Help/Support MSHookFunction on sub_x has odd result. Any clue/experience?

infernusdoleo · December 30, 2015

Been hacking an iOS app. It's a sub_x app thats been a pain in my ass. I've reached the point where I know enough to start hooking.

Problem is, while hooking the function i need, via an address (accounting for ASLR), the app crashes when run.

So I debug the app via lldb, and something odd is happening.

I load the app, attach lldb, and set a breakpoint for the address which I have hooked. I press the button in app and the breakpoint halts the app.

The next line to be run, which SHOULD be a B or BL to branch to the new/replacement function is, intead:

.LONG 0x6B007712 (or some address/value large like that). The comment showing is that it's an invalid lvalue.

In addition, all subsequent lines are all wrong - it's like MSHookFunction is putting too much data into the address, which is mangling the line, and throwing all other lines off.

I'm used MSHookFunction many times before to hook named functions, and it works, and I'm aware of it's uses. This one is a sub_x however, and I've solved the ASLR issue and I've found the memory address for the function (as proven by the lldb breakpoint stopping at the right spot).

Has anyone else seen something like this? I feel like I'm missing something really simple.

AnotherLurker · December 30, 2015

How long is the sub_x function?

infernusdoleo · December 30, 2015

As it shows in IDA right now its from 0x33f224 through 0x33f2C6, so it's 0xA2/162 bytes long (in assembly).

My next trial tomorrow is going to be to lldb debug a mshookfunction that I know works and see how the function is changed, but I am ASSUMING that the first line/s is/are rewritten to a branch and return, and the old_function returned by mshookfunction is a copy of the original. Obviously setting the line to be: .LONG then some huge out of range memory address is incorrect. Driving me batty.

Updated December 30, 2015 by infernusdoleo

Rook · December 30, 2015

I've used MSHookFunction on sub_x before. More than once and it has worked well in all cases for me.

AnotherLurker · December 30, 2015

I've used MSHookFunction on sub_x before. More than once and it has worked well in all cases for me.

Wow! Good for you.

December 30, 2015

I'm having a hard time understanding your problem but did you include the +1 that you need for thumb binaries? Or maybe you got the branch hex wrong

infernusdoleo · December 30, 2015

+1 for thumb binaries? As in shift the memory address up by 1 so I'm hooking an odd number?

December 30, 2015

+1 for thumb binaries? As in shift the memory address up by 1 so I'm hooking an odd number?

Yeah for thumb you would need a +1 after the offset for some reason

infernusdoleo · December 30, 2015

I'm assuming that if I were hooking a function with a symbol and hooking it by name, it would know that automatically, and maybe my issue is that since I'm hooking by address it doesn't know?

I'm gonna give it a shot here shortly, been busy today and haven't had time to break out the hacking tools yet this morning. I'll post my results.