fix SIGBUS due to mapping being larger than file

Migrates Patcher state to global variables and uses std.once for initialization.
This is preparing for future syscall tracing, which requires static access to
the patching context across the runtime to be accessed by flicken.

README.md

@@ -1,5 +1,84 @@
-# Load-time patcher
+# Flicker
+
+Flicker is a universal load-time binary rewriter for native AMD64 Linux applications. It maps the
+target executable into memory, performs a linear scan disassembly, and applies patches using a
+hierarchy of tactics, allowing for instrumentation, debugging, and hook injection.
+
+This approach allows Flicker to maintain control over the process lifecycle, enabling it to handle
+Statically linked executables, Dynamically linked executables (via interpreter loading), and System
+calls (e.g., intercepting `readlink`, `clone`).
+
+It tries to offer a middle ground that aims for native execution speeds with the flexibility of
+dynamic instrumentation.
+
+## Work In Progress
+
+This project is currently in active development.
+
+Already supported are Statically linked executables, basic dynamically linked executables (via
+`PT_INTERP` loading), and basic syscall interception.
+
+Full `dlopen` support, JIT handling, signal handling, and a plugin system are pending.
+
+## Build
+
+Flicker uses the Zig build system. Ensure you have Zig 0.15.1 installed.
+
+To build the release binary:
+```bash
+zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseSafe
+```
+
+To run the test suite (includes various static/dynamic executables):
+```bash
+zig build test
+```
+
+The compiled binary will be located at `zig-out/bin/flicker`.
+
+## Usage
+
+Flicker acts as a loader wrapper. Pass the target executable and its arguments directly to Flicker.
+
+```bash
+./flicker <executable> [args...]
+# Example: Running 'ls' through Flicker
+./zig-out/bin/flicker ls -la
+```
+
+## How it Works
+
+For more information see the [Project Overview](docs/project_overview.md) and the [Use
+Cases](docs/use_cases.md).
+
+### The Loader
+
+Flicker does not use `LD_PRELOAD`. Instead, it maps the target ELF binary into memory. If the binary
+is dynamically linked, Flicker parses the `PT_INTERP` header, locates the dynamic linker (mostly
+`ld-linux.so`), and maps that as well. It then rewrites the Auxiliary Vector (`AT_PHDR`, `AT_ENTRY`,
+`AT_BASE`) on the stack to trick the C runtime into accepting the manually loaded environment.
+
+### Patching Engine
+
+Before transferring control to the entry point, Flicker scans executable segments for instructions
+that require instrumentation. It allocates "Trampolines" - executable memory pages located within
+±2GB of the target instruction.
+
+To overwrite an instruction with a 5-byte jump (`jmp rel32`) without corrupting adjacent code or
+breaking jump targets, Flicker uses a Back-to-Front scanning approach and a constraint solver to
+find valid bytes for "instruction punning."
+
+### Syscall Interception
+
+Flicker can replace `syscall` opcodes with jumps to a custom handler. This handler emulates the
+syscall logic or modifies arguments.
+
+Special handling detects `clone` syscalls to ensure the child thread (which wakes up with a fresh
+stack) does not crash when attempting to restore the parent's register state.
+
+Path Spoofing: Intercepts readlink on `/proc/self/exe` to return the path of the target binary
+rather than the Flicker loader.
 
 ## License
 
-Apache 2.0
+Apache License 2.0

build.zig

@@ -33,8 +33,10 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
     const exe = b.addExecutable(.{
         .name = "flicker",
         .root_module = mod,
+        .use_llvm = true,
     });
     exe.pie = true;
+    exe.lto = if (optimize == .Debug) .none else .full;
     b.installArtifact(exe);
 
     const run_step = b.step("run", "Run the app");
@@ -45,8 +47,56 @@ pub fn build(b: *std.Build) !void {
         run_cmd.addArgs(args);
     }
 
+    try compileTestApplications(b, target, optimize, false, false);
+    try compileTestApplications(b, target, optimize, false, true);
+    try compileTestApplications(b, target, optimize, true, true);
+
     const exe_tests = b.addTest(.{ .root_module = mod });
     const run_exe_tests = b.addRunArtifact(exe_tests);
     const test_step = b.step("test", "Run tests");
+    test_step.dependOn(b.getInstallStep());
     test_step.dependOn(&run_exe_tests.step);
 }
+
+pub fn compileTestApplications(
+    b: *std.Build,
+    target: std.Build.ResolvedTarget,
+    optimize: std.builtin.OptimizeMode,
+    comptime link_libc: bool,
+    comptime pie: bool,
+) !void {
+    // Compile test applications
+    const test_path = "src/test/";
+    const test_prefix = prefix: {
+        const p1 = "test_" ++ if (link_libc) "libc_" else "nolibc_";
+        const p2 = p1 ++ if (pie) "pie_" else "nopie_";
+        break :prefix p2;
+    };
+    var test_dir = try std.fs.cwd().openDir(test_path, .{ .iterate = true });
+    defer test_dir.close();
+    var iterator = test_dir.iterate();
+    while (try iterator.next()) |entry| {
+        if (entry.kind != .file) continue;
+        if (!std.mem.endsWith(u8, entry.name, ".zig")) continue;
+
+        const name = try std.mem.concat(b.allocator, u8, &.{
+            test_prefix, entry.name[0 .. entry.name.len - 4], // strip .zig suffix
+        });
+        const test_executable = b.addExecutable(.{
+            .name = name,
+            .root_module = b.createModule(.{
+                .root_source_file = b.path(b.pathJoin(&.{ test_path, entry.name })),
+                .optimize = optimize,
+                .target = target,
+                .link_libc = link_libc,
+                .link_libcpp = false,
+                .pic = pie,
+            }),
+            .linkage = if (link_libc) .dynamic else .static,
+            .use_llvm = true,
+            .use_lld = true,
+        });
+        test_executable.pie = pie;
+        b.installArtifact(test_executable);
+    }
+}

docs/TODO.md

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+## General things
+
+### Thread-locals
+
+Right now we don't use any thread-local stuff in zig. This means that the application can freely
+decide what to do with the `fs` segment. If we need some thread-locals in the future we have to
+carefully think about how to do it.
+
+If `FSGSBASE` is available we can swap out the segment real fast. If not we would need to fallback
+to `arch_prctl` which is of course a lot slower. Fortunately `FSGSBASE` is available since Intel
+IvyBridge(2012) and AMD Zen 2 Family 17H(2019) and Linux 5.9(2020).
+
+## Major things
+
+- [x] `clone`: with and without stack switching
+- [x] `clone3`: with and without stack switching
+- [x] `fork`: likely there is nothing to be done here but just to be sure, check again
+- [x] `rt_sigreturn`: we can't use the normal `syscall` interception because we push something onto
+      the stack, so `ucontext` isn't on top anymore.
+- [x] `/proc/self/exe`: intercept calls to `readlink`/`readlinkat` with that as argument
+- [x] `auxv`: check if that is setup correctly and completely
+- [x] JIT support: intercept `mmap`, `mprotect` and `mremap` that change pages to be executable
+- [ ] `SIGILL` patching fallback
+- [x] `vdso` handling
+- [x] check why the libc tests are flaky
+
+## Minor things
+
+- [ ] Cleanup: When a JIT engine frees code, our trampolines are "zombies", so over time we leak
+      memory and also reduce the patching percentage
+- [ ] Ghost page edge case: In all patch strategies, if a range spans multiple pages and we `mmap`
+    the first one but can't `mmap` the second one we just let the first one mapped. It would be better
+    to unmap them
+- [ ] Right now when patching we mmap a page and may not use it, but we still leave it mapped. This
+      leaks memory. If we fix this correctly the Ghost page issue is also fixed
+- [ ] Re-entrancy for `patchRegion`
+    - when a signal comes, while we are in that function, and we need to patch something due to the
+      signal we will deadlock
+- [ ] strict disassembly mode: currently we warn on disassembly error, provide a flag to stop instead
+- [ ] Separate stack for flicker
+    - when the application is run with a small stack (`sigaltstack`, goroutines) we might overflow
+      especially for the `patchRegion` call
+    - either one global stack for all to use(with a mutex) or a thread-local stack (though using
+    `fs` has other problems)
+- [ ] `exec`: option to persist across `exec` calls, useful for things like `make`
+- [ ] `prctl`/`arch_prctl`: check if/what we need to intercept and change
+- [ ] `seccomp`: check what we need to intercept and change
+- [ ] `modify_ldt`: check what we need to intercept and change
+- [ ] `set_tid_address`: check what we need to intercept and change
+- [ ] performance optimizations for patched code? Peephole might be possible
+- [ ] maybe add a way to run something after the client is finished
+    - could be useful for statistics, cleanup(if necessary), or notifying of suppressed warnings

