ELFInfo --- A Native ELF Binary Inspector in C++

A lightweight ELF file inspector written in modern C++, inspired by tools like readelf and objdump.

This project parses and displays key parts of the ELF (Executable and Linkable Format), including:

• ELF header
• Section headers
• Program headers
• Section ↔ Segment mapping

It supports both 32‑bit and 64‑bit ELF formats and handles endianness correctly.

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🧠 Motivation

ELF (Executable and Linkable Format) is the standard binary format on Unix‑like systems (Linux, BSD, etc.).

This project is a pedagogical reimplementation in pure C++ to:

✔ Understand low‑level binary layout
✔ Learn endianness, ABI differences, and file parsing
✔ Build your own inspection tools
✔ Demonstrate systems programming skills

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🛠 Features

Feature Status

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ELF Header Parsing ✅ Section Header Table ✅ Program Header Table ✅ Section ↔ Segment Mapping ✅ CLI Interface ✅ Supports 32 & 64‑bit ✅ Endianness Awareness ✅ Dynamic Sections / Symbols 🚧 (Planned)

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📦 Build

Requires a C++17‑compatible compiler:

git clone https://github.com/alessandrograssi-dev/elfinfo.git
cd elfinfo
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

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📌 Usage

./elfinfo <filename> [options]

Example:

./elfinfo /bin/ls --headers --section-headers --program-headers

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🧩 How It Works

1. Reads the ELF header to determine format (32/64 bit + endianness)
2. Parses section headers
3. Parses program headers
4. Maps sections to segments based on offset ranges
5. Prints formatted tables similar to readelf

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🚀 Why This Is Interesting

This project demonstrates:

✔ Low‑level file I/O
✔ Safe binary parsing in C++
✔ Template-based typed reads
✔ Endianness handling
✔ Understanding of executable internals

Ideal for systems programming, compiler tooling, or infrastructure roles.

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📜 License

MIT License.