Looking for LD_PRELOAD

This note was written in 2014, but I just came under repression on Habré and it did not see the light of day. During the ban I forgot about it, but now I found it in the drafts. I thought about deleting it, but maybe it will be useful to someone.

In general, a little Friday admin reading on the topic of searching for “included” LD_PRELOAD.

1. A short digression for those who are not familiar with function substitution

The rest can go straight to p.2.

Let's start with a classic example:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <time.h>

int main()
{
  srand (time(NULL));
  for(int i=0; i<5; i++){
    printf ("%dn", rand()%100);
  }
}

We compile without any flags:

$ gcc ./ld_rand.c -o ld_rand

And, as expected, we get 5 random numbers less than 100:

$ ./ld_rand
53
93
48
57
20

But let’s imagine that we don’t have the source code of the program, but we need to change the behavior.

Let's create our own library with our own function prototype, for example:

int rand(){
  return 42;
}

$ gcc -shared -fPIC ./o_rand.c -o ld_rand.so

And now our random choice is quite predictable:

# LD_PRELOAD=$PWD/ld_rand.so ./ld_rand
42
42
42
42
42

This trick looks even more impressive if we first export our library via

$ export LD_PRELOAD=$PWD/ld_rand.so

or we'll do it first

# echo "$PWD/ld_rand.so" > /etc/ld.so.preload

and then run the program as usual. We haven't changed a single line of code in the program itself, but its behavior now depends on a tiny function in our library. Moreover, at the time of writing the program, the all didn't even exist.

What made our program use a fake all? Let's take it step by step.
When an application starts, certain libraries are loaded that contain the functions needed by the program. We can view them using ldd:

# ldd ./ld_rand
        linux-vdso.so.1 (0x00007ffc8b1f3000)
        libc.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 (0x00007fe3da8af000)
        /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00007fe3daa7e000)

This list may vary depending on the OS version, but there must be a file there libc.so. It is this library that provides system calls and basic functions such as open, malloc, printf etc. Our all is also among them. Let's make sure of this:

# nm -D /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 | grep " rand$"
000000000003aef0 T rand

Let's see if the set of libraries changes when used LD_PRELOAD

# LD_PRELOAD=$PWD/ld_rand.so ldd ./ld_rand
        linux-vdso.so.1 (0x00007ffea52ae000)
        /scripts/c/ldpreload/ld_rand.so (0x00007f690d3f9000)
        libc.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 (0x00007f690d230000)
        /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00007f690d405000)

Turns out the variable is set LD_PRELOAD forces our to load ld_rand.so even despite the fact that the program itself does not require it. And since our function "rand" loads earlier than all from libc.so, then she rules the roost.

Ok, we managed to replace the native function, but how can we make sure that its functionality is preserved and some actions are added. Let's modify our random:

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <dlfcn.h>
#include <stdio.h>
 
typedef int (*orig_rand_f_type)(void);
 
int rand()
{
  /* Выполняем некий код */
  printf("Evil injected coden");
  
  orig_rand_f_type orig_rand;
  orig_rand = (orig_rand_f_type)dlsym(RTLD_NEXT,"rand");
  return orig_rand();
}

Here, as our “addition”, we only print one line of text, after which we create a pointer to the original function all. To obtain the address of this function we need dlsym is a function from the library libdlwhich will find our all in a stack of dynamic libraries. After which we will call this function and return its value. Accordingly, we will need to add "-ldl" during assembly:

$ gcc -ldl -shared -fPIC ./o_rand_evil.c -o ld_rand_evil.so

$ LD_PRELOAD=$PWD/ld_rand_evil.so ./ld_rand
Evil injected code
66
Evil injected code
28
Evil injected code
93
Evil injected code
93
Evil injected code
95

And our program uses "native" all, having previously performed some obscene actions.

2. The pain of searching

Knowing about a potential threat, we want to detect that preload It was performed. It is clear that the best way to detect is to push it into the kernel, but I was interested in the detection options in userspace.

Next, solutions for detection and their refutation will come in pairs.

2.1. Let's start simple

As mentioned earlier, you can specify the library to load using the variable LD_PRELOAD or by writing it in a file /etc/ld.so.preload. Let's create two simple detectors.

