PACStack

PACStack implementation built on the LLVM Compiler Infrastructure (main LLVM repository).

Usage

PACStack uses the ARMv8.3-a PAuth extension and supports only AArch64 targets with PAuth extension (e.g., -march=armv8.3-a). PACStack is currently implemented purely in the LLVM back-end and is controlled with the -pacstack=(none|nomask|full) command line options. To instrument when compiling with Clang, you can use the -mllvm flag to pass the option to the back-end.

On x86 you can use the following command to cross-compile for AArch64 using sysroot and gcc-toolchain from Linaro:

$PATH_TO_COMPILER/clang          \
  --sysroot=$SYSROOT             \
  --gcc-toolchain=$GCC_TOOLCHAIN \
  --target=aarch64-linux-gnu     \
  -march=armv8.3a                \
  -mllvm -pacstack=full          \
  $SOURCE_FILE

To test compiled binaries without actual hardware you can use either the fixed virtual platform simulation models from ARM or QEMU version 4.0 (or newer).

More information

For more on PACStack, please check pacstack.github.io, which contains links to latest publications and other relevenat information.