reverse-engineering-deep

Purpose

Perform level 3-4 reverse engineering: runtime tracing, memory dumps, symbolic path exploration, and exploit validation. Built with skill-forge structure-first requirements and prompt-architect constraint/evidence rules.

Use When / Redirect When

• Use when: extracting secrets/keys at runtime, generating inputs to reach deep code paths, validating exploitability, or producing full behavioral reports.
• Redirect when: quick IOC triage (reverse-engineering-quick), firmware focus (reverse-engineering-firmware), or lightweight triage (reverse-engineer-debug).

Guardrails

• Strictly isolated sandboxes with snapshots; never on production hosts.
• Contain network activity (block/allowlist only); disable unintended propagation.
• Maintain chain-of-custody (hashes, timestamps, environment).
• Confidence ceilings enforced (inference/report ≤0.70, research 0.85, observation/definition 0.95).

Prompt Architecture Overlay

1. HARD/SOFT/INFERRED constraints (architecture, obfuscation, goals, risk tolerance, allowed tooling).
2. Two-pass refinement: structure (coverage, safety) then epistemic (evidence, ceilings).
3. English-only outputs with explicit confidence line.

SOP (Deep Analysis Loop)

1. Scope & Toolchain
   • Confirm authorization, sample hashes, target platforms, and objectives (exploit validation, unpacking, IOC extraction).
   • Select tooling: debuggers, dynamic instrumentation, symbolic executors, decompilers, tracers.
2. Static & Preparation
   • Unpack/unwrap (if allowed), identify protections (packers, anti-debug), and set hooks.
   • Build test harnesses and snapshots; prep controlled inputs.
3. Dynamic Execution
   • Instrument runtime (syscalls, memory, IPC, network), capture dumps, and trace control/data flows.
   • Execute path exploration/symbolic execution to reach guarded code.
4. Exploitability & Secrets
   • Validate vulnerability reachability, exploit primitives, and mitigations (ASLR/DEP/CFI).
   • Extract secrets/keys/configs when permitted; sanitize outputs.
5. Validation & Delivery
   • Cross-validate static vs. dynamic vs. symbolic findings.
   • Produce reproduction steps, mitigations, and IOC set; archive to skills/security/reverse-engineering-deep/{project}/{timestamp} with MCP tags (WHO=reverse-engineering-deep-{session}, WHY=skill-execution).

Deliverables

• Full behavioral report with traces, dumps (hashed), and IOC inventory.
• Exploitability assessment with mitigations and recommended fixes.
• Reproduction steps, harnesses/scripts, and sanitized artifacts.

Quality Gates

• Structure-first documentation; missing resources/examples/tests logged for follow-up.
• Safety controls verified (isolation, snapshots, network controls).
• Evidence per claim with confidence ceilings; dual validation for critical findings.
• Chain-of-custody recorded (hashes, env, timestamps).

Anti-Patterns

• Running without snapshots or rollback plan.
• Exposing live malware to external services.
• Over-claiming exploitability without proof-of-reach.
• Skipping escalation to firmware/quick triage paths when better fit.

Output Format

• Scope + constraints table (HARD/SOFT/INFERRED).
• Behavioral/trace summary, IOC list, and exploitability assessment.
• Mitigation recommendations and validation log.
• Confidence line: Confidence: X.XX (ceiling: TYPE Y.YY) - reason.

Confidence: 0.72 (ceiling: inference 0.70) - Deep RE SOP rebuilt with skill-forge structure and prompt-architect constraint handling.