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authorMark Rowe <mark@vector35.com>2025-08-11 10:42:07 -0700
committerMark Rowe <mark@vector35.com>2025-08-27 19:15:49 -0700
commit2303f75b080f6dd0c9a5c669a71f64ce830f5650 (patch)
treea49d80ea0a8131a50c16f85e767722679ff08c85 /plugins/workflow_objc/README.md
parentb302d7ba796f41b1102ee61feed8b8e212299997 (diff)
Rewrite Obj-C workflow in Rust
This is functionally equivalent to the previous workflow_objc, with the following changes: 1. It mutates the `core.function.metaAnalysis` workflow rather than registering a new named workflow. The activities now all check for the presence of the Objective-C metadata added by `ObjCProcessor` to determine whether they should do work, rather than relying on `MachoView` to override the function workflow when Objective-C metadata is present. This fixes https://github.com/Vector35/binaryninja-api/issues/6779. 2. The auto-inlining of `objc_msgSend` selector stub functions is performed in a separate activity from the processing of `objc_msgSend` call sites. The selector stub inlining activity is configured so that it does not run in `DSCView` as the shared cache needs different behavior for stub functions more generally that `SharedCacheWorkflow` already provides. 3. The way that types like `id` and `SEL` are referenced is fixed so that they show up as `id` rather than `objc_struct*`. This also replaces the Objective-C portion of the shared cache's workflow, and incorporates several bug fixes that had been applied to it but not the standalone Objective-C workflow.
Diffstat (limited to 'plugins/workflow_objc/README.md')
-rw-r--r--plugins/workflow_objc/README.md27
1 files changed, 18 insertions, 9 deletions
diff --git a/plugins/workflow_objc/README.md b/plugins/workflow_objc/README.md
index 1c1d47f3..9de7b89e 100644
--- a/plugins/workflow_objc/README.md
+++ b/plugins/workflow_objc/README.md
@@ -5,15 +5,23 @@ additional support for analyzing Objective-C binaries.
The primary functionality offered by this plugin is:
-- **Function Call Cleanup.** When using the Objective-C workflow, calls to
- `objc_msgSend` can be replaced with direct calls to the relevant function's
- implementation.
+1. Automatic inlining of the `objc_msgSend$foo:bar:` selector stub functions.
+2. Automatic call type adjustments for calls to `objc_msgSend` and `objc_msgSendSuper2`.
+ Call types are adjusted at each call site to set the number of arguments that are expected
+ based on the selector. Argument names are derived from the selector components, and argument
+ types are inferred in limited cases.
+3. Direct call rewriting. Calls to `objc_msgSend` can be rewritten to be direct calls to
+ the first known method implementation for that selector. This is disabled by default
+ as it will give potentially confusing results for any selector that has more than one
+ implementation or for common selector names. That said, some users may still find it to
+ be useful. It can be enabled via the `analysis.objectiveC.resolveDynamicDispatch`
+ setting.
For more details and usage instructions, see the [user guide](https://dev-docs.binary.ninja/guide/objectivec.html).
## Issues
-Issues for this repository have been disabled. Please file an issue for this repository at https://github.com/Vector35/binaryninja-api/issues. All previously existing issues for this repository have been transferred there as well.
+Please file issues at https://github.com/Vector35/binaryninja-api/issues.
## Building
@@ -21,17 +29,18 @@ This plugin can be built and installed separately from Binary Ninja via the
following commands:
```sh
-git clone https://github.com/Vector35/workflow_objc.git && cd workflow_objc
+git clone https://github.com/Vector35/binaryninja-api.git && cd binaryninja-api
git submodule update --init --recursive
-cmake -S . -B build -GNinja
+cmake -S plugins/workflow_objc -B build -G Ninja
cmake --build build -t install
```
## Credits
-This plugin is a continuation of [Objective Ninja](https://github.com/jonpalmisc/ObjectiveNinja), originally made
-by [@jonpalmisc](https://twitter.com/jonpalmisc). The full terms of the
-Objective Ninja license are as follows:
+This plugin is a continuation of [Objective Ninja](https://github.com/jonpalmisc/ObjectiveNinja),
+originally made by [@jonpalmisc](https://twitter.com/jonpalmisc).
+
+The full terms of the original Objective Ninja license are as follows:
```
Copyright (c) 2022-2023 Jon Palmisciano