The first one is to check the set environment variable:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <fcntl.h>

int main()
{
  char*  pGetenv = getenv("LD_PRELOAD");
  pGetenv != NULL ?
    printf("LD_PRELOAD (getenv) [+]n"):
    printf("LD_PRELOAD (getenv) [-]n");
}

The second one is to check whether the file is opened:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <fcntl.h>

int main()
{
  open("/etc/ld.so.preload", O_RDONLY) != -1 ?
    printf("LD_PRELOAD (open) [+]n"):
    printf("LD_PRELOAD (open) [-]n");
}

Let's load the libraries:

$ export LD_PRELOAD=$PWD/ld_rand.so
$ echo "$PWD/ld_rand.so" > /etc/ld.so.preload

$ ./detect_base_getenv
LD_PRELOAD (getenv) [+]
$ ./detect_base_open
LD_PRELOAD (open) [+]

Here and below, [+] indicates successful detection.
Accordingly, [-] means bypassing detection.

How effective is such a detector? Let's take a look at the environment variable first:

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <dlfcn.h>

char* (*orig_getenv)(const char *) = NULL;
char* getenv(const char *name)
{
    if(!orig_getenv) orig_getenv = dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, "getenv");
    if(strcmp(name, "LD_PRELOAD") == 0) return NULL;
    return orig_getenv(name);
}

$ gcc -shared -fpic -ldl ./ld_undetect_getenv.c -o ./ld_undetect_getenv.so
$ LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_getenv.so ./detect_base_getenv
LD_PRELOAD (getenv) [-]

Similarly, we get rid of the check open:

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <dlfcn.h>
#include <errno.h>

int (*orig_open)(const char*, int oflag) = NULL;

int open(const char *path, int oflag, ...)
{
    char real_path[256];
    if(!orig_open) orig_open = dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, "open");
    realpath(path, real_path);
    if(strcmp(real_path, "/etc/ld.so.preload") == 0){
        errno = ENOENT;
        return -1;
    }
    return orig_open(path, oflag);
}

$ gcc -shared -fpic -ldl ./ld_undetect_open.c -o ./ld_undetect_open.so
$ LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_open.so ./detect_base_open
LD_PRELOAD (open) [-]

Yes, other ways to access the file can be used here, such as, open64, stat etc., but, in fact, the same 5-10 lines of code are needed to deceive them.

2.2. Let's move on

Above we used getenv() to get the value LD_PRELOAD, but there is also a more “low-level” way to get to EPS-variables. We will not use intermediate functions, but will refer to the array **environ, which stores a copy of the environment:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

extern char **environ;
int main(int argc, char **argv) {
  int i;
  char env[] = "LD_PRELOAD";
  if (environ != NULL)
    for (i = 0; environ[i] != NULL; i++)
    {
      char * pch;
      pch = strstr(environ[i],env);
      if(pch != NULL)
      {
        printf("LD_PRELOAD (**environ) [+]n");
        return 0;
      }
    }
  printf("LD_PRELOAD (**environ) [-]n");
  return 0;
}

Since here we are reading data directly from memory, such a call cannot be intercepted, and our undetect_getenv it no longer interferes with identifying the intrusion.

$ LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_getenv.so ./detect_environ
LD_PRELOAD (**environ) [+]

It would seem that this problem is solved? It's still just beginning.

After the program is started, the value of the variable LD_PRELOAD hackers no longer need it in memory, that is, they can read it and delete it before executing any instructions. Of course, editing an array in memory is, at a minimum, a bad programming style, but can this stop someone who doesn’t really wish us well anyway?

To do this we need to create our own fake function init(), in which we intercept the installed LD_PRELOAD and pass it to our linker:

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <dlfcn.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

extern char **environ;
char *evil_env;
int (*orig_execve)(const char *path, char *const argv[], char *const envp[]) = NULL;


// Создаём фейковую версию init
// которая будет вызвана при загрузке программы
// до выполнения каких-либо инструкций

void evil_init()
{
  // Сначала сохраним текущее значение LD_PRELOAD
  static const char *ldpreload = "LD_PRELOAD";
  int len = strlen(getenv(ldpreload));
  evil_env = (char*) malloc(len+1);
  strcpy(evil_env, getenv(ldpreload));

  int i;
  char env[] = "LD_PRELOAD";
  if (environ != NULL)
    for (i = 0; environ[i] != NULL; i++) {
      char * pch;
      pch = strstr(environ[i],env);
      if(pch != NULL) {
        // Избавляемся от текущего LD_PRELOAD
        unsetenv(env);
        break;
      }
    }
}

int execve(const char *path, char *const argv[], char *const envp[])
{
  int i = 0, j = 0, k = -1, ret = 0;
  char** new_env;
  if(!orig_execve) orig_execve = dlsym(RTLD_NEXT,"execve");

