How to Install the Service Trace Viewer Tool (SvcTraceViewer.exe) to View *.svclog Files

Posted on April 27, 2012 by sean • Posted in Programming, Windows • Tagged .net, debugging, dot net, dotnet, iis, logs, microsoft, service trace viewer tool, stack trace, svc, svclog, svctraceviewer, svctraceviewer.exe, wcf • Leave a comment

I work with WCF services day to day, so sometimes I need to check the service logs to debug an issue or provide a stack trace for a bug report. To view *.svclog files, you need to install the Service Trace Viewer Tool from Microsoft.

Installing the Service Trace Viewer Tool

1) Go to the Windows SDK page and click Install Now
2) On the next page click Download and then run the web installer (winsdk_web.exe)
3) The default installation will install a lot of development tools, including the Service Trace Viewer Tool. But if you’re a minimalist and you’re just looking for the Service Trace Viewer Tool, just install the .NET Development Tools.

My machine required those additional reference assemblies, but your mileage may vary depending on what you’ve already installed.

Good luck debugging!

Examining a Buffer Overflow in C and assembly with gdb

Posted on August 20, 2011 by sean • Posted in Linux, Programming, Security • Tagged 64-bit, addq, as, assembling, assembly, assembly primer for hackers, base pointer, buffer, buffer overflow primer, c, data, debugging, ebp, eip, fun and profit, functions, gas, gdb, getinput, gets, hackers, hacking, instruction pointer, int, leave, linux, main, movl, movq, oscp, overflow, pentesting with backtrack, pointer, pointers, popq, printf, pushq, puts, rbp, registers, ret, rip, root, segfault, segmentation fault, shell, smashing the stack, stabs, stack, stack overflow, string, strings, text, ub3r 1337, ub3r h4x0r, vivek ramachandran, x86 • 5 Comments

Welcome University of Maryland students! Thanks for visiting!

I’ve now finished Vivek Ramachandran’s Assembly Primer for Hackers and I’ve decided to move on to his Buffer Overflow Primer. I’ve exploited basic buffer overflows before, but I think going through his videos will give me more perspective now that I’ve brushed up on assembly.

In this article I’ll be stepping through the program in Vivek’s first video and providing some additional tips and tricks that I find useful when reviewing the program in gdb. I’m also on a 64-bit machine, so things are a bit different in gdb for me than they are in the video. Therefore it’s better that I write up my own explanations as I grasp the material so when I review later it will be more clear.

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Examining the Stack to Debug Segfaults with gdb

Posted on August 19, 2011 by sean • Posted in Linux, Programming, Security • Tagged 64-bit, addq, as, assembling, assembly, assembly primer for hackers, base pointer, data, debugging, ebp, eip, fun and profit, functions, gas, gdb, hackers, hacking, instruction pointer, int, linux, movl, movq, oscp, pentesting with backtrack, pointer, pointers, popq, pushq, rbp, registers, rip, segfault, segmentation fault, smashing the stack, stabs, stack, string, strings, text, x86 • 1 Comment

Earlier, while writing my compare strings method, I made a mistake in the code and came across a segmentation fault. Based on how the program executed I was pretty sure of approximately where the error was occurring, but rather than go and find the mistake I thought it would be a lot more useful to step through the program in the debugger and examine the problem that way. By doing this I’ll make it easier for myself to debug similar (more complex) problems in the future.

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Data Types and Moving Data in Assembly

Posted on August 19, 2011 by sean • Posted in Linux, Programming, Security • Tagged as, assembling, assembly, assembly primer for hackers, bss, data, data types, debugging, df, df flag, gas, gdb, hackers, hacking, heap, linux, lods, memory, mov, movb, moving, movl, movs, movw, oscp, pentesting with backtrack, pointer, pointers, registers, stack, stos, text, vivek ramachandran, x86 • Leave a comment

I’m still following the Assembly Primer for Hackers from Vivek Ramachandran of SecurityTube in preparation for Penetration Testing with BackTrack. In this review I’ll cover data types and how to move bytes, numbers, pointers and strings between labels and registers.

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Reviewing Debugging with gdb

Posted on August 18, 2011 by sean • Posted in Linux, Programming, Security • Tagged as, assembling, assembly, assembly primer for hackers, debugging, gas, gdb, hackers, hacking, int, ld, linking, linux, memory, oscp, pentesting with backtrack, registers, stabs, stack, sysadmin, toor, variables, virtual memory, vivek ramachandran, x86 • Leave a comment

As you may have noticed, I’m preparing to become an OSCP. In addition to brushing up on assembly, I’ll also be stepping through the debugger.

Let’s review gdb and go over some tips to make sure the course work becomes smooth sailing. This is primarily an introduction to general use of gdb, but there are a few tips and tricks as well.

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Reviewing Assembly

Posted on August 18, 2011 by sean • Posted in Linux, Programming, Security • Tagged 0x80, as, assembling, assembly, assembly primer for hackers, bss, data, debugging, exit, gas, gdb, hackers, hacking, heap, int, ld, linking, linux, memory, movl, oscp, pentesting with backtrack, registers, stabs, stack, system call, text, virtual memory, vivek ramachandran, x86 • Leave a comment

Assembly is a language I’ve dabbled in for years, but never really pressed myself to become fluent in. I understand the basics of memory layout and the general idea of how to program in assembly, but I’ve never fully applied these skills in the security realm. In preparation for Penetration Testing with BackTrack, I’ll be reviewing assembly language from the ground up to ensure I’m at maximum potential going into the study course.

To review assembly I’ll primarily be following the Assembly Primer for Hackers from Vivek Ramachandran of SecurityTube. I’ve been through several of these lessons before and they’re very easy to follow for someone who has previous Linux and programming experience but would like a thorough introduction to assembly. What I’ll be doing here is documenting simple tips that will help me later. Hopefully this will become a useful study guide and cheat-sheet for both assembly and gdb (the GNU debugger).

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Tag Archives: debugging

How to Install the Service Trace Viewer Tool (SvcTraceViewer.exe) to View *.svclog Files

Installing the Service Trace Viewer Tool

Examining a Buffer Overflow in C and assembly with gdb

Examining the Stack to Debug Segfaults with gdb

Data Types and Moving Data in Assembly

Reviewing Debugging with gdb

Reviewing Assembly