xex2tractor

A tool for extracting and inspecting Xbox 360 XEX2 executable files, written in Rust.

Usage

Inspect

Display XEX2 file information (headers, security info, resolved imports, etc.):

xex2tractor inspect <file.xex>

Example Output

=== XEX2 Header ===
Magic:            XEX2 (0x58455832)
Module Flags:     0x00000001 [TITLE]
Header Size:      0x00003000 (12288 bytes)
Reserved:         0x00000000
Security Offset:  0x00000090
Header Count:     15

=== Optional Headers (15 entries) ===

[ENTRY_POINT] 0x824AB748
[IMAGE_BASE_ADDRESS] 0x82000000
[DEFAULT_STACK_SIZE] 0x00080000 (524288 bytes)
[SYSTEM_FLAGS] 0x00000400 [PAL50_INCOMPATIBLE]

[EXECUTION_INFO]
  Media ID:        0x2D2E2EEB
  Title ID:        0x535107D4
  Version:         0.0.0.2
  ...

[FILE_FORMAT_INFO]
  Encryption:  Normal (AES-128-CBC)
  Compression: Normal (LZX)
  Window Size: 0x8000 (32 KB)
  ...

=== Security Info ===
Header Size:          0x00000F34 (3892 bytes)
Image Size:           0x00920000 (9568256 bytes)
RSA Signature:        2C94EBE6...11A6E8AA (256 bytes)
Image Flags:          0x00000008 [XGD2_MEDIA_ONLY]
Load Address:         0x82000000
Region:               0xFFFFFFFF [ALL REGIONS]
Allowed Media Types:  0x00000004 [DVD_CD]
...

=== Resolved Imports (398 total) ===

xam.xex (104 imports):
  0x82DAA7D8  Variable  0x0041  XamLoaderGetLaunchDataSize
  0x82DAA7E0  Thunk     0x0041  XamLoaderGetLaunchDataSize
  ...

xboxkrnl.exe (294 imports):
  0x82DAA600  Variable  0x0001  DbgBreakPoint
  0x82DAA608  Thunk     0x0001  DbgBreakPoint
  ...

Extract

Extract the decrypted and decompressed PE image from a XEX2 file:

xex2tractor extract <file.xex> [output.exe]

If no output path is given, defaults to the input filename with .exe extension.

Import Resolution

Pass -r / --resolve-imports to write Xenia-style thunk stubs and variable slot values into the extracted PE image, making it suitable for further static analysis with tools that understand resolved Xbox 360 imports:

xex2tractor extract -r <file.xex> [output.exe]

Without -r, the extracted PE is byte-for-byte identical to the decrypted and decompressed image as it appears in the XEX2 file.

Example

$ xex2tractor extract default.xex default.exe
Encryption:  Normal (AES-128-CBC)
Compression: Normal (LZX)
Extracted PE image (9568256 bytes) -> default.exe

$ xex2tractor extract -r default.xex resolved.exe
Encryption:  Normal (AES-128-CBC)
Compression: Normal (LZX)
Resolved 398 imports (204 variables, 194 thunks)
  xam.xex: 104
  xboxkrnl.exe: 294
Extracted PE image (9568256 bytes) -> resolved.exe

Supports:

• AES-128-CBC decryption (retail, devkit, and XEX1 master keys)
• No compression, basic (zero-fill), and normal (LZX) decompression
• PE header verification (MZ signature, PE signature, POWERPCBE machine type)
• Xenia-style import resolution (variable slots and thunk stubs)

Building

cargo build --release

Testing

Place a sample XEX2 file at tests/data/default.xex, then run:

cargo test

Documentation

• doc/xex2_format.md — XEX2 file format specification
• doc/xbox360_exports.json — Xbox 360 system export database (2,913 exports across xboxkrnl.exe, xam.xex, xbdm.xex)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.