hashdb-ida: Malware string hash lookup plugin for IDA Pro

by ddos · Published April 5, 2025 · Updated April 5, 2025

HashDB IDA Plugin

Malware string hash lookup plugin for IDA Pro. This plugin connects to the OALABS HashDB Lookup Service.

Adding New Hash Algorithms

The hash algorithm database is open source and new algorithms can be added on GitHub here. Pull requests are mostly automated and as long as our automated tests pass the new algorithm will be usable on HashDB within minutes.

Installing HashDB

Before using the plugin you must install the python requests module in your IDA environment. The simplest way to do this is to use pip from a shell outside of IDA. (pip install requests)

Once you have the requests module installed simply copy the latest release of hashdb.py into your IDA plugins directory and you are ready to start looking up hashes!

Use

HashDB can be used to look up strings that have been hashed in malware by right-clicking on the hash constant in the IDA disassembly view and launching the HashDB Lookup client.

Settings

Before the plugin can be used to look up hashes the HashDB settings must be configured. The settings window can be launched from the plugins menu Edit->Plugins->HashDB.

Hash Algorithms

Click Refresh Algorithms to pull a list of supported hash algorithms from the HashDB API, then select the algorithm used in the malware you are analyzing.

Optional XOR

There is also an option to enable XOR with each hash value as this is a common technique used by malware authors to further obfuscate hashes.

API URL

The default API URL for the HashDB Lookup Service is https://hashdb.openanalysis.net/. If you are using your own internal server this URL can be changed to point to your server.

Enum Name

When a new hash is identified by HashDB the hash and its associated string are added to an enum in IDA. This enum can then be used to convert hash constants in IDA to their corresponding enum name. The enum name is configurable from the settings in the event that there is a conflict with an existing enum.

Hash Lookup

Once the plugin settings have been configured you can right-click on any constant in the IDA disassembly window and look up the constant as a hash. The right-click also provides a quick way to set the XOR value if needed.

Bulk Import

If a hash is part of a module a prompt will ask if you want to import all the hashes from that module. This is a quick way to pull hashes in bulk. For example, if one of the hashes identified is Sleep from the kernel32 module, HashDB can then pull all the hashed exports from kernel32.

Algorithm Search

HashDB also includes a basic algorithm search that will attempt to identify the hash algorithm based on a hash value. The search will return all algorithms that contain the hash value, it is up to the analyst to decide which (if any) algorithm is correct. To use this functionality right-click on the hash constant and select HashDB Hunt Algorithm.

All algorithms that contain this hash will be displayed in a chooser box. The chooser box can be used to directly select the algorithm for HashDB to use. If Cancel is selected no algorithm will be selected.

Dynamic Import Address Table Hash Scanning

Instead of resolving API hashes individually (inline in code), some malware developers will create a block of import hashes in memory. These hashes are then all resolved within a single function creating a dynamic import address table which is later referenced in the code. In these scenarios, the HashDB Scan IAT function can be used.

Simply select the import hash block, right-click and choose HashDB Scan IAT. HashDB will attempt to resolve each individual DWORD in the selected range.

Source: https://github.com/OALabs/