  // Проверям не существует ли других установленных LD_PRELOAD
  for(i = 0; envp[i]; i++){
    if(strstr(envp[i], "LD_PRELOAD")) k = i;
  }
  // Если LD_PRELOAD не было установлено до нас, то добавим его
  if(k == -1){
    k = i;
    i++;
  }
  // Создаём новое окружение
  new_env = (char**) malloc((i+1)*sizeof(char*));

  // Копируем старое окружение, за исключением LD_PRELOAD
  for(j = 0; j < i; j++) {
    // перезаписываем или создаём LD_PRELOAD
    if(j == k) {
      new_env[j] = (char*) malloc(256);
      strcpy(new_env[j], "LD_PRELOAD=");
      strcat(new_env[j], evil_env);
    }
    else new_env[j] = (char*) envp[j];
  }
  new_env[i] = NULL;
  ret = orig_execve(path, argv, new_env);
  free(new_env[k]);
  free(new_env);
  return ret;
}

We execute and check:

$ gcc -shared -fpic -ldl -Wl,-init,evil_init  ./ld_undetect_environ.c -o ./ld_undetect_environ.so
$ LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_environ.so ./detect_environ
LD_PRELOAD (**environ) [-]

2.3. /proc/self/

However, memory is not the last place where you can find a substitution LD_PRELOAD, there is also / proc /. Let's start with the obvious /proc/{PID}/environ.

In fact, there is a universal solution for undetect **environ и /proc/self/environ. The problem is the “wrong” behavior unsetenv(env).

correct option

void evil_init()
{
  // Сначала сохраним текущее значение LD_PRELOAD
  static const char *ldpreload = "LD_PRELOAD";
  int len = strlen(getenv(ldpreload));
  evil_env = (char*) malloc(len+1);
  strcpy(evil_env, getenv(ldpreload));
 
  int i;
  char env[] = "LD_PRELOAD";
  if (environ != NULL)
    for (i = 0; environ[i] != NULL; i++) {
      char * pch;
      pch = strstr(environ[i],env);
      if(pch != NULL) {
        // Избавляемся от текущего LD_PRELOAD 
        //unsetenv(env);
        // Вместо unset просто обнулим нашу переменную
        for(int j = 0; environ[i][j] != ' '; j++) environ[i][j] = ' ';
        break;
      }
    }
}

$ gcc -shared -fpic -ldl -Wl,-init,evil_init  ./ld_undetect_environ_2.c -o ./ld_undetect_environ_2.so
$ (LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_environ_2.so cat /proc/self/environ; echo) | tr " 00" "n" | grep -F LD_PRELOAD
$

But let's imagine that we didn't find it and /proc/self/environ contains "problematic" data.

First let's try with our previous "disguise":

$ (LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_environ.so cat /proc/self/environ; echo) | tr " 00" "n" | grep -F LD_PRELOAD
LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_environ.so

cat uses the same to open the file open (), so the solution is similar to what was already done in section 2.1, but now we create a temporary file where we copy the values ​​of the true memory without lines containing LD_PRELOAD.

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <dlfcn.h>

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <errno.h>

#define BUFFER_SIZE 256

int (*orig_open)(const char*, int oflag) = NULL;
char *soname = "fakememory_preload.so";

char *sstrstr(char *str, const char *sub)
{
  int i, found;
  char *ptr;
  found = 0;
  for(ptr = str; *ptr != ' '; ptr++) {
    found = 1;
    for(i = 0; found == 1 && sub[i] != ' '; i++){
      if(sub[i] != ptr[i]) found = 0;
    }
    if(found == 1)
      break;
  }
  if(found == 0)
    return NULL;
  return ptr + i;
}

void fakeMaps(char *original_path, char *fake_path, char *pattern)
{
  int fd;
  char buffer[BUFFER_SIZE];
  int bytes = -1;
  int wbytes = -1;
  int k = 0;

  pid_t pid = getpid();

