Medusa — authorized interactive disassembler
Medusa (wisk/medusa) is an interactive modular disassembler. Cite Release 0.4.3. GitHub SPDX is NOASSERTION — read the tree's LICENSE before redistribution. Analyze only binaries you are authorized to examine.
Snapshot
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Latest checked | 0.4.3 on wisk/medusa Releases |
| Job | Interactive disassembly GUI/library with modular loaders |
| Stars (order of magnitude) | ~1.1k on GitHub (counts change daily) |
| License metadata | GitHub SPDX NOASSERTION — verify LICENSE in-tree |
| Peers | Cutter, REDasm, PE-bear |
Allowed framing
- Exploring your ELF/PE/Mach-O lab builds in qMedusa.
- Comparing loader coverage with Cutter/REDasm on owned samples.
- Classroom demos of modular disassembler architecture.
Scope we will not cover
- No exploit PoC cookbooks.
- No crack/keygen framing.
- No “auto-unpack commercial malware packs” cookbooks.
Beginner path (authorized only)
- Prefer building from the 0.4.3 tag with the dependencies upstream documents (Boost, Qt5, CMake, …).
- Use a disposable lab VM; snapshot before loading unknown samples.
- Start with a tiny binary you compiled; record Medusa version beside SHA-256.
- Escalate stubborn cases to Cutter or Ghidra rather than inventing patches.
- If a syllabus still names PLASMA, treat it as a separate historical pin — do not conflate the two projects.
- Use Medusa 0.4.3 for an interactive modular disassembler on authorized binaries.
- Prefer Cutter when you want a maintained Rizin GUI by default.
- Refuse exploit and crack framing.
For legal, authorized and educational use only.
FAQ
What is Medusa?
Medusa is an interactive, modular disassembler designed as a library plus front-ends (text / qMedusa Qt GUI). Loaders cover ELF, PE, Mach-O (with documented limits), plus niche formats such as GameBoy and ST62ROM.
Which version is cited?
GitHub Release 0.4.3 (tag 0.4.3 on wisk/medusa). Default branch observed as dev; pin the release tag for labs (checked 2026-10-24).
Why not PLASMA?
plasma-disassembler/plasma has no GitHub Releases and last pushed in 2021 — BinBench selected Medusa instead for a versioned Release object. PLASMA remains a historical Capstone-based interactive disassembler if a lab already pins it.
Cutter/REDasm or Medusa?
Prefer Cutter for a Rizin-backed GUI, or REDasm for its Qt listing/graph workflow. Prefer Medusa when you want its modular loader/emulator-oriented architecture on authorized samples.
Does this teach writing exploits?
No. Authorized inspection and education only — BinBench will not supply exploit PoCs or weaponization recipes.