How far we have come: testing decompilation correctness of C decompilers

Abstract

A C decompiler converts an executable (the output from a C compiler) into source code. The recovered C source code, once recompiled, will produce an executable with the same functionality as the original executable. With over twenty years of development, C decompilers have been widely used in production to support reverse engineering applications, including legacy software migration, security retrofitting, software comprehension, and to act as the first step in launching adversarial software exploitations. As the paramount component and the trust base in numerous cybersecurity tasks, C decompilers have enabled the analysis of malware, ransomware, and promoted cybersecurity professionals’ understanding of vulnerabilities in real-world systems.