Add code-virtualization/custom-linker reference, doctor and so_constpatch tools
New reference: references/code-virtualization-and-custom-linkers.md
Covers the layer between "packed" and "clean" - manifests whose Application is the
app's own and whose dex is readable, yet a re-signed build dies before user code runs.
Contents: three cheap identification tells (whole classes as native declarations, the
registerNativesForClass/special_clinit pair, SONAME-vs-filename mismatch); the
keep-the-library / delete-the-library deadlock and why both routes fail; the
checker-vs-implementation question that resolves it; the string-redirect technique
(equal-length rewrite of an isolated constant so a loadLibrary call reaches an
already-mapped library, so no offsets move and no death path needs neutralizing);
expected private-loader log shapes; a single-variable experiment to determine whether
the native check reads in-APK certificate material or the PMS-reported signature; and
why a Java-layer signature killer logging success proves nothing.
New tool: scripts/doctor.py
Cheapest first command. Capability report and per-script runnability, with
APKREV_TOOLS support so tools installed off-PATH or as runnable jars are found rather
than reported missing. Surfaces the environment facts that silently poison
experiments: clock skew, leftover adb forward entries, a leftover device proxy, and a
frida process already running on the device (which makes the target look like it
detects instrumentation when nothing has been attached yet).
New tool: scripts/so_constpatch.py
Implements the string-redirect technique. Enforces equal length, refuses to patch a
substring of a longer identifier, reports whether each hit sits in an ELF constant
pool, and patches inside an APK or a bare .so. Field-tested on a real protected
library: find, equal-length replace, unequal-length refusal, multi-hit guard, --force
and absent-name paths all verified.
Updated:
SKILL.md fix question count (ten -> thirteen); index the new reference and
both new scripts; make doctor.py the first step of the workflow;
add the "no packer but still dying" pointer during recon
packers.md cross-reference the new layer so "no packer" is not read as
"editable"
ad-removal.md make log evidence a count rather than an impression (n -> 0 is a
measurement; a tag that goes quiet without reaching zero is a
weaker result)
repack-and-sign.md warn that a full apktool rebuild rewrites obfuscated resource
paths (hundreds of rename pairs) - a tool artifact that must not be
read as breakage - and prefer a dex-only swap when that is the only
edit
pitfalls.md generalize the ServiceLoader example so it is not tied to one
sample's third-party library
README.md document the new files and scripts; document APKREV_TOOLS and the
cross-platform intent
This commit is contained in:
@@ -28,6 +28,26 @@ Recompressing them produces builds that fail to install or misbehave.
|
||||
|
||||
**4. Changing any dex changes nothing about resources.** If you only edited dex, do not touch `res/`, `assets/`, or `lib/`.
|
||||
|
||||
**4a. A full `apktool b` rebuild rewrites resource paths even when you edited none.** Decoding with
|
||||
`apktool d` (without `-s`) and rebuilding re-encodes resources, and obfuscated short names are
|
||||
expanded back to readable ones — an entry originally shipped as `res/-B.png` comes back as
|
||||
`res/drawable-hdpi/<real-name>.png`. Expect an entry-level diff against the original to show on the
|
||||
order of a thousand "removed + added" pairs that are **pure renames**, not content changes.
|
||||
|
||||
This is expected and usually harmless, but two consequences matter:
|
||||
|
||||
- **Never read that diff as "I broke something".** Compare by identity (rename-aware, or by content
|
||||
hash grouped by size) before drawing a conclusion. A toy diff that reports 1100 changes when you
|
||||
edited one method is a **tool** artifact and will send you hunting a bug that does not exist.
|
||||
- **It changes the byte layout of the whole archive.** On a target that fingerprints its own file
|
||||
against a stored hash, or whose protection binds offsets into a container, a full rebuild is a much
|
||||
larger change surface than a dex-only swap. If your only edit is dex, prefer replacing the
|
||||
`classes*.dex` entries inside the original zip (`compress_type` preserved) over a full rebuild.
|
||||
Keep that dex-only path as a fallback for exactly this reason.
|
||||
|
||||
If you must avoid resource churn entirely, decode with `-s` (do not decode resources) and only
|
||||
rebuild what you changed.
|
||||
|
||||
**5. Signing creates new `MANIFEST.MF`/`*.SF`/`*.RSA`.** That is expected — the check is that **no signature artifact from the ORIGINAL** survives, and **no non-signature entry was lost**.
|
||||
|
||||
## Repacking an unpacked (de-shelled) app
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user