Legal Targets

Analyze only crackmes, CTF challenges, and YOUR toy binaries at $RE_LAB — never commercial software for license bypass.

Legal Targets• Audio Walkthrough

00:00/03:25

Visual · re_legal_targets

Legal RE targets. $RE_LAB only. Original Cyberlium.

If you cannot name a legal reason to analyze it, it stays off your bench.

Legal RE targets include crackmes designed for education, CTF challenge binaries with explicit permission, open-source programs you compile yourself, and firmware/docs your organization authorizes. Random warez, cracked game dumps, and neighbor's licensed tools are out of scope. Cyberlium teaches target literacy so $RE_LAB work stays defensible. You will NOT analyze commercial installers to skip payment or redistribute patches. Next: Lab Binaries.

1. Approved target categories

Crackmes from reputable RE training sites with explicit educational intent. CTF binaries from competitions you enrolled in or public repos that permit analysis. Toy programs YOU compiled with source beside the binary on $RE_LAB.

Document target name, source URL, sha256, and why analysis is authorized in chmod 600 notes — provenance for learning.

Command guide

Try these commands — Approved target categories

═══ LINUX / macOS (Malware Static & Dynamic Triage) ═══

Inspect PE / ELF binary headers and sections

Command — copy this

readelf -h sample.bin 2>/dev/null || xxd -g 1 -l 32 sample.bin

Check binary entropy (high entropy often signals packed or encrypted payloads)

Command — copy this

python3 -c "
import math, sys
data = open('sample.bin', 'rb').read() if len(sys.argv) > 1 else b'MZX\x00\x90'
ent = -sum((data.count(bytes([b]))/len(data))*math.log2(data.count(bytes([b]))/len(data)) for b in set(data))
print(f'Calculated File Entropy: {ent:.4f} (Entropy > 7.0 suggests packed/encrypted)')
" sample.bin 2>/dev/null

Primary tools to practice this lesson: grep, curl. Reference sites: crackmes.one (https://crackmes.one/); pwn.college (https://pwn.college/); Legal RE scope (https://ghidra.re/). Run every command in the box — install first, then the usage lines — only on YOUR lab / program scope.

2. Targets you must refuse

Commercial games/apps for piracy, paid SaaS clients to steal API keys, employer binaries without written authorization, or classmate license keys scraped from disk. Unauthorized RE creates legal and ethical risk.

If you cannot prove legal rights or explicit CTF/crackme permission, do not disassemble — read public writeups instead.

3. Sharing and scope hygiene

Share writeups and techniques — not one-click cracks for paid software. Never post patched commercial binaries in public chat; share methodology on YOUR toy binary instead.

Ship: approved target list + NEVER target list for YOUR $RE_LAB workflow. Next: Lab Binaries.

4. What you ship: legal RE target policy for $RE_LAB

Approved: crackmes, CTF, YOUR toy binaries. NEVER: commercial piracy, unauthorized employer IP. chmod 600.

5. What you record before the next lesson

Date. Target policy. $RE_LAB named. File t23-m01-l02-legal-targets.txt chmod 600.

6. Wrong vs right: commercial piracy vs crackmes/CTF toys

Worked failure — same MSF word, opposite target. Right never needs a café Wi-Fi or classmate laptop.

Wrong: Analyze a cracked Photoshop 'for practice.' Patch a classmate's paid license tool.
Right: Write legal target policy for $RE_LAB. Next: Lab Binaries.

Hands-on Exercise