  int fh;
  if ((fh=orig_open(fake_path,O_CREAT|O_WRONLY))==-1) {
    printf("LD: Cannot open write-file [%s] (%d) (%s)n", fake_path, errno, strerror(errno));
    exit (42);
  }
  if((fd=orig_open(original_path, O_RDONLY))==-1) {
    printf("LD: Cannot open read-file.n");
    exit(42);
  }
  do
  {
    char t = 0;
    bytes = read(fd, &t, 1);
    buffer[k++] = t;
    //printf("%c", t);
    if(t == ' ') {
      //printf("n");
  
      if(!sstrstr(buffer, "LD_PRELOAD")) {
        if((wbytes = write(fh,buffer,k))==-1) {
          //printf("write errorn");
        }
        else {
          //printf("writed %dn", wbytes);
        }
      }
      k = 0;
    }
  }
  while(bytes != 0);
    
  close(fd);
  close(fh);
}

int open(const char *path, int oflag, ...)
{
  char real_path[PATH_MAX], proc_path[PATH_MAX], proc_path_0[PATH_MAX];
  pid_t pid = getpid();
  if(!orig_open)
  orig_open = dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, "open");
  realpath(path, real_path);
  snprintf(proc_path, PATH_MAX, "/proc/%d/environ", pid);
  
  if(strcmp(real_path, proc_path) == 0) {
    snprintf(proc_path, PATH_MAX, "/tmp/%d.fakemaps", pid);
    realpath(proc_path_0, proc_path);
    
    fakeMaps(real_path, proc_path, soname);
    return orig_open(proc_path, oflag);
  }
  return orig_open(path, oflag);
}

And this stage has been passed:

$ (LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_proc_environ.so cat /proc/self/environ; echo) | tr " 00" "n" | grep -F LD_PRELOAD
$

The next obvious place is /proc/self/maps. There is no point in dwelling on it. The solution is absolutely identical to the previous one: copy the data from the file minus the lines between libc.so и ld.so.

2.4. Option from Chokepoint

I especially liked this solution for its simplicity. We compare the addresses of functions loaded directly from libc, and “NEXT” addresses.

#define _GNU_SOURCE

#include <stdio.h>
#include <dlfcn.h>

#define LIBC "/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6"

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
  void *libc = dlopen(LIBC, RTLD_LAZY); // Open up libc directly
  char *syscall_open = "open";
  int i;
  void *(*libc_func)();
  void *(*next_func)();
  
  libc_func = dlsym(libc, syscall_open);
  next_func = dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, syscall_open);
  if (libc_func != next_func) {
    printf("LD_PRELOAD (syscall - %s) [+]n", syscall_open);
    printf("Libc address: %pn", libc_func);
    printf("Next address: %pn", next_func);
  }
  else {
    printf("LD_PRELOAD (syscall - %s) [-]n", syscall_open);
  }
  return 0;
}

Loading the library with interception "open()" and check:

$ export LD_PRELOAD=$PWD/ld_undetect_open.so
$ ./detect_chokepoint
LD_PRELOAD (syscall - open) [+]
Libc address: 0x7fa86893b160
Next address: 0x7fa868a26135

The refutation turned out to be even simpler:

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <dlfcn.h>

extern void * _dl_sym (void *, const char *, void *);
void * dlsym (void * handle, const char * symbol)
{
  return _dl_sym (handle, symbol, dlsym);
}

# LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_chokepoint.so ./detect_chokepoint
LD_PRELOAD (syscall - open) [-]

2.5. Syscalls

It would seem that this is all, but we will still flounder. If we direct the system call directly to the kernel, this will bypass the entire interception process. The solution below is, of course, architecture-dependent (x86_64). Let's try to implement it to detect an opening ld.so.preload.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <fcntl.h>

#define BUFFER_SIZE 256

int syscall_open(char *path, long oflag)
{
    int fd = -1;
    __asm__ (
             "mov $2, %%rax;" // Open syscall number
             "mov %1, %%rdi;" // Address of our string
             "mov %2, %%rsi;" // Open mode
             "mov $0, %%rdx;" // No create mode
             "syscall;"       // Straight to ring0
             "mov %%eax, %0;" // Returned file descriptor
             :"=r" (fd)
             :"m" (path), "m" (oflag)
             :"rax", "rdi", "rsi", "rdx"
             );
    return fd;
 }
int main()
{
    syscall_open("/etc/ld.so.preload", O_RDONLY) > 0 ?
      printf("LD_PRELOAD (open syscall) [+]n"):
      printf("LD_PRELOAD (open syscall) [-]n");
        
}

$ ./detect_syscall
LD_PRELOAD (open syscall) [+]

And this problem has a solution. Excerpt from the Commission'A:

ptrace is a tool that allows a parent process to observe and control the progress of another process, view and change its data and registers. Typically this function is used to create breakpoints in a debugging program and monitor system calls.

