| name | checksec |
| description | Use the pwntools-provided checksec CLI for authorized ELF hardening review, mitigation checks, and binary triage evidence. |
checksec
Use the checksec CLI provided by the bundled pwntools installation to inspect ELF hardening and mitigation settings for provided or task-scoped binaries. This skill documents a pwntools-provided entrypoint, not a separately installed package.
Help First
Before constructing commands, run the installed help output and use it as the source of truth:
checksec --help
pwn checksec --help
Usage Rules
- Work only on provided binaries or build outputs in scope.
- Treat mitigation output as triage evidence, not proof of exploitability.
- Pair results with
file, readelf, gdb, or runtime testing when the finding matters.
- Treat
checksec as part of the pwntools toolchain; do not install another checksec implementation or apt package.
- Use this skill for mitigation triage; use the
pwntools skill only when exploit scripts, process interaction, packing, cyclic patterns, or shellcraft are needed.
- Save batch output to files and report paths instead of streaming large tables.
Common Workflows
Inspect one ELF binary:
file ./binary
checksec --file=./binary
readelf -h ./binary
Save batch results for multiple binaries:
for bin in ./build/*; do
test -f "$bin" || continue
checksec --file="$bin" >> checksec.txt
done
Use readelf -lW ./binary when PIE, RELRO, GNU_STACK, or loader details need independent confirmation.
Output
Report binary path, command used, architecture when known, protection status, risk-relevant observations, and output path.
