PatchELF is a simple utility for modifing existing ELF executables and
libraries. In particular, it can do the following:
* Change the dynamic loader ("ELF interpreter") of executables:
$ patchelf --set-interpreter /lib/my-ld-linux.so.2 my-program
* Change the RPATH of executables and libraries:
$ patchelf --set-rpath /opt/my-libs/lib:/other-libs my-program
* Shrink the RPATH of executables and libraries:
$ patchelf --shrink-rpath my-program
This removes from the RPATH all directories that do not contain a
library referenced by DT_NEEDED fields of the executable or library.
For instance, if an executable references one library libfoo.so, has
an RPATH "/lib:/usr/lib:/foo/lib", and libfoo.so can only be found
in /foo/lib, then the new RPATH will be "/foo/lib".
* Remove declared dependencies on dynamic libraries (DT_NEEDED
entries):
$ patchelf --remove-needed libfoo.so.1 my-program
This option can be given multiple times.
* Add a declared dependency on a dynamic library (DT_NEEDED):
$ patchelf --add-needed libfoo.so.1 my-program
This option can be give multiple times.
* Replace a declared dependency on a dynamic library with another one
(DT_NEEDED):
$ patchelf --replace-needed liboriginal.so.1 libreplacement.so.1 my-program
This option can be give multiple times.
AUTHOR
Copyright 2004-2013 Eelco Dolstra <eelco.dolstra@logicblox.com>.
LICENSE
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at
your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
HOMEPAGE
http://nixos.org/patchelf.html
BUGS
The `strip' command from binutils generated broken executables when
applied to the output of patchelf (if `--set-rpath' or
`--set-interpreter' with a larger path than the original is used).
This appears to be a bug in binutils
(http://bugs.strategoxt.org/browse/NIXPKGS-85).
RELEASE HISTORY
0.8 (January 15, 2014):
* Fix a segfault caused by certain illegal entries in symbol tables.
0.7 (January 7, 2014):
* Rewrite section indices in symbol tables. This for instance allows
gdb to show proper backtraces.
* Added `--remove-needed' option.
0.6 (November 7, 2011):
* Hacky support for executables created by the Gold linker.
* Support segments with an alignment of 0 (contributed by Zack
Weinberg).
* Added a manual page (contributed by Jeremy Sanders
<jeremy@jeremysanders.net>).
0.5 (November 4, 2009):
* Various bugfixes.
* `--force-rpath' now deletes the DT_RUNPATH if it is present.
0.4 (June 4, 2008):
* Support for growing the RPATH on dynamic libraries.
* IA-64 support (not tested) and related 64-bit fixes.
* FreeBSD support.
* `--set-rpath', `--shrink-rpath' and `--print-rpath' now prefer
DT_RUNPATH over DT_RPATH, which is obsolete. When updating, if both
are present, both are updated. If only DT_RPATH is present, it is
converted to DT_RUNPATH unless `--force-rpath' is specified. If
neither is present, a DT_RUNPATH is added unless `--force-rpath' is
specified, in which case a DT_RPATH is added.
0.3 (May 24, 2007):
* Support for 64-bit ELF binaries (such as on x86_64-linux).
* Support for big-endian ELF binaries (such as on powerpc-linux).
* Various bugfixes.
0.2 (January 15, 2007):
* Provides a hack to get certain programs (such as the
Belastingaangifte 2005) to work.
0.1 (October 11, 2005):
* Initial release.