docs/project_overview.md

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+# Project Flicker: Universal Load-Time Binary Rewriting
+
+Flicker is a binary rewriting infrastructure designed for native amd64 Linux applications. Its
+primary objective is to enable universal instrumentation-the ability to patch any instruction-with
+minimal performance overhead.
+
+Current approaches to binary rewriting force a difficult trade-off between coverage, performance,
+and complexity. Flicker addresses this by operating at load-time, combining the transparency of
+load-time injection with control-flow agnostic patching techniques. This architecture supports
+statically linked executables, dynamically linked libraries, and Just-In-Time (JIT) compiled code
+within a single unified framework.
+
+## The Landscape of Binary Rewriting
+
+To understand Flicker's position, it is helpful to look at the two dominant approaches: dynamic and
+static rewriting.
+
+Dynamic Binary Translation (DBT) tools, such as DynamoRIO or Pin, execute programs inside a virtual
+machine-like environment. They act as interpreters that disassemble and translate code blocks on the
+fly. This allows them to handle JIT code and shared libraries natively because they see the
+instruction stream as it executes. However, this flexibility incurs significant overhead, often
+slowing execution by 20% to 50% because the engine must constantly disassemble and translate code.
+
+Static Binary Rewriting involves modifying the binary on disk before execution. While potentially
+fast, this approach faces the theoretically undecidable problem of disassembly. Identifying all jump
+targets in a stripped binary is reducible to the halting problem. If an instruction is moved to
+insert a patch, existing jump targets break. Static tools often lift code to an Intermediate
+Representation (IR) to manage this, but this adds complexity and brittleness.
+
+## The Flicker Architecture: Load-Time Rewriting
+
+Flicker pursues a third path: load-time binary rewriting. This occurs after the executable is mapped
+into memory but before the entry point is executed. By implementing a custom user-space loader, the
+system gains total control over the process lifecycle without incurring the runtime overhead of a
+DBT engine.
+
+The key advantage of this approach is the ability to use `mmap` to allocate trampoline pages
+directly near the target code. This removes the need to hijack binary sections to embed loader and
+trampoline information, which is a common limitation of static rewriting tools.
+
+### The Patching Mechanism
+
+To solve the static rewriting issue of shifting addresses, Flicker adopts the methodology used by
+E9Patch. The core invariant is that the size of the code section never changes, and instructions are
+never moved unless evicted to a trampoline. This makes the patching process control-flow agnostic;
+valid jump targets remain valid because addresses do not shift.
+
+Flicker applies patches using a hierarchy of tactics ordered by invasiveness. Ideally, if an
+instruction is five bytes or larger, it is replaced with a standard 32-bit relative jump to a
+trampoline. If the instruction is smaller than five bytes, the system attempts "Instruction
+Punning," where it finds a jump offset that overlaps with the bytes of the following instructions to
+form a valid target. If punning fails, the system tries using instruction prefixes to shift the jump
+bytes (Padded Jumps).
+
+When these non-destructive methods fail, Flicker employs eviction strategies. "Successor Eviction"
+moves the following instruction to a trampoline to create space for the patch. If that is
+insufficient, "Neighbor Eviction" searches for a neighboring instruction up to 128 bytes away,
+evicting it to create a hole that can stage a short jump to the trampoline. As a final fallback to
+guarantee 100% coverage, the system can insert an invalid instruction to trap execution, though this
+comes at a performance cost.
+
+### Universal Coverage via Induction
+
+Flicker treats code discovery as an inductive problem, ensuring support for static executables,
+dynamic libraries, and JIT code.
+
+The base case is a statically linked executable. Flicker acts as the OS loader: it reads ELF
+headers, maps segments, performs a linear scan of the executable sections, and applies patches
+before jumping to the entry point. This relies on the assumption that modern compilers produce
+tessellated code with no gaps.
+
+The inductive step covers JIT code and dynamic libraries. on Linux, generating executable code
+mostly follows a pattern: memory is mapped, code is written, and then `mprotect` is called to make
+it executable. Flicker intercepts all `mprotect` and `mmap` calls. When a page transitions to
+executable status, the system scans the buffer and applies patches before the kernel finalizes the
+permissions.
+
+This logic extends recursively to dynamic libraries. Because the dynamic loader (`ld.so`) uses
+`mmap` and `mprotect` to load libraries (such as libc or libGL), intercepting the loader's system
+calls allows Flicker to automatically patch every library loaded, including those loaded manually
+via `dlopen`.
+
+## System Integration and Edge Cases
+
+Binary rewriting at this level encounters specific OS behaviors that require precise handling to
+avoid crashes.
+
+### Thread Creation and Stack Switching
+
+The `clone` syscall, creates a thread with a fresh stack. If a patch intercepts `clone`, the
+trampoline runs on the parent's stack. When `clone` returns, the child thread wakes up inside the
+trampoline at the instruction following the syscall. The child then attempts to run the trampoline
+epilogue to restore registers, but it does so using its new, empty stack, reading garbage data and
+crashing.
+
+To resolve this, the trampoline checks the return value. If it is the parent, execution proceeds
+normally. If it is the child, the trampoline immediately jumps back to the original code, skipping
+stack restoration.
+
+### Signal Handling
+
+When a signal handler returns, it calls `rt_sigreturn`, telling the kernel to restore the CPU state
+from a `ucontext` struct saved on the stack. If a trampoline modifies the stack pointer to save
+context, `rt_sigreturn` is called while the stack pointer is modified. The kernel then looks for
+`ucontext` at the wrong address, corrupting the process state. Flicker handles this by detecting
+`rt_sigreturn` and restoring the stack pointer to its exact pre-trampoline value before executing
+the syscall.
+
+### The vDSO and Concurrency
+
+The virtual Dynamic Shared Object (vDSO) allows fast syscalls in user space. Flicker locates the
+vDSO via the `AT_SYSINFO` auxiliary vector and patches it like any other shared library. Regarding
+concurrency, a race condition exists where one thread executes JIT code while another modifies it.
+Flicker mitigates this by intercepting the `mprotect` call while the page is still writable but not
+yet executable, patching the code safely before the kernel atomically updates the permissions.

docs/use_cases.md

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+# Use Cases for Flicker
+
+Flicker's architecture, load-time binary rewriting without control-flow recovery, uniquely positions
+it to handle scenarios where source code is unavailable (legacy/commercial software) and performance
+is critical. Unlike Dynamic Binary Translation (DBT) tools like Valgrind or QEMU, which incur high
+overhead due to JIT compilation/emulation, Flicker patches code to run natively.
+
+Below are possible use cases categorized by domain.
+
+## High Performance Computing (HPC) & Optimization
+
+### Approximate Computing and Mixed-Precision Analysis
+
+Scientific simulations often default to double precision (64-bit) for safety, even when single
+(32-bit) or half (16-bit) precision would yield accurate results with significantly higher
+performance. But rewriting massive legacy Fortran/C++ codebases to test precision sensitivity is
+impractical.
+
+Flicker could instrument floating-point instructions to perform "Shadow Execution," running
+operations in both double and single precision to log divergence. Alternatively, it can mask lower
+bits of registers to simulate low-precision hardware.
+
+Unlike compiler-based approaches that change the whole binary, Flicker can apply these patches
+selectively to specific "hot" functions at load-time, preserving accuracy in sensitive setup/solver
+phases while optimizing the bulk computation.
+
+### Profiling Memory Access Patterns (False Sharing)
+
+In multi-threaded HPC applications, performance often degrades due to "False Sharing", where multiple
+threads modify independent variables that happen to reside on the same CPU cache line, causing cache
+thrashing.
+
+Sampling profilers (like `perf`) provide statistical approximations but often miss precise
+interaction timings. Source-level instrumentation disrupts compiler optimizations.
+
+Flicker could instrument memory store instructions (`MOV` etc.) to record effective addresses. By
+aggregating this data, it can generate heatmaps of cache line access density, precisely identifying
+false sharing or inefficient strided access patterns in optimized binaries.
+
+### Low-Overhead I/O Tracing
+
+Parallel MPI jobs often inadvertently stress parallel filesystems (Lustre, GPFS) by performing
+excessive small writes or metadata operations.
+
+Tools like `strace` force a context switch for every syscall, slowing down the application so much
+that the race conditions or I/O storms disappear (Heisenbugs).
+
+By intercepting I/O syscalls (`write`, `read`, `open`, ...) inside the process memory, Flicker could
+aggregate I/O statistics (e.g., "Rank 7 performed 50,000 writes of 4 bytes") with negligible
+overhead, providing a lightweight alternative to `strace` for high-throughput jobs.
+
+### MPI Communication Profiling
+
+HPC performance is often bound by network latency between nodes. Profiling tools like Vampir are
+heavy and costly. Flicker can patch shared library exports (like MPI_Send or MPI_Recv) at load-time.
+This allows lightweight logging of message sizes and latencies without recompiling the application
+or linking against special profiling libraries.
+
+## Security and Hardening
+
+### Coverage-Guided Fuzzing (Closed Source)
+
+Fuzzing requires feedback on which code paths are executed to be effective. But for closed-source
+software, researchers typically use QEMU-mode in AFL. QEMU translates instructions dynamically,
+resulting in slow execution speeds (often 2-10x slower than native).
+
+Flicker could inject coverage instrumentation (updating a shared memory bitmap on branch targets)
+directly into the binary at load time. This would allow closed-source binaries to be fuzzed at
+near-native speeds, significantly increasing the number of test cases run per second.
+
+### Software Shadow Stacks
+
+Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) attacks exploit buffer overflows to overwrite return addresses on
+the stack.
+
+Hardware enforcement (Intel CET/AMD Shadow Stack) requires modern CPUs (Intel 11th Gen+, Zen 3+) and
+recent kernels (Linux 6.6+). Older systems remain vulnerable.
+
+Flicker could instrument `CALL` and `RET` instructions to implement a Software Shadow Stack. On
+`CALL`, the return address is pushed to a secure, isolated stack region. On `RET`, the address on
+the stack is compared against the shadow stack. If they mismatch, the program terminates, preventing
+ROP chains.
+
+### Binary-Only Address Sanitizer (ASan)
+
+Memory safety errors (buffer overflows, use-after-free) in C/C++ are often found with ASan or
+Valgrind. ASan requires recompilation. Valgrind works on binaries but slows execution by 20x-50x,
+making it unusable for large datasets.
+
+Flicker could intercept allocator calls (`malloc`/`free`) to poison "red zones" around memory and
+instrument memory access instructions to check these zones. This provides ASan-like capabilities for
+legacy binaries with significantly lower overhead than Valgrind.
+
+## Systems and Maintenance
+
+### Hardware Feature Emulation (Forward Compatibility)
+
+HPC clusters are often heterogeneous, with older nodes lacking newer instruction sets (e.g.,
+AVX-512, AMX). A binary compiled for a newer architecture will crash with `SIGILL` on an older node.
+
+Flicker could detect these instructions and patch them to jump to a software emulation routine or a
+scalar fallback implementation. This allows binaries optimized for the latest hardware to run
+(albeit slower) on legacy nodes for testing or resource-filling purposes.
+
+### Fault Injection
+
+To certify software for mission-critical environments, developers must verify how it handles
+hardware errors.
+
+Flicker could instrument instructions to probabilistically flip bits in registers or memory
+("Bit-flip injection"), or intercept syscalls to return error codes (e.g., returning `ENOSPC` on
+`write`). It can also simulate malfunctioning or intermittent devices by corrupting buffers returned
+by `read`. This allows testing error recovery paths without physical hardware damage.
+
+### Record/Replay Engine
+
+Debugging non-deterministic bugs (race conditions) is difficult because they are hard to reproduce.
+By intercepting all sources of non-determinism (syscalls, `rdtsc`, atomic instructions, signals),
+Flicker could record a trace of an execution. This trace can be replayed later to force the exact
+same execution path, allowing developers to debug the error state interactively.

src/Patcher.zig

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ const mem = std.mem;
 const posix = std.posix;
 const zydis = @import("zydis").zydis;
 const dis = @import("disassembler.zig");
+const syscalls = @import("syscalls.zig");
 
 const log = std.log.scoped(.patcher);
 const AddressAllocator = @import("AddressAllocator.zig");
@@ -17,15 +18,11 @@ const Range = @import("Range.zig");
 
 const assert = std.debug.assert;
 
-const page_size = 4096;
+const page_size = std.heap.pageSize();
 const jump_rel32: u8 = 0xe9;
 const jump_rel32_size = 5;
 const jump_rel8: u8 = 0xeb;
 const jump_rel8_size = 2;
-const max_ins_bytes = 15;
-// Based on the paper 'x86-64 Instruction Usage among C/C++ Applications' by 'Akshintala et al.'
-// it's '4.25' bytes, so 4 is good enough. (https://oscarlab.github.io/papers/instrpop-systor19.pdf)
-const avg_ins_bytes = 4;
 
 // TODO: Find an invalid instruction to use.
 // const invalid: u8 = 0xaa;
@@ -33,42 +30,80 @@ const int3: u8 = 0xcc;
 const nop: u8 = 0x90;
 
 // Prefixes for Padded Jumps (Tactic T1)
-const prefix_fs: u8 = 0x64;
+const prefixes = [_]u8{
-const prefix_gs: u8 = 0x65;
+    // prefix_fs,
-const prefix_ss: u8 = 0x36;
+    0x64,
-const prefixes = [_]u8{ prefix_fs, prefix_gs, prefix_ss };
+    // prefix_gs,
+    0x65,
+    // prefix_ss,
+    0x36,
+};
 
-const Patcher = @This();
+/// As of the SysV ABI: 'The kernel destroys registers %rcx and %r11."
+/// So we put the address of the function to call into %r11.
+// TODO: Don't we need to save the red zone here, because we push the return address onto the stack
+// with the `call r11` instruction?
+var syscall_flicken_bytes = [_]u8{
+    0x49, 0xBB, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, 0xaa, // mov r11 <imm>
+    0x41, 0xff, 0xd3, // call r11
+};
 
-gpa: mem.Allocator,
+pub var gpa: mem.Allocator = undefined;
-flicken: std.StringArrayHashMapUnmanaged(Flicken) = .empty,
+pub var flicken_templates: std.StringArrayHashMapUnmanaged(Flicken) = .empty;
-address_allocator: AddressAllocator = .empty,
+pub var address_allocator: AddressAllocator = .empty;
 /// Tracks the base addresses of pages we have mmap'd for Flicken.
-allocated_pages: std.AutoHashMapUnmanaged(u64, void) = .empty,
+pub var allocated_pages: std.AutoHashMapUnmanaged(u64, void) = .empty;
+pub var mutex: std.Thread.Mutex = .{};
 
