A Hybrid Transformer–LLM Pipeline for Function Name Recovery in Stripped Binaries

Recovering meaningful function names from stripped executables is a difficult challenge in reverse engineer- ing and security analysis. Without debug symbols, functions receive generic names, complicating both manual and automated analysis. Building on AsmDepictor [1], we propose architectural refinements to reduce repetitive and ambiguous predictions, along with API-based integration of a Large Language Model for enhanced name suggestions. We evaluate our approach on a dataset of 26 million functions, extracted from roughly 6800 open-source Windows binaries, compiled with MSVC $2017-2022$ for both X86 and X86_64 architectures. Preliminary evaluations incorporating the LLM model show notable reductions in repeti- tive naming errors. The overall approach highlights the potential to restore relevant semantic information in stripped binaries, promoting more efficient reverse engineering, malware analysis, and software composition analysis.

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Publication Details

Published
2025-08-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1109/csr64739.2025.11130025
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Advanced Data Storage Technologies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.97
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article

A Hybrid Transformer–LLM Pipeline for Function Name Recovery in Stripped Binaries

Camelia Lemnaru, Remus M. Petrache
2 citations
Advanced Data Storage Technologies
2.97
article

A Hybrid Transformer–LLM Pipeline for Function Name Recovery in Stripped Binaries

Camelia Lemnaru, Remus M. Petrache
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Recovering meaningful function names from stripped executables is a difficult challenge in reverse engineer- ing and security analysis. Without debug symbols, functions receive generic names, complicating both manual and automated analysis. Building on AsmDepictor [1], we propose architectural refinements to reduce repetitive and ambiguous predictions, along with API-based integration of a Large Language Model for enhanced name suggestions. We evaluate our approach on a dataset of 26 million functions, extracted from roughly 6800 open-source Windows binaries, compiled with MSVC $2017-2022$ for both X86 and X86_64 architectures. Preliminary evaluations incorporating the LLM model show notable reductions in repeti- tive naming errors. The overall approach highlights the potential to restore relevant semantic information in stripped binaries, promoting more efficient reverse engineering, malware analysis, and software composition analysis.

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (RO)
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Advanced Data Storage Technologies
2.97
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