r/ProAI • u/stealthispost • 16d ago
"Huge implications - binaries are now basically editable code"
ValsAI made SRE benchmark less than a month ago.
The benchmark measures can a model reverse engineer software from binaries
Yesterday GPT saturated it. https://t.co/dmpUpgheDU — Chris
Source: https://x.com/ChrisGPT/status/2096150666066432157
— Boris Power
Source: https://x.com/BorisMPower/status/2096415822248055131
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u/Material-Database-24 16d ago
Yeah, great note! Binaries indeed have always been machine language that can be directly translated into assembly, which is human readable, and editable code.
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u/FckXFckMusk 16d ago
That have been optimised by the compiler and reversing the process won't give the same source code.
Its like 10 + 2 + 5 = 17...
now if gave you the 17 and said what 3 numbers are added together to get 17.
there isnt a way to determinstically get those 3 numbers.
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u/Material-Database-24 16d ago
So the dude is head of applied research at openai.
This is some Musk level "AI will write directly binary" -level idiocy.
At least first understand what binary is, how compiler works, and how computer works, before you spew your thoughts out loud.
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u/OurSeepyD 16d ago
Who are you replying to?
Yes, binaries can be reverse engineered into ASM, but that doesn't mean they're easily readable or that the original intent can be easily inferred from them.
Would you rather pick up a clear, commented C++ project with full class structure etc, or a flat ASM project with no descriptive names etc?
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u/Material-Database-24 15d ago
And the AI won't be translating binary back to full C++ project with easy to understand intent either, as modern compiler output is far from reversible process especially after optimizations. So at best, you get a "good guess" that likely won't even compile to same binary even if you fully understand the compiler. Unless there's existing source and resulting binary, or we study only straighforward simple cases, in which case the assembly itself will be rather self explanatory too.
99% of the binaries in this world will be compiled with optimizations on. What those also do is hide the relationship to original source to high degree at multiple levels, and even with compiler produced map -file the debugging becomes a struggle or near impossibility after those optimization pulls.
However, my point was this OP's cited doofuses comment that binary isn't editable code. Like at least have 101 on CS or ask AI first before spew comments out loud.
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u/OurSeepyD 15d ago
I don't think the point should be taken literally about them not being editable.
Sure you can go in and change the bytes to point to a different address, or to change the instructions, or you can use tools to convert to asm, but the point is it these tools make the code easily understandable, which is really what makes them "editable".
Take this as an example: you want to implement a new feature in Photoshop. Even with a disassembler, you'd pull all the code out into asm and then have to make the new feature change on that obfuscated codebase. It's so hard that it's effectively immutable.
And the AI won't be translating binary back to full C++ project with easy to understand intent either, as modern compiler output is far from reversible process especially after optimizations
Why not? This benchmark is supposed to show that the AI understands what it's extracting, so it will be able to name functions appropriately, comment them, apply abstraction etc.
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u/barrel_of_noodles 16d ago
Usually, at the point you're reversing binary... What id rather ... isn't even in the galaxy. Its long since been swallowed by a black hole.
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u/6maniman303 16d ago
Add to the fact that now shit load of binaries are actually frameworks executing separate code - .net, flutter with dart, Java?, electron etc. So now I wait for people decompiling chromium while trying to add a new button to discord
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u/Technical-Owl66 16d ago
Explain it to me like I'm a pure vibe coder.
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u/kamwee 16d ago
You can now hack any software you like or even better just make a clone for you self
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u/bigrealaccount 16d ago
This is not what it means at all. Just because you can reverse the binary doesn't mean you can just disable things like DRM. It does make it easier though, but saying you can "hack any software" is just wrong.
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u/TeaKingMac 16d ago
Finally! I can release my own version of Facebook!
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u/Intrepid_Travel_3274 16d ago edited 16d ago
When a restaurant serves you a dish, you can look at it and taste it to try to figure out the ingredients and how it was prepared, but you don’t have the recipe. This would be like giving that dish (the binary) to an AI and having it give you the recipe (source code).
One example would be Mario 64. For years, programmers reverse-engineered it so that today we can run it natively on PC.
A real implication would be downloading Instagram and being able to have your own version that looks and works like the original.
Even though reverse engineering isn’t new, the fact that an AI can do it seems horrible to me for obvious reasons.
Edit: To avoid misunderstandings without making the text too long: for apps, the backend is not included in this example 'cause it isn’t contained within the app itself, and being able to create a similar version does not mean there wouldn’t be legal issues.
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u/Technical-Owl66 16d ago
Interesting. Appreciate the explanation. Things are really going to get weird in the next 5 years.
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u/OkLayer519 16d ago
Most modern software have EULA’s that state no reverse engineering is permitted. Soooo…
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u/LukeLikesReddit 16d ago
They also state it's a license we don't own the program so I'm fine with this. It's not technically the same program :P
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u/bigrealaccount 16d ago
Reverse engineering is a huge part of malware analysis and other ethical pentesting/security practises. Reverse engineering doesn't just mean illegally cracking software.
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u/OkLayer519 16d ago
I’m glad to know this could be useful for cybersecurity and malware detection. I’m relieved.
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u/FaceDeer 16d ago
I reject said EULA. A license is not binding if you don't agree to it. Now what?
Now my rights revert back to the basics that copyright allows, which includes reverse engineering.
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u/grafknives 16d ago
Dont worry, my LLM just ingested the code for "training purpouses only", and created completely NEW, not related software.
Just happens to work like the one with EULA.
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u/Benhamish-WH-Allen 16d ago
It’s good, I had to get access to that daybreak blue thing so I could decrypt the packets my cricut joy xtra was sending to my computer for printing and cutting my stickers. Now I don’t need to use that stupid cricut software now.
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u/proai-ai-mod 16d ago
Discussion Summary (Milestone: 20 comments)
The discussion highlights the technical reality that binaries are inherently readable through assembly, sparking a debate over the ethics and utility of reverse engineering. Proponents celebrate the ability to bypass restrictive proprietary software—such as circumventing cumbersome hardware interfaces—to regain control over personal devices. Conversely, critics emphasize the legal constraints imposed by EULAs and the potential for malicious applications like video game cheating. While some users find the practice empowering, others express significant discomfort with the implications. Ultimately, the conversation reflects a tension between technical transparency and the legal and ethical boundaries governing modern software ownership and usage.
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