Malware Reverse Engineering for Beginners: My First Steps

As I explore the cybersecurity world, one path keeps drawing me in malware reverse engineering(MRE). It’s as challenging as it is captivating, requiring a mix of analytical thinking, creativity and patience to uncover what’s hidden.This article explains what MRE is, why it matters, the environments and tools I use,and the resources that helped me learn it (free + paid).

For me, the biggest reason was curiosity and problem solving. MRE feels like solving a complex puzzle. Like a detective searching for clues.

What Is Malware Reverse Engineering, and Why Do we Need It?

Malware Reverse Engineering is the art of taking apart malicious software (malware) to understand what it does , how it works , the techniques it uses to stay hidden and what kind of damage it may be designed to cause and uncover the attacker’s full blueprint.

The Two primary approaches

1. Static Analysis:

Static analysis studies malware without running it, inspects a malware file (headers, hashes, strings) and uses tools like Ghidra or IDA to translate machine code into readable assembly.

2. Dynamic Analysis:

Dynamic analysis involves running the binary and analyzing it as it executes to observe its behavior,using a debugger like x64dbg to step through the code and see how it executes.

Why it matters ?

Reversing malware reveals tactics, techniques, and TTPs. That enables security teams to create precise detections, write incident response playbooks, and patch vulnerabilities or misconfigurations attackers exploit.

I think before start learning MRE, you should have a basic familiarity with the following concepts.

Prerequisites (recommended)

• Basic programming: Python and you need to have familiarity with C/C++ (one of them or both).
• Windows internals: processes, services, registry, PE format basics.
• Assembly basics (x86/x64): understanding function calls and registers.

Environments I use

I work with with multiple Windows VMs and a Linux toolbox for analysis:

• Windows 7 (64-bit) — separate VMs for static and dynamic analysis.
• Windows 10 (64-bit) — for analyzing modern malware and testing tools.

I Use Flare VM which provides with several good reversing engineering tools

• FlareVM: https://github.com/mandiant/flare-vm

For Linux tooling and scripting tasks I use REMnux

• REMnux: https://docs.remnux.org/install-distro/get-virtual-appliance

Now let’s move on to the tools.

Tools

Most of these are available in Flare VM & REMnux. I’ve grouped them by purpose.

Static analysis :

• Detect It Easy (DIE) — file type detection
• Ghidra, IDA Pro (disassemblers)
• capa — identification
• Oletools & Malwoverview
• CyberChef — quick decoding/transforms
• dnSpy — .NET decompiler
• Microsoft, Libre — for Office/macros
• PEStudio — PE inspection
• Text editors (Sublime, VS Code), Python 3

Dynamic analysis :

• x64dbg — debugger for Windows binaries
• ANY.RUN & capesandbox — interactive sandbox
• dnSpy — .NET debugger
• Wireshark — Packet Analyzer & capture
• HxD — Hex Editor
• Process Hacker — process inspection
• Procmon — filesystem/registry monitoring
• RegShot — registry snapshot comparison
• FakeNet-NG, ApateDNS — network/DNS simulation
• YARA— creating signatures to identify malware

Resources I used

💰 Paid

1. Zero2Automated (Advanced Malware Analysis)
   • hands-on labs for unpacking, shellcode, debugging, and advanced reverse engineering. I recommend it for its practical labs and depth.
2. Practical Malware Analysis & Triage
   • I haven’t tried it myself, but many in the community recommend it

🆓 Free

1. Malware Unicorn’s Reverse Engineering 101 — Beginner-friendly RE Windows malware

2. YouTube Channels 🎥
   • The Cyber Yeti → Great walkthroughs on malware analysis and reverse engineering
   • HuskyHacks → has a great course highly recommend
   • John Hammond → has some videos about MRE
3. Malware Traffic Analysis 🌐 — Provides real-world network captures (PCAPs) for hands-on practice

And I highly recommend practicing on more real samples found on sites like:

• theZoo — collection of live malware for research.
• MalwareBazaar (abuse.ch) — curated malware samples with metadata.
• samples — repo has collection of samples
• VirusShare — same as MalwareBazaar collection of malware samples

check this malpedia it provides technical information about malware.

Platforms I use

• Crackmes.one collection of RE challenges
• TryHackMe — beginner-friendly hands-on labs and learning paths, including Windows/RE and malware-analysis rooms.
• Hack The Box — more advanced hands-on labs and real-world-like machines; excellent for sharpening practical skills and CTF-style problems.

Final Thoughts

Malware reverse engineering is a field that requires lifelong learning. If you want to work in InfoSec, it’s a skill worth developing. Getting started can feel overwhelming, but by building a solid foundation learning Windows internals, assembly, and programming and practicing consistently, you will steadily grow your skills.