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Created: Tuesday, April 8 2008 13:02.41 CDT  
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Self-modifying TLS callbacks
Author: omeg # Views: 11948

Simple yet not widely known trick. If your PE image has TLS callbacks, these callbacks can alter TLS table while executing. That means you can have one callback at the start, but if this callback adds some other callbacks, those will execute as well. There are few interesting possibilities, because PE loader doesn't cache TLS table at the beginning of image load. :)

http://omeg.pl/code/tls_selfmodify.zip


; Self-modifying TLS callbacks
; This PE has only one TLS callback active at load time.
; However, the callback executes 0x10 times because it modifies TLS table before returning.
; Copyleft (c) Omega Red 2007
; fasm source

; 32-bit executable
format PE GUI
entry start

include '%fasminc%\win32a.inc'
include '%fasminc%\macro\proc32.inc'
;------------------------------------------------
section 'all' code data readable writable executable

start:
    cinvoke     printf, buf, fmt, [count]
    invoke      msgbox, 0, buf, t_main, 0
    invoke      exit, 0
;------------------------------------------------
tls_callback0:
    inc         dword [count]
    cmp         dword [count], 0x10     ; callback executed 0x10 times?
    jge         tls_end
    
    ; add another callback entry before returning
    mov         eax, [count]
    mov         dword [tls_callbacks+4*eax], tls_callback0
    
tls_end:
    ret         0x0c
;------------------------------------------------
t_main          db  'main',0
buf             db  0x100   dup (0)
fmt             db  'tls count: %d',0
count           dd  0
;------------------------------------------------
; TLS directory
; !!! it's possible to change tls table WHILE IN TLS CALLBACK itself,
; fex you have only 1 tls at first, but this tls adds some more -
; those added will execute normally (table is not cached by loader)!
align   0x10
data 9  ; tls
dd 0                ;Raw Data Start VA
dd 0                ;Raw Data End VA
dd tls_index        ;Address of Index
dd tls_callbacks    ;Address of Callbacks
dd 0                ;Size of Zero Fill
dd 0                ;Reserved

tls_index       dd  0
tls_callbacks:      ; only one callback is present initially
                dd  tls_callback0   ; callback proc
                dd  0xff dup (0)    ; space reserved for more callback entries (but null at load time)
                dd  0
end data
;------------------------------------------------
data import

library user,   'user32.dll',\
        kernel, 'kernel32.dll'

import  user,\
        printf, 'wsprintfA',\
        msgbox, 'MessageBoxA'

import  kernel,\
        exit, 'ExitProcess'
end data


Blog Comments
RabidCicada Posted: Tuesday, April 8 2008 13:58.22 CDT
Quite simple as you said...but amusing nonetheless:).  

NeOXQuiCk Posted: Wednesday, April 9 2008 23:37.33 CDT
really nice stuff



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