-pub fn init(gpa: mem.Allocator) !Patcher {
+pub var target_exec_path_buf: [std.fs.max_path_bytes]u8 = @splat(0);
-    var flicken: std.StringArrayHashMapUnmanaged(Flicken) = .empty;
+pub var target_exec_path: []const u8 = undefined;
-    try flicken.ensureTotalCapacity(gpa, 8);
-    flicken.putAssumeCapacity("nop", .{ .name = "nop", .bytes = &.{} });
-    return .{
-        .gpa = gpa,
-        .flicken = flicken,
-    };
-}
 
-pub fn deinit(patcher: *Patcher) void {
+/// Initialize the patcher.
-    _ = patcher;
+/// NOTE: This should only be called **once**.
+pub fn init() !void {
+    gpa = std.heap.page_allocator;
+
+    try flicken_templates.ensureTotalCapacity(
+        std.heap.page_allocator,
+        page_size / @sizeOf(Flicken),
+    );
+    flicken_templates.putAssumeCapacity("nop", .{ .name = "nop", .bytes = &.{} });
+    mem.writeInt(
+        u64,
+        syscall_flicken_bytes[2..][0..8],
+        @intFromPtr(&syscalls.syscallEntry),
+        .little,
+    );
+    flicken_templates.putAssumeCapacity("syscall", .{ .name = "syscall", .bytes = &syscall_flicken_bytes });
+
+    {
+        // Read mmap_min_addr to block the low memory range. This prevents us from allocating
+        // trampolines in the forbidden low address range.
+        var min_addr: u64 = 0x10000; // Default safe fallback (64KB)
+        if (std.fs.openFileAbsolute("/proc/sys/vm/mmap_min_addr", .{})) |file| {
+            defer file.close();
+            var buf: [32]u8 = undefined;
+            if (file.readAll(&buf)) |len| {
+                const trimmed = std.mem.trim(u8, buf[0..len], " \n\r\t");
+                if (std.fmt.parseInt(u64, trimmed, 10)) |val| {
+                    min_addr = val;
+                } else |_| {}
+            } else |_| {}
+        } else |_| {}
+        try address_allocator.block(gpa, .{ .start = 0, .end = @intCast(min_addr) }, 0);
+    }
 }
 
 /// Flicken name and bytes have to be valid for the lifetime it's used. If a trampoline with the
 /// name is already registered it gets overwritten.
 /// NOTE: The name "nop" is reserved and always has the ID 0.
-pub fn addFlicken(patcher: *Patcher, trampoline: Flicken) !FlickenId {
+pub fn addFlicken(trampoline: Flicken) !FlickenId {
     assert(!mem.eql(u8, "nop", trampoline.name));
-    try patcher.flicken.ensureUnusedCapacity(patcher.gpa, 1);
+    assert(!mem.eql(u8, "syscall", trampoline.name));
+    try flicken_templates.ensureUnusedCapacity(gpa, 1);
     errdefer comptime unreachable;
 
-    const gop = patcher.flicken.getOrPutAssumeCapacity(trampoline.name);
+    const gop = flicken_templates.getOrPutAssumeCapacity(trampoline.name);
     if (gop.found_existing) {
         log.warn("addTrampoline: Overwriting existing trampoline: {s}", .{trampoline.name});
     }
@@ -93,6 +128,8 @@ pub const FlickenId = enum(u64) {
     /// It also needs special handling when constructing the patches, because it's different for
     /// each instruction.
     nop = 0,
+    /// TODO: docs
+    syscall = 1,
     _,
 };
 
@@ -169,18 +206,32 @@ pub const Statistics = struct {
     }
 };
 
-pub fn patchRegion(patcher: *Patcher, region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
+/// Scans a memory region for instructions that require patching and applies the patches
+/// using a hierarchy of tactics (Direct/Punning -> Successor Eviction -> Neighbor Eviction).
+///
+/// NOTE: This function leaves the region as R|W and the caller is responsible for changing it to
+/// the desired protection
+pub fn patchRegion(region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
+    log.info(
+        "Patching region: 0x{x} - 0x{x}",
+        .{ @intFromPtr(region.ptr), @intFromPtr(&region[region.len - 1]) },
+    );
+    // For now just do a coarse lock.
+    // TODO: should we make this more fine grained?
+    mutex.lock();
+    defer mutex.unlock();
+
     {
         // Block the region, such that we don't try to allocate there anymore.
         const start: i64 = @intCast(@intFromPtr(region.ptr));
-        try patcher.address_allocator.block(
+        try address_allocator.block(
-            patcher.gpa,
+            gpa,
             .{ .start = start, .end = start + @as(i64, @intCast(region.len)) },
             page_size,
         );
     }
 
-    var arena_impl = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(patcher.gpa);
+    var arena_impl = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
     const arena = arena_impl.allocator();
     defer arena_impl.deinit();
 
@@ -200,11 +251,12 @@ pub fn patchRegion(patcher: *Patcher, region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
             const offset = instruction.address - @intFromPtr(region.ptr);
             instruction_starts.set(offset);
 
-            const should_patch = instruction.instruction.mnemonic == zydis.ZYDIS_MNEMONIC_SYSCALL or
+            const is_syscall = instruction.instruction.mnemonic == zydis.ZYDIS_MNEMONIC_SYSCALL;
+            const should_patch = is_syscall or
                 instruction.instruction.attributes & zydis.ZYDIS_ATTRIB_HAS_LOCK > 0;
             if (should_patch) {
                 const request: PatchRequest = .{
-                    .flicken = .nop,
+                    .flicken = if (is_syscall) .syscall else .nop,
                     .offset = offset,
                     .size = instruction.instruction.length,
                     .bytes = region[offset..],
@@ -234,7 +286,7 @@ pub fn patchRegion(patcher: *Patcher, region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
             }
             last_offset = request.offset;
 
-            if (@as(u64, @intFromEnum(request.flicken)) >= patcher.flicken.count()) {
+            if (@as(u64, @intFromEnum(request.flicken)) >= flicken_templates.count()) {
                 const fmt = dis.formatBytes(request.bytes[0..request.size]);
                 log.err(
                     "patchRegion: Usage of undefined flicken in request {f} for instruction: {s}",
@@ -248,8 +300,6 @@ pub fn patchRegion(patcher: *Patcher, region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
     {
         // Apply patches.
         try posix.mprotect(region, posix.PROT.READ | posix.PROT.WRITE);
-        defer posix.mprotect(region, posix.PROT.READ | posix.PROT.EXEC) catch
-            @panic("patchRegion: mprotect back to R|X failed. Can't continue");
 
         var stats = Statistics.empty;
         // Used to track which bytes have been modified or used for constraints (punning),
@@ -269,7 +319,7 @@ pub fn patchRegion(patcher: *Patcher, region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
                 }
             }
 
-            if (try patcher.attemptDirectOrPunning(
+            if (try attemptDirectOrPunning(
                 request,
                 arena,
                 &locked_bytes,
@@ -279,7 +329,7 @@ pub fn patchRegion(patcher: *Patcher, region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
                 continue :requests;
             }
 
-            if (try patcher.attemptSuccessorEviction(
+            if (try attemptSuccessorEviction(
                 request,
                 arena,
                 &locked_bytes,
@@ -289,7 +339,7 @@ pub fn patchRegion(patcher: *Patcher, region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
                 continue :requests;
             }
 
-            if (try patcher.attemptNeighborEviction(
+            if (try attemptNeighborEviction(
                 request,
                 arena,
                 &locked_bytes,
@@ -323,7 +373,6 @@ pub fn patchRegion(patcher: *Patcher, region: []align(page_size) u8) !void {
 }
 
 fn attemptDirectOrPunning(
-    patcher: *Patcher,
     request: PatchRequest,
     arena: mem.Allocator,
     locked_bytes: *std.DynamicBitSetUnmanaged,
@@ -333,7 +382,7 @@ fn attemptDirectOrPunning(
     const flicken: Flicken = if (request.flicken == .nop)
         .{ .name = "nop", .bytes = request.bytes[0..request.size] }
     else
-        patcher.flicken.entries.get(@intFromEnum(request.flicken)).value;
+        flicken_templates.entries.get(@intFromEnum(request.flicken)).value;
 
     var pii = PatchInstructionIterator.init(
         request.bytes,
@@ -346,9 +395,9 @@ fn attemptDirectOrPunning(
     // mapped. While harmless (it becomes an unused executable page), it is technically a
     // memory leak. A future fix should track "current attempt" pages separately and unmap
     // them on failure.
-    while (pii.next(&patcher.address_allocator)) |allocated_range| {
+    while (pii.next(.{ .count = 256 })) |allocated_range| {
         try pages_made_writable.ensureUnusedCapacity(arena, touchedPageCount(allocated_range));
-        patcher.ensureRangeWritable(
+        ensureRangeWritable(
             allocated_range,
             pages_made_writable,
         ) catch |err| switch (err) {
@@ -366,7 +415,7 @@ fn attemptDirectOrPunning(
             else => return err,
         };
 
-        try patcher.address_allocator.block(patcher.gpa, allocated_range, 0);
+        try address_allocator.block(gpa, allocated_range, 0);
         const lock_size = jump_rel32_size + pii.num_prefixes;
         locked_bytes.setRangeValue(
             .{ .start = request.offset, .end = request.offset + lock_size },
@@ -374,7 +423,7 @@ fn attemptDirectOrPunning(
         );
 
         if (request.size >= 5) {
-            assert(pii.num_prefixes == 0);
+            // assert(pii.num_prefixes == 0);
             stats.jump += 1;
         } else {
             stats.punning[pii.num_prefixes] += 1;
@@ -385,7 +434,6 @@ fn attemptDirectOrPunning(
 }
 
 fn attemptSuccessorEviction(
-    patcher: *Patcher,
     request: PatchRequest,
     arena: mem.Allocator,
     locked_bytes: *std.DynamicBitSetUnmanaged,
@@ -421,7 +469,7 @@ fn attemptSuccessorEviction(
         succ_request.size,
         succ_flicken.size(),
     );
-    while (succ_pii.next(&patcher.address_allocator)) |succ_range| {
+    while (succ_pii.next(.{ .count = 16 })) |succ_range| {
         // Ensure bytes match original before retry.
         assert(mem.eql(
             u8,
@@ -430,7 +478,7 @@ fn attemptSuccessorEviction(
         ));
 
         try pages_made_writable.ensureUnusedCapacity(arena, touchedPageCount(succ_range));
-        patcher.ensureRangeWritable(
+        ensureRangeWritable(
             succ_range,
             pages_made_writable,
         ) catch |err| switch (err) {
@@ -452,17 +500,17 @@ fn attemptSuccessorEviction(
         const flicken: Flicken = if (request.flicken == .nop)
             .{ .name = "nop", .bytes = request.bytes[0..request.size] }
         else
-            patcher.flicken.entries.get(@intFromEnum(request.flicken)).value;
+            flicken_templates.entries.get(@intFromEnum(request.flicken)).value;
 
         var orig_pii = PatchInstructionIterator.init(
             request.bytes,
             request.size,
             flicken.size(),
         );
-        while (orig_pii.next(&patcher.address_allocator)) |orig_range| {
+        while (orig_pii.next(.{ .count = 16 })) |orig_range| {
             if (succ_range.touches(orig_range)) continue;
             try pages_made_writable.ensureUnusedCapacity(arena, touchedPageCount(orig_range));
-            patcher.ensureRangeWritable(
+            ensureRangeWritable(
                 orig_range,
                 pages_made_writable,
             ) catch |err| switch (err) {
@@ -480,8 +528,8 @@ fn attemptSuccessorEviction(
                 else => return err,
             };
 
