Heavy lifting with McSema 2.0
Four years ago, we released McSema, our x86 to LLVM bitcode binary translator. Since then, it has stretched and flexed; we added x86-64 support, put it on a performance-focused diet, and improved its usability and documentation. McSema wasn’t the only thing improving these past years, though. At the same time, programs were increasingly adopting modern x86 features like the advanced vector extensions (AVX) instructions, which operate on 256-bit wide vector registers. Adjusting to these changes was back-breaking but achievable work. Then our lifting goals expanded to include AArch64, the architecture used by modern smartphones. That’s when we realized that we needed to step back and strengthen McSema’s core. This change in focus paid off; now McSema can transpile AArch64 binaries into x86-64! Keep reading for more details.[…]
https://github.com/trailofbits/mcsema
https://github.com/trailofbits/mcsema/blob/master/docs/McSemaWalkthrough.md
https://www.trailofbits.com/research-and-development/mcsema/
