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How to scan an x86-64 ELF for heap and format string bugs with Ablation

Flag allocation overflows, use-after-free, and unsafe printf-family format arguments.

Authorization notice. Ablation is dual-use. Only use it on software, sites and systems you own or have explicit permission to test.

Reverse engineering. Findings are heuristic leads for a human to validate, and any exploitation work on them should stay within your authorized scope.

Who it is forA security engineer reviewing a Linux x86-64 service binary before a release who needs a quick memory-safety triage pass.

The problemChecking every allocation site and logging call for unsafe patterns by hand is slow and easy to miss items in.

The outcomeA list of heuristic findings for heap issues and format-argument provenance, with the call sites to review first.

What you need first

  • A local clone of the Ablation repository at ~/ablation, as the README's launch step assumes
  • Claude Code or Codex installed and signed in with model access
  • A binary, firmware image, or source repository you are authorized to analyze
  • Familiarity with reverse engineering concepts such as ELF, callgraphs, and taint tracking

Steps

  1. Run cd ~/ablation && claude to open the repo in Claude Code.
  2. Run /model claude-sonnet-4-6 to set the model.
  3. Ask the agent to run the Heap Vulnerability Scanner and the Format String Scanner on <binary path>.
  4. Ask the agent to group the findings by function and mark which ones it could not confirm.

Prompt for your agent

Using the Ablation repo at ~/ablation, run the Heap Vulnerability Scanner and Format String Scanner on <binary path>, which is an x86-64 ELF. Output a grouped list of findings with function name, address, and finding type. Verify that each finding names the specific call site and that heuristic results are labeled as heuristics.

Caveat. The README describes these scanners as heuristics for supported x86-64 patterns, so expect false positives and check each one against the code.

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