-            try patcher.address_allocator.block(patcher.gpa, succ_range, 0);
+            try address_allocator.block(gpa, succ_range, 0);
-            try patcher.address_allocator.block(patcher.gpa, orig_range, 0);
+            try address_allocator.block(gpa, orig_range, 0);
             const lock_size = request.size + jump_rel32_size + succ_pii.num_prefixes;
             locked_bytes.setRangeValue(
                 .{ .start = request.offset, .end = request.offset + lock_size },
@@ -501,7 +549,6 @@ fn attemptSuccessorEviction(
 }
 
 fn attemptNeighborEviction(
-    patcher: *Patcher,
     request: PatchRequest,
     arena: mem.Allocator,
     locked_bytes: *std.DynamicBitSetUnmanaged,
@@ -509,56 +556,48 @@ fn attemptNeighborEviction(
     instruction_starts: *const std.DynamicBitSetUnmanaged,
     stats: *Statistics,
 ) !bool {
-    // Iterate valid neighbors.
+    // Valid neighbors must be within [-128, 127] range for a short jump.
-    // Neighbors must be within [-128, 127] range for a short jump.
     // Since we patch back-to-front, we only look at neighbors *after* the current instruction
     // (higher address) to avoid evicting an instruction we haven't processed/patched yet.
-    // Short jump is 2 bytes (EB xx). Target is IP + 2 + xx.
-    // So min offset is +2 (xx=0). Max offset is +2+127 = +129.
     const start_offset = request.offset + 2;
     const end_offset = @min(
-        start_offset + 128, // 2 + 128
+        start_offset + 128,
         request.bytes.len + request.offset,
     );
 
     neighbor: for (start_offset..end_offset) |neighbor_offset| {
         if (!instruction_starts.isSet(neighbor_offset)) continue;
 
-        // Found a candidate victim instruction.
-        // We must access it relative to the request bytes slice.
         const victim_bytes_all = request.bytes[neighbor_offset - request.offset ..];
 
-        // Disassemble to get size.
         // PERF: We could also search for the next set bit in instruction_starts
         const victim_instr = dis.disassembleInstruction(victim_bytes_all) orelse continue;
         const victim_size = victim_instr.instruction.length;
         const victim_bytes = victim_bytes_all[0..victim_size];
 
-        // Check locks for victim.
         for (0..victim_size) |i| {
             if (locked_bytes.isSet(neighbor_offset + i)) {
                 continue :neighbor;
             }
         }
 
-        // Save original bytes to revert.
+        // Save original bytes to revert if constraints cannot be solved.
         var victim_orig_bytes: [15]u8 = undefined;
         @memcpy(victim_orig_bytes[0..victim_size], victim_bytes);
 
         // OUTER LOOP: J_Patch
         // Iterate possible offsets 'k' inside the victim for the patch jump.
-        // J_Patch is 5 bytes. It can extend beyond victim.
+        var k: u8 = 1;
-        for (1..victim_size) |k| {
+        while (k < victim_size) : (k += 1) {
-            // Check if short jump from P reaches V+k
             const target: i64 = @intCast(neighbor_offset + k);
             const source: i64 = @intCast(request.offset + 2);
             const disp = target - source;
-            if (disp > 127 or disp < -128) continue; // Should be covered by loop bounds, but be safe.
+            if (disp > 127 or disp < -128) continue;
 
             const patch_flicken: Flicken = if (request.flicken == .nop)
                 .{ .name = "nop", .bytes = request.bytes[0..request.size] }
             else
-                patcher.flicken.entries.get(@intFromEnum(request.flicken)).value;
+                flicken_templates.entries.get(@intFromEnum(request.flicken)).value;
 
             // Constraints for J_Patch:
             // Bytes [0 .. victim_size - k] are free (inside victim).
@@ -569,19 +608,18 @@ fn attemptNeighborEviction(
                 patch_flicken.size(),
             );
 
-            while (patch_pii.next(&patcher.address_allocator)) |patch_range| {
+            while (patch_pii.next(.{ .count = 16 })) |patch_range| {
                 // J_Patch MUST NOT use prefixes, because it's punned inside J_Victim.
                 // Adding prefixes would shift J_Patch relative to J_Victim, making constraints harder.
                 if (patch_pii.num_prefixes > 0) break;
 
                 try pages_made_writable.ensureUnusedCapacity(arena, touchedPageCount(patch_range));
-                patcher.ensureRangeWritable(patch_range, pages_made_writable) catch |err| switch (err) {
+                ensureRangeWritable(patch_range, pages_made_writable) catch |err| switch (err) {
                     error.MappingAlreadyExists => continue,
                     else => return err,
                 };
 
                 // Tentatively write J_Patch to memory to set constraints for J_Victim.
-                // We must perform the write logic manually because applyPatch assumes request struct.
                 // We only need to write the bytes of J_Patch that land inside the victim.
                 {
                     const jmp_target = patch_range.start;
@@ -602,15 +640,15 @@ fn attemptNeighborEviction(
 
                 var victim_pii = PatchInstructionIterator.init(
                     victim_bytes_all,
-                    @intCast(k),
+                    k,
                     victim_flicken.size(),
                 );
 
-                while (victim_pii.next(&patcher.address_allocator)) |victim_range| {
+                while (victim_pii.next(.{ .count = 16 })) |victim_range| {
                     if (patch_range.touches(victim_range)) continue;
 
                     try pages_made_writable.ensureUnusedCapacity(arena, touchedPageCount(victim_range));
-                    patcher.ensureRangeWritable(victim_range, pages_made_writable) catch |err| switch (err) {
+                    ensureRangeWritable(victim_range, pages_made_writable) catch |err| switch (err) {
                         error.MappingAlreadyExists => continue,
                         else => return err,
                     };
@@ -620,55 +658,48 @@ fn attemptNeighborEviction(
                     // 1. Write Patch Trampoline (J_Patch target)
                     {
                         const trampoline: [*]u8 = @ptrFromInt(patch_range.getStart(u64));
-                        @memcpy(trampoline, patch_flicken.bytes);
+                        var reloc_info: ?RelocInfo = null;
                         if (request.flicken == .nop) {
-                            const instr = dis.disassembleInstruction(patch_flicken.bytes).?;
+                            reloc_info = .{
-                            try relocateInstruction(
+                                .instr = dis.disassembleInstruction(patch_flicken.bytes).?,
-                                instr,
+                                .old_addr = @intFromPtr(request.bytes.ptr),
-                                @intCast(patch_range.start),
+                            };
-                                trampoline[0..patch_flicken.bytes.len],
-                            );
                         }
-                        // Jmp back from Patch Trampoline to original code (after request)
+                        commitTrampoline(
-                        trampoline[patch_flicken.bytes.len] = jump_rel32;
+                            trampoline,
-                        const ret_addr: i64 = @intCast(@intFromPtr(&request.bytes[request.size]));
+                            patch_flicken.bytes,
-                        const from = patch_range.end;
+                            reloc_info,
-                        const jmp_back_disp: i32 = @intCast(ret_addr - from);
+                            @intFromPtr(request.bytes.ptr) + request.size,
-                        mem.writeInt(i32, trampoline[patch_flicken.bytes.len + 1 ..][0..4], jmp_back_disp, .little);
+                        ) catch |err| switch (err) {
+                            error.RelocationOverflow => continue,
+                            else => return err,
+                        };
                     }
 
                     // 2. Write Victim Trampoline (J_Victim target)
                     {
                         const trampoline: [*]u8 = @ptrFromInt(victim_range.getStart(u64));
-                        @memcpy(trampoline, victim_orig_bytes[0..victim_size]);
+                        commitTrampoline(
-                        // Relocate victim instruction
+                            trampoline,
-                        const instr = dis.disassembleInstruction(victim_orig_bytes[0..victim_size]).?;
+                            victim_orig_bytes[0..victim_size],
-                        try relocateInstruction(
+                            .{
-                            instr,
+                                .instr = dis.disassembleInstruction(victim_orig_bytes[0..victim_size]).?,
-                            @intCast(victim_range.start),
+                                .old_addr = @intFromPtr(victim_bytes_all.ptr),
-                            trampoline[0..victim_size],
+                            },
-                        );
+                            @intFromPtr(victim_bytes_all.ptr) + victim_size,
-                        // Jmp back from Victim Trampoline to original code (after victim)
+                        ) catch |err| switch (err) {
-                        trampoline[victim_size] = jump_rel32;
+                            error.RelocationOverflow => continue,
-                        const ret_addr: i64 = @intCast(@intFromPtr(&victim_bytes_all[victim_size]));
+                            else => return err,
-                        const from = victim_range.end;
+                        };
-                        const jmp_back_disp: i32 = @intCast(ret_addr - from);
-                        mem.writeInt(i32, trampoline[victim_size + 1 ..][0..4], jmp_back_disp, .little);
                     }
 
-                    // 3. Write J_Victim (overwrites head of J_Patch which is fine, we just used it for constraints)
+                    // 3. Write J_Victim (overwrites head of J_Patch which is fine)
-                    applyPatch(
+                    commitJump(
-                        // Create a fake request for the victim part
+                        victim_bytes_all.ptr,
-                        .{
+                        @intCast(victim_range.start),
-                            .flicken = .nop, // Irrelevant, unused by applyPatch for jump writing
-                            .offset = neighbor_offset,
-                            .size = @intCast(victim_size),
-                            .bytes = victim_bytes_all,
-                        },
-                        victim_flicken, // Unused by applyPatch for jump writing
-                        victim_range,
                         victim_pii.num_prefixes,
-                    ) catch unreachable; // Should fit because we allocated it
+                        k, // Total size for padding is limited to k to preserve J_Patch tail
+                    );
 
                     // 4. Write J_Short at request
                     request.bytes[0] = jump_rel8;
@@ -678,8 +709,8 @@ fn attemptNeighborEviction(
                     }
 
                     // 5. Locking
-                    try patcher.address_allocator.block(patcher.gpa, patch_range, 0);
+                    try address_allocator.block(gpa, patch_range, 0);
-                    try patcher.address_allocator.block(patcher.gpa, victim_range, 0);
+                    try address_allocator.block(gpa, victim_range, 0);
 
                     locked_bytes.setRangeValue(
                         .{ .start = request.offset, .end = request.offset + request.size },
@@ -706,6 +737,10 @@ fn attemptNeighborEviction(
     return false;
 }
 
+/// Applies a standard patch (T1/B1/B2) where the instruction is replaced by a jump to a trampoline.
+///
+/// This handles the logic of writing the trampoline content (including relocation) and
+/// overwriting the original instruction with a `JMP` (plus prefixes/padding).
 fn applyPatch(
     request: PatchRequest,
     flicken: Flicken,
@@ -713,51 +748,78 @@ fn applyPatch(
     num_prefixes: u8,
 ) !void {
     const flicken_addr: [*]u8 = @ptrFromInt(allocated_range.getStart(u64));
-    const flicken_slice = flicken_addr[0..flicken.size()];
 
