

# Calculate base address
elf.address = RIP - (RIP & 0xfff)

# Calculate shellcode position
INI_SHELLCODE = RBP - 1152

print(f"Canary: {hex(CANARY)}")
print(f"RBP: {hex(RBP)}")
print(f"RIP: {hex(RIP)}")
print(f"Base: {hex(elf.address)}")
print(f"Shellcode at: {hex(INI_SHELLCODE)}")

Next Steps

After bypassing canary and PIE:

1. Use the calculated addresses to build your exploit
2. Create a ROP chain if needed
3. Redirect execution to your payload
4. Test the exploit multiple times to ensure reliability

References

• Stack Buffer Overflow Internship Notes

• checksec

  for binary protection analysis

• objdump -d

  for disassembly and address verification