The parent process can begin tracing by first calling fork(2), and then the resulting child process can execute PTRACE_TRACEME, followed (usually) by executing exec(3). On the other hand, a parent process can start debugging an existing process using PTRACE_ATTACH.

When tracing, the child process stops every time it receives a signal, even if the signal is ignored. (The exception is SIGKILL, which works normally.) The parent process will be notified of this by calling wait(2), after which it can view and modify the contents of the child process before it starts. The parent process then allows the child to continue running, in some cases ignoring the signal sent to it or sending another signal instead).

Thus, the solution is to monitor the process, stopping it before each system call and, if necessary, redirect the thread to a hook function.

#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <sys/ptrace.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <sys/reg.h>
#include <sys/user.h>
#include <asm/unistd.h>


#if defined(__x86_64__)
#define REG_SYSCALL ORIG_RAX
#define REG_SP rsp
#define REG_IP rip 
#endif

long NOHOOK = 0;

long evil_open(const char *path, long oflag, long cflag) 
{
    char real_path[PATH_MAX], maps_path[PATH_MAX];
    long ret;
    pid_t pid;
    pid = getpid();
    realpath(path, real_path);
    if(strcmp(real_path, "/etc/ld.so.preload") == 0)
    {
        errno = ENOENT;
        ret = -1;
    }
    else
    {
        NOHOOK = 1; // Entering NOHOOK section
        ret = open(path, oflag, cflag);
    }
    // Exiting NOHOOK section
    NOHOOK = 0;
    return ret;
}

void init()
{
    pid_t program;
    // Форкаем дочерний процесс
    program = fork();
    if(program != 0) {
        int status;
        long syscall_nr;
        struct user_regs_struct regs;
        // Подключаемся к дочернему процессу
        if(ptrace(PTRACE_ATTACH, program) != 0) {
            printf("Failed to attach to the program.n");
            exit(1);
        }
        waitpid(program, &status, 0);
        // Отслеживаем только SYSCALLs
        ptrace(PTRACE_SETOPTIONS, program, 0, PTRACE_O_TRACESYSGOOD);
        while(1) {
            ptrace(PTRACE_SYSCALL, program, 0, 0);
            waitpid(program, &status, 0);
            if(WIFEXITED(status) || WIFSIGNALED(status)) break;
            else if(WIFSTOPPED(status) && WSTOPSIG(status) == SIGTRAP|0x80) {
                // Получаем номер системного вызова
                syscall_nr = ptrace(PTRACE_PEEKUSER, program, sizeof(long)*REG_SYSCALL);
                if(syscall_nr == __NR_open) {
                    // Читаем слово из памяти дочернего процесса
                    NOHOOK = ptrace(PTRACE_PEEKDATA, program, (void*)&NOHOOK);
                    // Перехватываем вызов
                    if(!NOHOOK) {
                        
                        // Копируем регистры дочернего процесса
                        // в переменную regs родительского
                        ptrace(PTRACE_GETREGS, program, 0, &regs);
                        // Push return address on the stack
                        regs.REG_SP -= sizeof(long);
                        // Копируем слово в память дочернего процесса
                        ptrace(PTRACE_POKEDATA, program, (void*)regs.REG_SP, regs.REG_IP);
                        // Устанавливаем RIP по адресу evil_open
                        regs.REG_IP = (unsigned long) evil_open;
                        // Записываем состояние регистров процесса
                        ptrace(PTRACE_SETREGS, program, 0, &regs);
                    }
                }
                ptrace(PTRACE_SYSCALL, program, 0, 0);
                waitpid(program, &status, 0);
            }
        }
        exit(0);
    }
    else {
        sleep(0);
    }
}

We check:

$ ./detect_syscall
LD_PRELOAD (open syscall) [+]
$ LD_PRELOAD=./ld_undetect_syscall.so ./detect_syscall
LD_PRELOAD (open syscall) [-]

+0-0=5

Thank you so much

Charles Hubain
choke point
ValdikSS
Philippe Teuwen
derhass

, whose articles, sources and comments did much more than I did to make this note appear here.

Source: habr.com