-    const jump_to_offset: i32 = blk: {
+    // Commit Trampoline
-        const from: i64 = @intCast(@intFromPtr(&request.bytes[
+    var reloc_info: ?RelocInfo = null;
-            num_prefixes + jump_rel32_size
-        ]));
-        const to = allocated_range.start;
-        break :blk @intCast(to - from);
-    };
-    const jump_back_offset: i32 = blk: {
-        const from = allocated_range.end;
-        const to: i64 = @intCast(@intFromPtr(&request.bytes[request.size]));
-        break :blk @intCast(to - from);
-    };
-    // The jumps have to be in the opposite direction.
-    assert(math.sign(jump_to_offset) * math.sign(jump_back_offset) < 0);
-
-    // Write to the trampoline first, because for the `nop` flicken `flicken.bytes` points to
-    // `request.bytes` which we overwrite in the next step.
-    @memcpy(flicken_addr, flicken.bytes);
     if (request.flicken == .nop) {
-        const instr_bytes = request.bytes[0..request.size];
+        reloc_info = .{
-        const instr = dis.disassembleInstruction(instr_bytes).?;
+            .instr = dis.disassembleInstruction(request.bytes[0..request.size]).?,
+            .old_addr = @intFromPtr(request.bytes.ptr),
+        };
+    }
+
+    const ret_addr = @intFromPtr(request.bytes.ptr) + request.size;
+    try commitTrampoline(flicken_addr, flicken.bytes, reloc_info, ret_addr);
+
+    // Commit Jump (Patch)
+    commitJump(request.bytes.ptr, @intCast(allocated_range.start), num_prefixes, request.size);
+}
+
+const RelocInfo = struct {
+    instr: dis.BundledInstruction,
+    old_addr: u64,
+};
+
+/// Helper to write code into a trampoline.
+///
+/// It copies the original bytes (or flicken content), relocates any RIP-relative instructions
+/// to be valid at the new address, and appends a jump back to the instruction stream.
+fn commitTrampoline(
+    trampoline_ptr: [*]u8,
+    content: []const u8,
+    reloc_info: ?RelocInfo,
+    return_addr: u64,
+) !void {
+    @memcpy(trampoline_ptr[0..content.len], content);
+
+    if (reloc_info) |info| {
         try relocateInstruction(
-            instr,
+            info.instr,
-            @intCast(allocated_range.start),
+            @intFromPtr(trampoline_ptr),
-            flicken_slice[0..request.size],
+            trampoline_ptr[0..content.len],
         );
     }
-    flicken_slice[flicken.bytes.len] = jump_rel32;
-    const jump_back_location = flicken_slice[flicken.bytes.len + 1 ..][0..4];
-    mem.writeInt(i32, jump_back_location, jump_back_offset, .little);
 
-    @memcpy(request.bytes[0..num_prefixes], prefixes[0..num_prefixes]);
+    // Write jump back
-    request.bytes[num_prefixes] = jump_rel32;
+    trampoline_ptr[content.len] = jump_rel32;
-    mem.writeInt(
+    const jump_src = @intFromPtr(trampoline_ptr) + content.len + jump_rel32_size;
-        i32,
+    const jump_disp: i32 = @intCast(@as(i64, @intCast(return_addr)) - @as(i64, @intCast(jump_src)));
-        request.bytes[num_prefixes + 1 ..][0..4],
+    mem.writeInt(i32, trampoline_ptr[content.len + 1 ..][0..4], jump_disp, .little);
-        jump_to_offset,
+}
-        .little,
+
-    );
+/// Helper to overwrite an instruction with a jump to a trampoline.
-    // Pad remaining with int3.
+///
+/// It handles writing optional prefixes (padding), the `0xE9` opcode, the relative offset,
+/// and fills any remaining bytes of the original instruction with `INT3` to prevent
+/// execution of garbage bytes.
+fn commitJump(
+    from_ptr: [*]u8,
+    to_addr: u64,
+    num_prefixes: u8,
+    total_size: usize,
+) void {
+    const prefixes_slice = from_ptr[0..num_prefixes];
+    @memcpy(prefixes_slice, prefixes[0..num_prefixes]);
+
+    from_ptr[num_prefixes] = jump_rel32;
+
+    const jump_src = @intFromPtr(from_ptr) + num_prefixes + jump_rel32_size;
+    const jump_disp: i32 = @intCast(@as(i64, @intCast(to_addr)) - @as(i64, @intCast(jump_src)));
+    mem.writeInt(i32, from_ptr[num_prefixes + 1 ..][0..4], jump_disp, .little);
+
     const patch_end_index = num_prefixes + jump_rel32_size;
-    if (patch_end_index < request.size) {
+    if (patch_end_index < total_size) {
-        @memset(request.bytes[patch_end_index..request.size], int3);
+        @memset(from_ptr[patch_end_index..total_size], int3);
     }
 }
 
@@ -780,7 +842,6 @@ fn touchedPageCount(range: Range) u32 {
 
 /// Ensure `range` is mapped R|W. Assumes `pages_made_writable` has enough free capacity.
 fn ensureRangeWritable(
-    patcher: *Patcher,
     range: Range,
     pages_made_writable: *std.AutoHashMapUnmanaged(u64, void),
 ) !void {
@@ -792,10 +853,10 @@ fn ensureRangeWritable(
         // If the page is already writable, skip it.
         if (pages_made_writable.get(page_addr)) |_| continue;
         // If we mapped it already we have to do mprotect, else mmap.
-        const gop = try patcher.allocated_pages.getOrPut(patcher.gpa, page_addr);
+        const gop = try allocated_pages.getOrPut(gpa, page_addr);
         if (gop.found_existing) {
             const ptr: [*]align(page_size) u8 = @ptrFromInt(page_addr);
-            try posix.mprotect(ptr[0..page_addr], protection);
+            try posix.mprotect(ptr[0..page_size], protection);
         } else {
             const addr = posix.mmap(
                 @ptrFromInt(page_addr),
@@ -810,8 +871,8 @@ fn ensureRangeWritable(
                     // (executable, OS, dynamic loader,...) allocated something there.
                     // We block this so we don't try this page again in the future,
                     // saving a bunch of syscalls.
-                    try patcher.address_allocator.block(
+                    try address_allocator.block(
-                        patcher.gpa,
+                        gpa,
                         .{ .start = @intCast(page_addr), .end = @intCast(page_addr + page_size) },
                         page_size,
                     );
@@ -835,6 +896,7 @@ const PatchInstructionIterator = struct {
     num_prefixes: u8,
     pli: PatchLocationIterator,
     valid_range: Range,
+    allocated_count: u64,
 
     fn init(
         bytes: []const u8,
@@ -851,12 +913,26 @@ const PatchInstructionIterator = struct {
             .num_prefixes = 0,
             .pli = pli,
             .valid_range = valid_range,
+            .allocated_count = 0,
         };
     }
 
+    pub const Strategy = union(enum) {
+        /// Iterates through all possible ranges.
+        /// Useful for finding the optimal allocation (fewest prefixes).
+        exhaustive: void,
+        /// Limits the search to `count` allocation attempts per valid constraint range found by the
+        /// PatchLocationIterator.
+        ///
+        /// This acts as a heuristic to prevent worst-case performance (scanning every byte of a 2GB
+        /// gap) while still offering better density than a purely greedy approach. A count of 1 is
+        /// equivalent to a greedy strategy.
+        count: u64,
+    };
+
     fn next(
         pii: *PatchInstructionIterator,
-        address_allocator: *AddressAllocator,
+        strategy: Strategy,
     ) ?Range {
         const State = enum {
             allocation,
@@ -870,11 +946,23 @@ const PatchInstructionIterator = struct {
                     pii.valid_range,
                 )) |allocated_range| {
                     assert(allocated_range.size() == pii.flicken_size);
+                    pii.allocated_count += 1;
                     // Advancing the valid range, such that the next call to `findAllocation` won't
                     // find the same range again.
-                    pii.valid_range.start = allocated_range.start + 1;
+                    switch (strategy) {
+                        .exhaustive => pii.valid_range.start = allocated_range.start + 1,
+                        .count => |c| {
+                            if (pii.allocated_count >= c) {
+                                pii.valid_range.start = pii.valid_range.end;
+                                pii.allocated_count = 0;
+                            } else {
+                                pii.valid_range.start = allocated_range.start + 1;
+                            }
+                        },
+                    }
                     return allocated_range;
                 } else {
+                    pii.allocated_count = 0;
                     continue :blk .range;
                 }
             },

src/disassembler.zig

@@ -6,10 +6,14 @@ const log = std.log.scoped(.disassembler);
 const assert = std.debug.assert;
 
 pub const InstructionIterator = struct {
+    /// Maximum number of warnings to print per iterator before suppressing.
+    pub var max_warnings: u64 = 3;
+
     decoder: zydis.ZydisDecoder,
     bytes: []const u8,
     instruction: zydis.ZydisDecodedInstruction,
     operands: [zydis.ZYDIS_MAX_OPERAND_COUNT]zydis.ZydisDecodedOperand,
+    warnings: usize = 0,
 
     pub fn init(bytes: []const u8) InstructionIterator {
         var decoder: zydis.ZydisDecoder = undefined;
@@ -38,27 +42,33 @@ pub const InstructionIterator = struct {
         var address: u64 = @intFromPtr(iterator.bytes.ptr);
 
         while (!zydis.ZYAN_SUCCESS(status)) {
-            // TODO: handle common padding bytes
+            if (status == zydis.ZYDIS_STATUS_NO_MORE_DATA) {
-            switch (status) {
+                log.debug("next: Got status: NO_MORE_DATA. Iterator completed.", .{});
-                zydis.ZYDIS_STATUS_NO_MORE_DATA => {
+                return null;
-                    log.info("next: Got status: NO_MORE_DATA. Iterator completed.", .{});
-                    return null;
-                },
-                zydis.ZYDIS_STATUS_ILLEGAL_LOCK => log.warn("next: Got status: ILLEGAL_LOCK. " ++
-                    "Byte stepping, to find next valid instruction begin", .{}),
-                zydis.ZYDIS_STATUS_DECODING_ERROR => log.warn("next: Got status: DECODING_ERROR. " ++
-                    "Byte stepping, to find next valid instruction begin", .{}),
-                else => log.warn("next: Got unknown status: 0x{x}. Byte stepping, to find next " ++
-                    "valid instruction begin", .{status}),
             }
+
+            // TODO: handle common padding bytes
             // TODO: add a flag to instead return an error
+            iterator.warnings += 1;
+            if (iterator.warnings <= max_warnings) {
+                const err_desc = switch (status) {
+                    zydis.ZYDIS_STATUS_ILLEGAL_LOCK => "ILLEGAL_LOCK",
+                    zydis.ZYDIS_STATUS_DECODING_ERROR => "DECODING_ERROR",
+                    zydis.ZYDIS_STATUS_INVALID_MAP => "INVALID_MAP",
+                    else => "UNKNOWN",
+                };
+                log.warn(
+                    "next: Got status: {s} (0x{x}). Byte stepping, for next instruction begin",
+                    .{ err_desc, status },
+                );
+                if (iterator.warnings == max_warnings) {
+                    log.warn("next: Suppressing further warnings for this disassembly.", .{});
+                }
+            }
+
             log.debug(
-                "next: instruction length: {}, address: 0x{x}, bytes: 0x{x}",
+                "next: skipping byte at address: 0x{x}, byte: 0x{x}",
-                .{
+                .{ address, iterator.bytes[0] },
-                    iterator.instruction.length,
-                    address,
-                    iterator.bytes[0..iterator.instruction.length],
-                },
             );
 
             iterator.bytes = iterator.bytes[1..];

src/main.zig

@@ -32,8 +32,6 @@ const help =
 
 const UnfinishedReadError = error{UnfinishedRead};
 
-var patcher: Patcher = undefined;
-
 pub fn main() !void {
     // Parse arguments
     var arg_index: u64 = 1; // Skip own name
@@ -51,14 +49,21 @@ pub fn main() !void {
         return;
     }
 
