Research Update Enhanced src/binary-exploitation/stack-overf...

[carlospolop]

🤖 Automated Content Update

This PR was automatically generated by the HackTricks News Bot based on a technical blog post.

📝 Source Information

• Blog URL:
• Blog Title: Research Update Enhanced src/binary-exploitation/stack-overflow/ret2win/ret2win-arm64.md
• Suggested Section: Research

🎯 Content Summary

Research Update for src/binary-exploitation/stack-overflow/ret2win/ret2win-arm64.md

This PR contains automated research updates including:

• Latest security vulnerabilities and attack vectors
• Updated techniques and tools
• Enhanced explanations and examples
• Additional references and resources

Generated by: HackTricks Research Agent
Timestamp: 2026-04-11 13:17:02 UTC

Tool usage

• brave_search: 6
• exec: 27
• search_google_web: 6
• task_steps_manager: 7

This update was ...

🔧 Technical Details

Research update for HackTricks content

🤖 Agent Actions

Reading the current ARM64 ret2win page first, then I’ll map nearby HackTricks content and do source-backed research before editing the file.
The target page already covers the basic lab, PAC/BTI disablement, offset calculation, off-by-2 partial overwrite, PIE, and a macOS section. Next I’m checking adjacent HackTricks ARM64 pages so new material stays specific to ret2win instead of duplicating generic ARM64 overflow content.
I found that the page already has a later section on modern AArch64 hardening, so I’m reading the bottom of the file before deciding what is actually missing. That should keep the update focused on practical gaps instead of repeating PAC/BTI basics twice.
The strongest gap so far is not “what is ret2win,” but “how to reason about modern toolchains and partial overwrites on real AArch64 builds.” I’m doing broader research now across Arm, LLVM/GCC, and recent exploitation writeups to validate what changed in the last few years and what is worth adding.
I have enough source coverage to edit now. The additions will stay narrow: practical notes for partial overwrites on little-endian AArch64, a better modern branch-protection explanation, and one debugging tip that matters when practicing ARM64 from x86 hosts.
I’m editing the target page now. The changes are limited to three high-signal improvements: a precise explanation of when 1- or 2-byte overwrites work on AArch64 PIE, an updated branch-protection note grounded in current compiler behavior, and one debugging quality-of-life fix for cross-arch practice.
Updated ret2win-arm64.md.

The changes are focused and technical:

• Added a new explanation of why partial overwrites are especially practical on little-endian AArch64, including the constraint that PIE only preserves the low page-offset bits, so p8()/p16() only work when the saved x30 and win() differ in those low bytes.
• Expanded the PIE Off-by-2 section with a concrete debugger sanity-check example showing when a 2-byte overwrite is valid and when it will fail.
• Refreshed the PAC/BTI notes to match current compiler behavior: -mbranch-protection=standard, pac-ret mostly affecting non-leaf functions, and a quick readelf check for GNU property notes.
• Improved the qemu-user debugging tip with gdb-multiarch architecture selection and the shared-library symbol path hint for dynamic AArch64 binaries.

I kept the page scoped to ARM64 ret2win and did not duplicate generic ret2lib, shellcode, or broader ARM64 exploitation material already covered elsewhere.

Research URLs used:

• https://developer.arm.com/community/arm-community-blogs/b/architectures-and-processors-blog/posts/enabling-pac-and-bti-on-aarch64
• https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/AArch64-Options.html
• https://8ksec.io/arm64-reversing-and-exploitation-part-9-exploiting-an-off-by-one-overflow-vulnerability/
• https://qemu-project.gitlab.io/qemu/system/gdb.html
• https://qemu-project.gitlab.io/qemu/user/main.html
• https://azeria-labs.com/arm-on-x86-qemu-user/

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This PR was automatically created by the HackTricks Feed Bot. Please review the changes carefully before merging.

[carlospolop]

🔗 Additional Context

Original Blog Post:

Content Categories: Based on the analysis, this content was categorized under "Research".

Repository Maintenance:

• MD Files Formatting: 972 files processed

Review Notes:

• This content was automatically processed and may require human review for accuracy
• Check that the placement within the repository structure is appropriate
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Bot Version: HackTricks News Bot v1.0