baseer

بصير (Baseer)

بصير (Baseer) is a modular, extensible binary analysis framework written in C. It allows developers to inspect, disassemble, debug, and decompile binary files using a flexible callback system. Baseer identifies file formats using magic numbers and executes corresponding handlers dynamically.

⚠️ Note: This project is still under development and may change frequently.

Architecture

Architecture

1. Core

The Core handles the essential operations:

2. Extensions

Extensions add advanced capabilities:

Baseer in details

Baseer is designed around a callback tree. Each file format (e.g., ELF, TAR, etc.) is represented by a branch that defines its own callbacks. Callbacks can perform operations such as reading metadata, disassembling, debugging, or decompiling.

Baseer Architecture Diagram

Baseer Architecture Diagram

Key Concepts

Each branch in the diagram represents a callback path from the main function → Baseer callback → format handler → specific tools.

docs

Libraries Used

Build Instructions

Baseer uses a standard Makefile for compilation.

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/thxa/baseer.git
cd baseer

Build Baseer

cmake CMakeLists.txt
make

Run Baseer on a binary

./build/baseer <target-file> -m

Compile and analyze file

Requirements

Install Baseer

Installation on Arch Linux

Baseer on AUR

You can install Baseer from the AUR using an AUR helper like yay:

yay -S baseer

Make sure you have an AUR helper installed (e.g., yay, paru) before running the command.

Uninstallation

To remove Baseer, use:

pacman -Rs baseer

Install from Source

To install Baseer from source:

cmake CMakeLists.txt && make install

To uninstall:

cmake CMakeLists.txt && make uninstall

Usage

Analyze a file using one of the following modes:

Features

How Baseer Works

When you run Baseer with a target file, it:

  1. Reads the file header and detects its magic number.
  2. Searches the bmagic array for a match.
  3. Calls the corresponding callback (bx_<format>) to handle the file.
  4. Executes tools (b_<tool>) depending on command-line flags (e.g., -m for metadata, -a for disassembly, -d for debugging).

Example of the format registration:

bmagic magics[] = {
    {"ELF", ELF_MAGIC, reverse_bytes(ELF_MAGIC), bx_elf, 0},
    {"TAR", TAR_MAGIC, reverse_bytes(TAR_MAGIC), bx_tar, 257},
    // {"PDF", PDF_MAGIC, reverse_bytes(PDF_MAGIC), NULL, 0},
    // {"PNG", PNG_MAGIC, reverse_bytes(PNG_MAGIC), NULL, 0},
    // {"ZIP", ZIP_MAGIC, reverse_bytes(ZIP_MAGIC), NULL, 0},
    // {"Mach-o", MACHO_MAGIC, reverse_bytes(MACHO_MAGIC), NULL, 0},
};

Example: ELF Extensions

Below is an example of an already built extension for ELF .

bool bx_elf(bparser* parser, void *arg)
{
    int argc = *((inputs*)arg)->argc;
    char** args = ((inputs*)arg)->args;

    for (int i = 2; i < argc; i++) {
        if (strcmp("-m", args[i]) == 0)
            bparser_apply(parser, print_meta_data, arg);
        else if (strcmp("-a", args[i]) == 0)
            bparser_apply(parser, print_elf_disasm, arg);
        else if (strcmp("-d", args[i]) == 0)
            bparser_apply(parser, b_debugger, arg);
        else if (strcmp("-c", args[i]) == 0)
            bparser_apply(parser, decompile_elf, arg);
        else
            fprintf(stderr, "[!] Unsupported flag: %s\n", args[i]);
    }

    return true;
}

Adding New Formats

Baseer is built to be easily extended. To add a new format (e.g., PDF, PNG, ZIP):

  1. Create a new file in modules/<format>/bx_<format>.c.
  2. Define your format callback (bx_<format>).
  3. Implement your tools (e.g., b_<tool1>, b_<tool2>).
  4. Register your format in the bmagic array.
  5. Rebuild Baseer with make.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for a detailed guide.

Supported File Types (Magic Numbers)

Use this checklist to see which file types Baseer can currently handle:

This checklist is based on the Wikipedia list of file signatures. You can extend Baseer to support more types in the future.

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