-    // Initialize patcher
+    const file = try lookupFile(mem.sliceTo(std.os.argv[arg_index], 0));
-    patcher = try Patcher.init(std.heap.page_allocator); // TODO: allocator
+
-    // Block the first 64k to avoid mmap_min_addr (EPERM) issues on Linux.
+    {
-    // TODO: read it from `/proc/sys/vm/mmap_min_addr` instead.
+        // Initialize patcher
-    try patcher.address_allocator.block(patcher.gpa, .{ .start = 0, .end = 0x10000 }, 0);
+        try Patcher.init();
+        // Resolve the absolute path of the target executable. This is needed for the
+        // readlink("/proc/self/exe") interception. We use the file descriptor to get the
+        // authoritative path.
+        var self_buf: [128]u8 = undefined;
+        const fd_path = try std.fmt.bufPrint(&self_buf, "/proc/self/fd/{d}", .{file.handle});
+        Patcher.target_exec_path = try std.fs.readLinkAbsolute(fd_path, &Patcher.target_exec_path_buf);
+        log.debug("Resolved target executable path: {s}", .{Patcher.target_exec_path});
+    }
 
     // Map file into memory
-    const file = try lookupFile(mem.sliceTo(std.os.argv[arg_index], 0));
     var file_buffer: [128]u8 = undefined;
     var file_reader = file.reader(&file_buffer);
     log.info("--- Loading executable: {s} ---", .{std.os.argv[arg_index]});
@@ -66,6 +71,7 @@ pub fn main() !void {
     const base = try loadStaticElf(ehdr, &file_reader);
     const entry = ehdr.entry + if (ehdr.type == .DYN) base else 0;
     log.info("Executable loaded: base=0x{x}, entry=0x{x}", .{ base, entry });
+    try patchLoadedElf(base);
 
     // Check for dynamic linker
     var maybe_interp_base: ?usize = null;
@@ -97,13 +103,13 @@ pub fn main() !void {
             "Interpreter loaded: base=0x{x}, entry=0x{x}",
             .{ interp_base, maybe_interp_entry.? },
         );
+        try patchLoadedElf(interp_base);
         interp.close();
     }
 
     var i: usize = 0;
     const auxv = std.os.linux.elf_aux_maybe.?;
     while (auxv[i].a_type != elf.AT_NULL) : (i += 1) {
-        // TODO: look at other auxv types and check if we need to change them.
         auxv[i].a_un.a_val = switch (auxv[i].a_type) {
             elf.AT_PHDR => base + ehdr.phoff,
             elf.AT_PHENT => ehdr.phentsize,
@@ -111,6 +117,21 @@ pub fn main() !void {
             elf.AT_BASE => maybe_interp_base orelse auxv[i].a_un.a_val,
             elf.AT_ENTRY => entry,
             elf.AT_EXECFN => @intFromPtr(std.os.argv[arg_index]),
+            elf.AT_SYSINFO_EHDR => blk: {
+                log.info("Found vDSO at 0x{x}", .{auxv[i].a_un.a_val});
+                try patchLoadedElf(auxv[i].a_un.a_val);
+                break :blk auxv[i].a_un.a_val;
+            },
+            elf.AT_EXECFD => {
+                @panic("Got AT_EXECFD auxv value");
+                // TODO: handle AT_EXECFD, when needed
+                // The SysV ABI Specification says:
+                // > At process creation the system may pass control to an interpreter program. When
+                // > this happens, the system places either an entry of type AT_EXECFD or one of
+                // > type AT_PHDR in the auxiliary vector. The entry for type AT_EXECFD uses the
+                // > a_val member to contain a file descriptor open to read the application
+                // > program’s object file.
+            },
             else => auxv[i].a_un.a_val,
         };
     }
@@ -205,16 +226,45 @@ fn loadStaticElf(ehdr: elf.Header, file_reader: *std.fs.File.Reader) !usize {
             return UnfinishedReadError.UnfinishedRead;
 
         const protections = elfToMmapProt(phdr.p_flags);
-        if (protections & posix.PROT.EXEC > 0) {
-            log.info("Patching executable segment", .{});
-            try patcher.patchRegion(ptr);
-        }
         try posix.mprotect(ptr, protections);
     }
     log.debug("loadElf returning base: 0x{x}", .{@intFromPtr(base.ptr)});
     return @intFromPtr(base.ptr);
 }
 
+fn patchLoadedElf(base: usize) !void {
+    const ehdr = @as(*const elf.Ehdr, @ptrFromInt(base));
+    if (!mem.eql(u8, ehdr.e_ident[0..4], elf.MAGIC)) return error.InvalidElfMagic;
+
+    const phoff = ehdr.e_phoff;
+    const phnum = ehdr.e_phnum;
+    const phentsize = ehdr.e_phentsize;
+
+    var i: usize = 0;
+    while (i < phnum) : (i += 1) {
+        const phdr_ptr = base + phoff + (i * phentsize);
+        const phdr = @as(*const elf.Phdr, @ptrFromInt(phdr_ptr));
+
+        if (phdr.p_type != elf.PT_LOAD) continue;
+        if ((phdr.p_flags & elf.PF_X) == 0) continue;
+
+        // Determine VMA
+        // For ET_EXEC, p_vaddr is absolute.
+        // For ET_DYN, p_vaddr is offset from base.
+        const vaddr = if (ehdr.e_type == elf.ET.DYN) base + phdr.p_vaddr else phdr.p_vaddr;
+        const memsz = phdr.p_memsz;
+
+        const page_start = mem.alignBackward(usize, vaddr, page_size);
+        const page_end = mem.alignForward(usize, vaddr + memsz, page_size);
+        const size = page_end - page_start;
+
+        const region = @as([*]align(page_size) u8, @ptrFromInt(page_start))[0..size];
+
+        try Patcher.patchRegion(region);
+        try posix.mprotect(region, elfToMmapProt(phdr.p_flags));
+    }
+}
+
 /// Converts ELF program header protection flags to mmap protection flags.
 fn elfToMmapProt(elf_prot: u64) u32 {
     var result: u32 = posix.PROT.NONE;
@@ -269,3 +319,169 @@ test {
     _ = @import("Range.zig");
     _ = @import("PatchLocationIterator.zig");
 }
+
+// TODO: make this be passed in from the build system
+const bin_path = "zig-out/bin/";
+fn getTestExePath(comptime name: []const u8) []const u8 {
+    return bin_path ++ "test_" ++ name;
+}
+const flicker_path = bin_path ++ "flicker";
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_exit" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_exit") }, "");
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_exit" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_exit") }, "");
+}
+test "libc_pie_exit" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("libc_pie_exit") }, "");
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_helloWorld" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_helloWorld") }, "Hello World!\n");
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_helloWorld" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_helloWorld") }, "Hello World!\n");
+}
+test "libc_pie_helloWorld" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("libc_pie_helloWorld") }, "Hello World!\n");
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_printArgs" {
+    try testPrintArgs("nolibc_nopie_printArgs");
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_printArgs" {
+    try testPrintArgs("nolibc_pie_printArgs");
+}
+test "libc_pie_printArgs" {
+    try testPrintArgs("libc_pie_printArgs");
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_readlink" {
+    try testReadlink("nolibc_nopie_readlink");
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_readlink" {
+    try testReadlink("nolibc_pie_readlink");
+}
+test "libc_pie_readlink" {
+    try testReadlink("libc_pie_readlink");
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_clone_raw" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_clone_raw") },
+        "Child: Hello\nParent: Goodbye\n",
+    );
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_clone_raw" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_clone_raw") },
+        "Child: Hello\nParent: Goodbye\n",
+    );
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_clone_no_new_stack" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_clone_no_new_stack") },
+        "Child: Hello\nParent: Goodbye\n",
+    );
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_clone_no_new_stack" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_clone_no_new_stack") },
+        "Child: Hello\nParent: Goodbye\n",
+    );
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_fork" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_fork") },
+        "Child: I'm alive!\nParent: Child died.\n",
+    );
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_fork" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_fork") },
+        "Child: I'm alive!\nParent: Child died.\n",
+    );
+}
+test "libc_pie_fork" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("libc_pie_fork") },
+        "Child: I'm alive!\nParent: Child died.\n",
+    );
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_signal_handler" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_signal_handler") },
+        "In signal handler\nSignal handled successfully\n",
+    );
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_signal_handler" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_signal_handler") },
+        "In signal handler\nSignal handled successfully\n",
+    );
+}
+
+test "nolibc_nopie_vdso_clock" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_nopie_vdso_clock") },
+        "Time gotten\n",
+    );
+}
+test "nolibc_pie_vdso_clock" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("nolibc_pie_vdso_clock") },
+        "Time gotten\n",
+    );
+}
+test "libc_pie_vdso_clock" {
+    try testHelper(
+        &.{ flicker_path, getTestExePath("libc_pie_vdso_clock") },
+        "Time gotten\n",
+    );
+}
+
+test "echo" {
+    try testHelper(&.{ "echo", "Hello", "There" }, "Hello There\n");
+}
+
+fn testPrintArgs(comptime name: []const u8) !void {
+    const exe_path = getTestExePath(name);
+    const loader_argv: []const []const u8 = &.{ flicker_path, exe_path, "foo", "bar", "baz hi" };
+    const target_argv = loader_argv[1..];
+    const expected_stout = try mem.join(testing.allocator, " ", target_argv);
+    defer testing.allocator.free(expected_stout);
+    try testHelper(loader_argv, expected_stout);
+}
+
+fn testReadlink(comptime name: []const u8) !void {
+    const exe_path = getTestExePath(name);
+    const loader_argv: []const []const u8 = &.{ flicker_path, exe_path };
+    const cwd_path = try std.fs.cwd().realpathAlloc(testing.allocator, ".");
+    defer testing.allocator.free(cwd_path);
+    const expected_path = try std.fs.path.join(testing.allocator, &.{ cwd_path, exe_path });
+    defer testing.allocator.free(expected_path);
+    try testHelper(loader_argv, expected_path);
+}
+
+fn testHelper(
+    argv: []const []const u8,
+    expected_stdout: []const u8,
+) !void {
+    const result = try std.process.Child.run(.{
+        .allocator = testing.allocator,
+        .argv = argv,
+    });
+    defer testing.allocator.free(result.stdout);
+    defer testing.allocator.free(result.stderr);
+    errdefer std.log.err("term: {}", .{result.term});
+    errdefer std.log.err("stdout: {s}", .{result.stdout});
+    errdefer std.log.err("stderr: {s}", .{result.stderr});
+
+    try testing.expectEqualStrings(expected_stdout, result.stdout);
+    try testing.expect(result.term == .Exited);
+    try testing.expectEqual(0, result.term.Exited);
+}

