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name: ghidra description: "Reverse engineer binaries using Ghidra's headless analyzer. Decompile executables, extract functions, strings, symbols, and analyze call graphs without GUI."

Ghidra Headless Analysis Skill

Perform automated reverse engineering using Ghidra's analyzeHeadless tool. Import binaries, run analysis, decompile to C code, and extract useful information.

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Full analysis with all exports	ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./output binary
Decompile to C code	ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportDecompiled.java -o ./output binary
List functions	ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportFunctions.java -o ./output binary
Extract strings	ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportStrings.java -o ./output binary
Get call graph	ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportCalls.java -o ./output binary
Export symbols	ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportSymbols.java -o ./output binary
Find Ghidra path	find-ghidra.sh

Prerequisites

• Ghidra must be installed. On macOS: brew install --cask ghidra
• Java (OpenJDK 17+) must be available

The skill automatically locates Ghidra in common installation paths. Set GHIDRA_HOME environment variable if Ghidra is installed in a non-standard location.

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Main Wrapper Script

./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh [options] <binary>

Wrapper that handles project creation/cleanup and provides a simpler interface to analyzeHeadless.

Options:

• -o, --output <dir> - Output directory for results (default: current dir)
• -s, --script <name> - Post-analysis script to run (can be repeated)
• -a, --script-args <args> - Arguments for the last specified script
• --script-path <path> - Additional script search path
• -p, --processor <id> - Processor/architecture (e.g., x86:LE:32:default)
• -c, --cspec <id> - Compiler spec (e.g., gcc, windows)
• --no-analysis - Skip auto-analysis (faster, but less info)
• --timeout <seconds> - Analysis timeout per file
• --keep-project - Keep the Ghidra project after analysis
• --project-dir <dir> - Directory for Ghidra project (default: /tmp)
• --project-name <name> - Project name (default: auto-generated)
• -v, --verbose - Verbose output

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Built-in Export Scripts

ExportAll.java

Comprehensive export - runs all other exports and creates a summary. Best for initial analysis.

Output files:

• {name}_summary.txt - Overview: architecture, memory sections, function counts
• {name}_decompiled.c - All functions decompiled to C
• {name}_functions.json - Function list with signatures and calls
• {name}_strings.txt - All strings found
• {name}_interesting.txt - Functions matching security-relevant patterns

./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./analysis firmware.bin

ExportDecompiled.java

Decompile all functions to C pseudocode.

Output: {name}_decompiled.c

./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportDecompiled.java -o ./output program.exe

ExportFunctions.java

Export function list as JSON with addresses, signatures, parameters, and call relationships.

Output: {name}_functions.json

{
  "program": "example.exe",
  "architecture": "x86",
  "functions": [
    {
      "name": "main",
      "address": "0x00401000",
      "size": 256,
      "signature": "int main(int argc, char **argv)",
      "returnType": "int",
      "callingConvention": "cdecl",
      "isExternal": false,
      "parameters": [{"name": "argc", "type": "int"}, ...],
      "calls": ["printf", "malloc", "process_data"],
      "calledBy": ["_start"]
    }
  ]
}

ExportStrings.java

Extract all strings (ASCII, Unicode) with addresses.

Output: {name}_strings.json

./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportStrings.java -o ./output malware.exe

ExportCalls.java

Export function call graph showing caller/callee relationships.

Output: {name}_calls.json

Includes:

• Full call graph
• Potential entry points (functions with no callers)
• Most frequently called functions

ExportSymbols.java

Export all symbols: imports, exports, and internal symbols.

Output: {name}_symbols.json

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Common Workflows

Analyze an Unknown Binary

# Create output directory
mkdir -p ./analysis

# Run comprehensive analysis
./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./analysis unknown_binary

# Review the summary first
cat ./analysis/unknown_binary_summary.txt

# Look at interesting patterns (crypto, network, dangerous functions)
cat ./analysis/unknown_binary_interesting.txt

# Check specific decompiled functions
grep -A 50 "encrypt" ./analysis/unknown_binary_decompiled.c

Analyze Firmware

# Specify ARM architecture for firmware
./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh \
    -p "ARM:LE:32:v7" \
    -s ExportAll.java \
    -o ./firmware_analysis \
    firmware.bin

Quick Function Listing

# Just get function names and addresses (faster)
./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --no-analysis -s ExportFunctions.java -o . program

# Parse with jq
cat program_functions.json | jq '.functions[] | "\(.address): \(.name)"'

Find Specific Patterns

# After running ExportDecompiled, search for patterns
grep -n "password\|secret\|key" output_decompiled.c
grep -n "strcpy\|sprintf\|gets" output_decompiled.c

Analyze Multiple Binaries

for bin in ./samples/*; do
    name=$(basename "$bin")
    ./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o "./results/$name" "$bin"
done

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Architecture/Processor IDs

Common processor IDs for the -p option:

Architecture	Processor ID
x86 32-bit	x86:LE:32:default
x86 64-bit	x86:LE:64:default
ARM 32-bit	ARM:LE:32:v7
ARM 64-bit	AARCH64:LE:64:v8A
MIPS 32-bit	MIPS:BE:32:default or MIPS:LE:32:default
PowerPC	PowerPC:BE:32:default

Find all available processors:

ls "$(dirname $(./scripts/find-ghidra.sh))/../Ghidra/Processors/"

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Troubleshooting

Ghidra Not Found

# Check if Ghidra is installed
./scripts/find-ghidra.sh

# Set GHIDRA_HOME if in non-standard location
export GHIDRA_HOME=/path/to/ghidra_11.x_PUBLIC
./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh ...

Analysis Takes Too Long

# Set a timeout (seconds)
./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --timeout 300 -s ExportAll.java binary

# Skip analysis for quick export
./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --no-analysis -s ExportSymbols.java binary

Out of Memory

Edit the analyzeHeadless script or set:

export MAXMEM=4G

Wrong Architecture Detected

Explicitly specify the processor:

./scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -p "ARM:LE:32:v7" -s ExportAll.java firmware.bin

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Tips

1. Start with ExportAll.java - It gives you everything and the summary helps orient you
2. Check the interesting.txt file - It highlights security-relevant functions automatically
3. Use jq for JSON parsing - The JSON exports are designed to be machine-readable
4. Decompilation isn't perfect - Use it as a guide, cross-reference with disassembly
5. Large binaries take time - Use --timeout and consider --no-analysis for quick scans