Code Inlining

Eazfuscator.NET

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Code Inlining

Method bodies can be inlined to their call sites during obfuscation. Please take a look at example (C#):

Example 5.1. Before obfuscation 

using System;
using System.Reflection;

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Inlining test");
        SecretMethod();
    }

    [Obfuscation(Feature = "inline", Exclude = false)]
    static void SecretMethod()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Secret");
    }
}

Example 5.2. After obfuscation 

using System;
using System.Reflection;

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Inlining test");
        Console.WriteLine("Secret");
    }
}


Code inlining brings obvious security benefits:

  • Once method is inlined, it's no longer a subject of hacker's special attention

  • Call site gets larger as it takes inlined instructions of the method. This makes code analysis a harder task for an intruder

Code inlining may be useful in such scenarios as licensing checks and know-how algorithms.

Instructions on enabling method inlining

  1. Open the source code of a method you want to inline

  2. Add a custom attribute as shown below (C#): 

    using System;
using System.Reflection;

class YourClass
{
    [Obfuscation(Feature = "inline", Exclude = false)]
    void YourMethod()
    {
        ...
    }
}

    For Visual Basic .NET: 

    Imports System
Imports System.Reflection

Class YourClass

    <Obfuscation(Feature:="inline", Exclude:=False)> 
    Sub YourMethod()
        ...
    End Sub
    
End Class

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