src/syscalls.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,421 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const linux = std.os.linux;
+const posix = std.posix;
+const Patcher = @import("Patcher.zig");
+const assert = std.debug.assert;
+
+const page_size = std.heap.pageSize();
+
+const log = std.log.scoped(.syscalls);
+
+/// Represents the stack layout pushed by `syscallEntry` before calling the handler.
+pub const SavedContext = extern struct {
+    padding: u64, // Result of `sub $8, %rsp` for alignment
+    rflags: u64,
+    rax: u64,
+    rbx: u64,
+    rcx: u64,
+    rdx: u64,
+    rsi: u64,
+    rdi: u64,
+    rbp: u64,
+    r8: u64,
+    r9: u64,
+    r10: u64,
+    r11: u64,
+    r12: u64,
+    r13: u64,
+    r14: u64,
+    r15: u64,
+    /// Pushed automatically by the `call r11` instruction when entering `syscallEntry`.
+    /// Crucially we copy this onto the child stack (if needed) because then we can just return at
+    /// the end of the child handler inside `handleClone`.
+    return_address: u64,
+};
+
+/// The main entry point for intercepted syscalls.
+///
+/// This function is called from `syscallEntry` with a pointer to the saved context.
+/// It dispatches specific syscalls to handlers or executes them directly.
+export fn syscall_handler(ctx: *SavedContext) callconv(.c) void {
+    // TODO: Handle signals (masking) to prevent re-entrancy issues if we touch global state.
+
+    const sys: linux.SYS = @enumFromInt(ctx.rax);
+
+    switch (sys) {
+        .readlink => {
+            // readlink(const char *path, char *buf, size_t bufsiz)
+            const path_ptr = @as([*:0]const u8, @ptrFromInt(ctx.rdi));
+            // TODO: handle relative paths with cwd
+            if (isProcSelfExe(path_ptr)) {
+                handleReadlink(ctx.rsi, ctx.rdx, ctx);
+                return;
+            }
+        },
+        .readlinkat => {
+            // readlinkat(int dirfd, const char *pathname, char *buf, size_t bufsiz)
+            // We only intercept if pathname is absolute "/proc/self/exe".
+            // TODO: handle relative paths with dirfd pointing to /proc/self
+            // TODO: handle relative paths with dirfd == AT_FDCWD (like readlink)
+            // TODO: handle empty pathname
+            const path_ptr = @as([*:0]const u8, @ptrFromInt(ctx.rsi));
+            if (isProcSelfExe(path_ptr)) {
+                handleReadlink(ctx.rdx, ctx.r10, ctx);
+                return;
+            }
+        },
+        .clone, .clone3 => {
+            handleClone(ctx);
+            return;
+        },
+        .rt_sigreturn => {
+            // The kernel expects the stack pointer to point to the `ucontext` structure. But in our
+            // case `syscallEntry` pushed the `SavedContext` onto the stack.
+            // So we just need to reset the stack pointer to what it was before `syscallEntry` was
+            // called. The `SavedContext` includes the return address pushed by the trampoline, so
+            // the original stack pointer is exactly at the end of `SavedContext`.
+            const rsp_orig = @intFromPtr(ctx) + @sizeOf(SavedContext);
+
+            asm volatile (
+                \\ mov %[rsp], %%rsp
+                \\ syscall
+                :
+                : [rsp] "r" (rsp_orig),
+                  [number] "{rax}" (ctx.rax),
+                : .{ .memory = true });
+            unreachable;
+        },
+        .mmap => {
+            // mmap(void *addr, size_t length, int prot, int flags, int fd, off_t offset)
+
+            const prot: u32 = @intCast(ctx.rdx);
+            // Execute the syscall first to get the address (rax)
+            ctx.rax = executeSyscall(ctx);
+            const addr = ctx.rax;
+            var len = ctx.rsi;
+            const flags: linux.MAP = @bitCast(@as(u32, @intCast(ctx.r10)));
+            const fd: linux.fd_t = @bitCast(@as(u32, @truncate(ctx.r8)));
+            const offset = ctx.r9;
+
+            const is_error = @as(i64, @bitCast(ctx.rax)) < 0;
+            if (is_error) return;
+            if ((prot & posix.PROT.EXEC) == 0) return;
+
+            // If file-backed (not anonymous), clamp len to file size to avoid SIGBUS
+            if (!flags.ANONYMOUS) {
+                var stat: linux.Stat = undefined;
+                if (0 == linux.fstat(fd, &stat) and linux.S.ISREG(stat.mode)) {
+                    const file_size: u64 = @intCast(stat.size);
+                    len = if (offset >= file_size) 0 else @min(len, file_size - offset);
+                }
+            }
+
+            if (len <= 0) return;
+            // mmap addresses are always page aligned
+            const ptr = @as([*]align(page_size) u8, @ptrFromInt(addr));
+            // Check if we can patch it
+            Patcher.patchRegion(ptr[0..len]) catch |err| {
+                std.log.warn("JIT Patching failed: {}", .{err});
+            };
+
+            // patchRegion leaves it as RW. We need to restore to requested prot.
+            _ = linux.syscall3(.mprotect, addr, len, prot);
+            return;
+        },
+        .mprotect => {
+            // mprotect(void *addr, size_t len, int prot)
+            // TODO: cleanup trampolines, when removing X
+            const prot: u32 = @intCast(ctx.rdx);
+            if ((prot & posix.PROT.EXEC) != 0) {
+                const addr = ctx.rdi;
+                const len = ctx.rsi;
+                // mprotect requires addr to be page aligned.
+                if (len > 0 and std.mem.isAligned(addr, page_size)) {
+                    const ptr = @as([*]align(page_size) u8, @ptrFromInt(addr));
+                    Patcher.patchRegion(ptr[0..len]) catch |err| {
+                        std.log.warn("mprotect Patching failed: {}", .{err});
+                    };
+                    // patchRegion leaves it R|W.
+                }
+            }
+            ctx.rax = executeSyscall(ctx);
+            return;
+        },
+        .execve, .execveat => {
+            // TODO: option to persist across new processes
+            ctx.rax = executeSyscall(ctx);
+            return;
+        },
+        .prctl, .arch_prctl, .set_tid_address => {
+            // TODO: what do we need to handle from these?
+            // process name
+            // fs base(gs?)
+            // thread id pointers
+            ctx.rax = executeSyscall(ctx);
+            return;
+        },
+        .munmap, .mremap => {
+            // TODO: cleanup
+            ctx.rax = executeSyscall(ctx);
+            return;
+        },
+        else => {
+            // Write result back to the saved RAX so it is restored to the application.
+            ctx.rax = executeSyscall(ctx);
+            return;
+        },
+    }
+    unreachable;
+}
+
+inline fn executeSyscall(ctx: *SavedContext) u64 {
+    return linux.syscall6(
+        @enumFromInt(ctx.rax),
+        ctx.rdi,
+        ctx.rsi,
+        ctx.rdx,
+        ctx.r10,
+        ctx.r8,
+        ctx.r9,
+    );
+}
+
+/// Assembly trampoline that saves state and calls the Zig handler.
+/// This is the target of the `call r11` instruction in the syscall flicken.
+pub fn syscallEntry() callconv(.naked) void {
+    asm volatile (
+        \\     # Save all GPRs that must be preserved or are arguments
+        \\     push %r15
+        \\     push %r14
+        \\     push %r13
+        \\     push %r12
+        \\     push %r11
+        \\     push %r10
+        \\     push %r9
+        \\     push %r8
+        \\     push %rbp
+        \\     push %rdi
+        \\     push %rsi
+        \\     push %rdx
+        \\     push %rcx
+        \\     push %rbx
+        \\     push %rax
+        \\     pushfq # Save Flags
+        \\
+        \\     # Align stack
+        \\     # Current pushes: 16 * 8 = 128 bytes.
+        \\     # Red zone sub: 128 bytes.
+        \\     # Trampoline call pushed ret addr: 8 bytes.
+        \\     # Total misalign: 8 bytes. We need 16-byte alignment for 'call'.
+        \\     sub $8, %rsp
+        \\
+        \\     # Pass pointer to ctx (current rsp) as 1st argument (rdi) and call handler.
+        \\     mov %rsp, %rdi
+        \\     call syscall_handler
+        \\
+        \\     # Restore State
+        \\     add $8, %rsp
+        \\     popfq
+        \\     pop %rax
+        \\     pop %rbx
+        \\     pop %rcx
+        \\     pop %rdx
+        \\     pop %rsi
+        \\     pop %rdi
+        \\     pop %rbp
+        \\     pop %r8
+        \\     pop %r9
+        \\     pop %r10
+        \\     pop %r11
+        \\     pop %r12
+        \\     pop %r13
+        \\     pop %r14
+        \\     pop %r15
+        \\
+        \\     ret
+        :
+        // TODO: can we somehow use %[handler] in the assembly instead?
+        // Right now this is just here such that lto does not discard the `syscall_handler` function
+        : [handler] "i" (syscall_handler),
+    );
+}
+
+fn isProcSelfExe(path: [*:0]const u8) bool {
+    const needle = "/proc/self/exe";
+    var i: usize = 0;
+    while (i < needle.len) : (i += 1) {
+        if (path[i] != needle[i]) return false;
+    }
+    return path[i] == 0;
+}
+
+fn handleReadlink(buf_addr: u64, buf_size: u64, ctx: *SavedContext) void {
+    const target = Patcher.target_exec_path;
+    const len = @min(target.len, buf_size);
+    const dest = @as([*]u8, @ptrFromInt(buf_addr));
+    @memcpy(dest[0..len], target[0..len]);
+
+    // readlink does not null-terminate if the buffer is full, it just returns length.
+    ctx.rax = len;
+}
+
+const CloneArgs = extern struct {
+    flags: u64,
+    pidfd: u64,
+    child_tid: u64,
+    parent_tid: u64,
+    exit_signal: u64,
+    stack: u64,
+    stack_size: u64,
+    tls: u64,
+    set_tid: u64,
+    set_tid_size: u64,
+    cgroup: u64,
+};
+
+/// Handles `clone` and `clone3` syscalls, which are used for thread and process creation.
+///
+/// **The Stack Switching Problem:**
+/// When a thread is created, the caller provides a pointer to a new, empty stack (`child_stack`).
+/// 1. The parent enters the kernel via `syscallEntry` (the trampoline).
+/// 2. `syscallEntry` saves all registers and the return address onto the **parent's stack**.
+/// 3. The kernel creates the child thread and switches its stack pointer (`RSP`) to `child_stack`.
+/// 4. The child wakes up. If we simply let it return to `syscallEntry`, it would try to `pop`
+///    registers from its `child_stack`. But that stack is empty! It would pop garbage and crash.
+///
+/// **The Solution:**
+/// We manually replicate the parent's saved state onto the child's new stack *before* the syscall.
+///
+/// For that the following steps occur:
+/// 1. We decode the arguments to determine if this is `clone` or `clone3` and locate the target
+///    `child_stack`.
+/// 2. If `child_stack` is 0 (e.g., `fork`), no stack switching occurs. The function simply executes
+///    the syscall and handles the return value normally.
+/// 3. Else we need to stack switch:
+///    a. We calculate where `SavedContext` (registers + return addr) would sit on the top of the
+///       *new* `child_stack`. We then `memcpy` the current `ctx` (from the parent's stack) to this
+///       new location.
+///    b. We set `rax = 0` in the *copied* context, so the child sees itself as the child.
+///    c. We modify the syscall argument (the stack pointer passed to the kernel) to point to the
+///       *start* of our copied context on the new stack, rather than the raw top. This ensures that
+///       when the child wakes up, its `RSP` points exactly at the saved registers we just copied.
+///    d. We execute the raw syscall inline.
+///       - **Parent:** Returns from the syscall, updates `ctx.rax` with the Child PID, and returns
+///         to the trampoline normally.
+///       - **Child:** Wakes up on the new stack. It executes `postCloneChild`, restores all
+///         registers from the *new* stack (popping the values we copied in step 3a), and finally
+///         executes `ret`. This `ret` pops the `return_address` we copied, jumping directly back
+///         to the user code, effectively bypassing the `syscallEntry` epilogue.
+fn handleClone(ctx: *SavedContext) void {
+    const sys: linux.syscalls.X64 = @enumFromInt(ctx.rax);
+    var child_stack: u64 = 0;
+
+    // Determine stack
+    if (sys == .clone) {
+        // clone(flags, stack, ...)
+        child_stack = ctx.rsi;
+    } else {
+        // clone3(struct clone_args *args, size_t size)
+        const args = @as(*const CloneArgs, @ptrFromInt(ctx.rdi));
+        if (args.stack != 0) {
+            child_stack = args.stack + args.stack_size;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // If no new stack, just execute (like fork)
+    if (child_stack == 0) {
+        ctx.rax = executeSyscall(ctx);
+        if (ctx.rax == 0) {
+            postCloneChild(ctx);
+        } else {
+            assert(ctx.rax > 0); // TODO:: error handling
+            postCloneParent(ctx);
+        }
+        return;
+    }
+
+    // Prepare child stack by copying SavedContext.
+    // TODO: test alignment
+    child_stack &= ~@as(u64, 0xf - 1); // align to 16 bytes
+    const child_ctx_addr = child_stack - @sizeOf(SavedContext);
+    const child_ctx = @as(*SavedContext, @ptrFromInt(child_ctx_addr));
+    child_ctx.* = ctx.*;
+    child_ctx.rax = 0;
+
+    // Prepare arguments for syscall
+    var new_rsi = ctx.rsi;
+    var new_rdi = ctx.rdi;
+    var clone3_args_copy: CloneArgs = undefined;
+
+    if (sys == .clone) {
+        new_rsi = child_ctx_addr;
+    } else {
+        const args = @as(*const CloneArgs, @ptrFromInt(ctx.rdi));
+        clone3_args_copy = args.*;
+        clone3_args_copy.stack = child_ctx_addr;
+        clone3_args_copy.stack_size = 0; // TODO:
+        new_rdi = @intFromPtr(&clone3_args_copy);
+    }
+
+    // Execute clone/clone3 via inline assembly
+    // We handle the child path entirely in assembly to avoid stack frame issues.
+    const ret = asm volatile (
+        \\ syscall
+        \\ test %rax, %rax
+        \\ jnz 1f
+        \\
+        \\ # --- CHILD PATH ---
+        \\ # We are now on the new stack and %rsp points to child_ctx_addr
+        \\  
+        \\ # Run Child Hook
+        \\ # Argument 1 (rdi): Pointer to SavedContext (which is current rsp)
+        \\ mov %rsp, %rdi
+        \\ call postCloneChild
+        \\
+        \\ # Restore Context
+        \\ add $8, %rsp      # Skip padding
+        \\ popfq
+        \\ pop %rax
+        \\ pop %rbx
+        \\ pop %rcx
+        \\ pop %rdx
+        \\ pop %rsi
+        \\ pop %rdi
+        \\ pop %rbp
+        \\ pop %r8
+        \\ pop %r9
+        \\ pop %r10
+        \\ pop %r11
+        \\ pop %r12
+        \\ pop %r13
+        \\ pop %r14
+        \\ pop %r15
+        \\
+        \\ # %rsp now points to `return_address` so we can just return.
+        \\ ret
+        \\
+        \\ 1:
+        \\ # --- PARENT PATH ---
+        : [ret] "={rax}" (-> usize),
+        : [number] "{rax}" (ctx.rax),
+          [arg1] "{rdi}" (new_rdi),
+          [arg2] "{rsi}" (new_rsi),
+          [arg3] "{rdx}" (ctx.rdx),
+          [arg4] "{r10}" (ctx.r10),
+          [arg5] "{r8}" (ctx.r8),
+          [arg6] "{r9}" (ctx.r9),
+          [child_hook] "i" (postCloneChild),
+        : .{ .rcx = true, .r11 = true, .memory = true });
+
+    // Parent continues here
+    ctx.rax = ret;
+    postCloneParent(ctx);
+}
+
+export fn postCloneChild(ctx: *SavedContext) callconv(.c) void {
+    _ = ctx;
+}
+
+fn postCloneParent(ctx: *SavedContext) void {
+    _ = ctx;
+}

