Several specialized tools can automate the wrapping of an .exe into a shellcode-ready format:
: The computed hash is compared against precomputed hashes for functions like LoadLibraryA and GetProcAddress . When a match is found, the function's address is retrieved and stored.
Shellcode, by definition, is . It must be able to execute from any location in memory.
EXE to Shellcode Converter
A standard Windows Portable Executable (EXE) file relies heavily on the Windows loader ( ntdll.dll and kernel32.dll ) to resolve dependencies, set up memory permissions, and map the Import Address Table (IAT).
The security community has developed several excellent open-source tools to automate this process. Each has its own strengths and use cases.
Converting EXEs to shellcode is a significant technique in modern malware development. convert exe to shellcode
Key flags:
: The code is organized into sections (.text, .data) that must be mapped correctly to be executable. Stack Overflow Step-by-Step Conversion (Using Donut) binary or compile it from source. Run the command donut.exe -i your_program.exe -o loader.bin loader.bin file is your raw shellcode. Verification : You can test this shellcode using a simple C-based shellcode runner that allocates memory via VirtualAlloc and creates a thread to run the buffer. Bishop Fox to test your converted payload? Rust for Malware Development | Bishop Fox
Standard EXEs often call ExitProcess when they finish executing. If your shellcode calls ExitProcess , it will terminate the entire host process it is running inside of. Advanced loaders hook or modify these exit APIs to ensure only the shellcode's thread terminates, preserving the host process. Several specialized tools can automate the wrapping of an
Compile: x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc popup.c -o popup.exe
The stub supports relocations, imports, and TLS callbacks. However, not every PE can be successfully converted—exceptions, delay-load imports, and MUI-dependent files may cause failures.
def exe_to_shellcode(exe_path): # Extract binary data subprocess.run(["dumpbin", "/raw", exe_path], stdout=open("example.bin", "wb")) It must be able to execute from any location in memory
Want to dive deeper? Read the source code of Donut's loader stub – it's a masterclass in position-independent assembly for Windows.