Linux Distributions' Binary Audits May Not Detect Absolute Paths

Many Linux distributions and package managers audit binaries for non-relocatable absolute paths, which can cause issues if a binary contains a path that does not exist on the end-user's machine.

This audit process typically involves using tools like grep or GNU binutils's strings to detect absolute paths in the binary. However, a GCC optimization may prevent detection of these paths.

What's happening

The GCC optimization splits string constants into pieces, which can make it difficult to detect absolute paths. This optimization is used to improve performance by allowing the use of vectorized move instructions.

For example, if a string constant is copied into a buffer using std::string, strcpy, or memcpy, the string may be split into pieces. However, if a string is only passed around as a pointer, it will remain intact.