src/test/clone_no_new_stack.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const linux = std.os.linux;
+const clone = linux.CLONE;
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    // SIGCHLD: Send signal to parent on exit (required for waitpid)
+    const flags = clone.FILES | clone.FS | linux.SIG.CHLD;
+
+    const msg = "Child: Hello\n";
+    const msg_len = msg.len;
+
+    // We use inline assembly to perform the clone syscall and handle the child path completely to
+    // avoid the compiler generating code that relies on the parent's stack frame in the child
+    // process (where the stack is empty).
+    const ret = asm volatile (
+        \\ syscall
+        \\ test %%rax, %%rax
+        \\ jnz 1f
+        \\
+        \\ # Child Path
+        \\ # Write to stdout
+        \\ mov $1, %%rdi        # fd = 1 (stdout)
+        \\ mov %[msg], %%rsi    # buffer
+        \\ mov %[len], %%rdx    # length
+        \\ mov $1, %%rax        # SYS_write
+        \\ syscall
+        \\
+        \\ # Exit
+        \\ mov $0, %%rdi        # code = 0
+        \\ mov $60, %%rax       # SYS_exit
+        \\ syscall
+        \\
+        \\ 1:
+        \\ # Parent Path continues
+        : [ret] "={rax}" (-> usize),
+        : [number] "{rax}" (@intFromEnum(linux.syscalls.X64.clone)),
+          [arg1] "{rdi}" (flags),
+          [arg2] "{rsi}" (0),
+          [arg3] "{rdx}" (0),
+          [arg4] "{r10}" (0),
+          [arg5] "{r8}" (0),
+          [msg] "r" (msg.ptr),
+          [len] "r" (msg_len),
+        : .{ .rcx = true, .r11 = true, .memory = true });
+
+    // Parent Process
+    const child_pid: i32 = @intCast(ret);
+    if (child_pid < 0) {
+        _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr("Parent: Clone failed\n"), 21);
+        return;
+    }
+
+    var status: u32 = 0;
+    // wait4 for the child to exit
+    _ = linux.syscall4(.wait4, @as(usize, @intCast(child_pid)), @intFromPtr(&status), 0, 0);
+
+    _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr("Parent: Goodbye\n"), 16);
+}

src/test/clone_raw.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const linux = std.os.linux;
+const clone = linux.CLONE;
+
+var child_stack: [4096 * 4]u8 align(16) = undefined;
+pub fn main() !void {
+    // SIGCHLD: Send signal to parent on exit (required for waitpid)
+    const flags = clone.VM | clone.FILES | clone.FS | clone.SIGHAND | linux.SIG.CHLD;
+
+    // Stack grows downwards. Point to the end.
+    const stack_top = @intFromPtr(&child_stack) + child_stack.len;
+
+    const msg = "Child: Hello\n";
+    const msg_len = msg.len;
+
+    // We use inline assembly to perform the clone syscall and handle the child path completely to
+    // avoid the compiler generating code that relies on the parent's stack frame in the child
+    // process (where the stack is empty).
+    const ret = asm volatile (
+        \\ syscall
+        \\ test %%rax, %%rax
+        \\ jnz 1f
+        \\
+        \\ # Child Path
+        \\ # Write to stdout
+        \\ mov $1, %%rdi        # fd = 1 (stdout)
+        \\ mov %[msg], %%rsi    # buffer
+        \\ mov %[len], %%rdx    # length
+        \\ mov $1, %%rax        # SYS_write
+        \\ syscall
+        \\
+        \\ # Exit
+        \\ mov $0, %%rdi        # code = 0
+        \\ mov $60, %%rax       # SYS_exit
+        \\ syscall
+        \\
+        \\ 1:
+        \\ # Parent Path continues
+        : [ret] "={rax}" (-> usize),
+        : [number] "{rax}" (@intFromEnum(linux.syscalls.X64.clone)),
+          [arg1] "{rdi}" (flags),
+          [arg2] "{rsi}" (stack_top),
+          [arg3] "{rdx}" (0),
+          [arg4] "{r10}" (0),
+          [arg5] "{r8}" (0),
+          [msg] "r" (msg.ptr),
+          [len] "r" (msg_len),
+        : .{ .rcx = true, .r11 = true, .memory = true });
+
+    // Parent Process
+    const child_pid: i64 = @bitCast(ret);
+    if (child_pid < 0) {
+        std.debug.print(
+            "Parent: Clone failed with: {}\n",
+            .{@as(linux.E, @enumFromInt(-child_pid))},
+        );
+        return;
+    }
+
+    var status: u32 = 0;
+    // wait4 for the child to exit
+    _ = linux.syscall4(.wait4, @as(usize, @intCast(child_pid)), @intFromPtr(&status), 0, 0);
+
+    _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr("Parent: Goodbye\n"), 16);
+}

src/test/exit.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+pub fn main() void {
+    return;
+}

src/test/fork.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const linux = std.os.linux;
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    const ret = linux.syscall0(.fork);
+    const pid: i32 = @intCast(ret);
+
+    if (pid == 0) {
+        // --- Child ---
+        const msg = "Child: I'm alive!\n";
+        _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr(msg.ptr), msg.len);
+        linux.exit(0);
+    } else if (pid > 0) {
+        // --- Parent ---
+        var status: u32 = 0;
+        _ = linux.syscall4(.wait4, @intCast(pid), @intFromPtr(&status), 0, 0);
+        const msg = "Parent: Child died.\n";
+        _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr(msg.ptr), msg.len);
+    } else {
+        const msg = "Fork failed!\n";
+        _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr(msg.ptr), msg.len);
+    }
+}

src/test/helloWorld.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    var stdout_buffer: [64]u8 = undefined;
+    var stdout_writer = std.fs.File.stdout().writer(&stdout_buffer);
+    const stdout = &stdout_writer.interface;
+    try stdout.print("Hello World!\n", .{});
+    try stdout.flush();
+}

src/test/printArgs.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    var stdout_buffer: [64]u8 = undefined;
+    var stdout_writer = std.fs.File.stdout().writer(&stdout_buffer);
+    const stdout = &stdout_writer.interface;
+
+    // It is done this way to remove the trailing space with a naive implementation.
+    var args = std.process.args();
+    if (args.next()) |arg| {
+        try stdout.print("{s}", .{arg});
+    }
+    while (args.next()) |arg| {
+        try stdout.print(" {s}", .{arg});
+    }
+    try stdout.flush();
+}

src/test/readlink.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    var buf: [std.fs.max_path_bytes]u8 = undefined;
+    // We use /proc/self/exe to test if the loader interception works.
+    // const path = try std.posix.readlink("/proc/self/exe", &buf);
+    const size = std.posix.system.readlink("/proc/self/exe", &buf, buf.len);
+    var stdout_buffer: [64]u8 = undefined;
+    var stdout_writer = std.fs.File.stdout().writer(&stdout_buffer);
+    const stdout = &stdout_writer.interface;
+    try stdout.print("{s}", .{buf[0..@intCast(size)]});
+    try stdout.flush();
+}

src/test/signal_handler.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+const linux = std.os.linux;
+
+var handled = false;
+
+fn handler(sig: i32, _: *const linux.siginfo_t, _: ?*anyopaque) callconv(.c) void {
+    if (sig == linux.SIG.USR1) {
+        handled = true;
+        const msg = "In signal handler\n";
+        _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr(msg.ptr), msg.len);
+    }
+}
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    const act = linux.Sigaction{
+        .handler = .{ .sigaction = handler },
+        .mask = std.mem.zeroes(linux.sigset_t),
+        .flags = linux.SA.SIGINFO | linux.SA.RESTART,
+    };
+
+    if (linux.sigaction(linux.SIG.USR1, &act, null) != 0) {
+        return error.SigactionFailed;
+    }
+
+    _ = linux.kill(linux.getpid(), linux.SIG.USR1);
+
+    if (handled) {
+        const msg = "Signal handled successfully\n";
+        _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr(msg.ptr), msg.len);
+    } else {
+        const msg = "Signal NOT handled\n";
+        _ = linux.syscall3(.write, 1, @intFromPtr(msg.ptr), msg.len);
+        std.process.exit(1);
+    }
+}

src/test/vdso_clock.zig

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+const std = @import("std");
+
+pub fn main() !void {
+    _ = try std.posix.clock_gettime(std.posix.CLOCK.MONOTONIC);
+
+    const msg = "Time gotten\n";
+    _ = try std.posix.write(1, msg);
+}