In this article, we are going to check the executable. We will find out which string is present in it by using the string command.

Prerequisites

Besides having a terminal open, make sure you have a binary present in your directory.

Find dependencies

• First, we will check the executable. Run the following command:

$ file binary_name

• Now we will write a command to find strings within the binary. Run the following command:

$ strings binary_name

• We can hexdump a file by running the following command:

$ od -tx1 binary_name

• We can list the symbols in the binary by running the following command:

$ nm binary_name

• You can check which shared library it has been linked with by running the following command:

$ ldd binary_name

How it works

Now we will look at an explanation of the previous commands:

• We used the file command to get the information about the binary. We also got the architecture information by running the file command.
• The string command will return the string within that binary file.
• By running the od command, you will get the hexdump of the file.
• There are symbols present in the binary. You can list those symbols by running the nm command.
• By running the ldd command, you can check which shared library your binary is linked with.