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class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Technical details</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Technical_details-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Technical details subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Technical_details-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Layout" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Layout"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Layout</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Layout-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Import_table" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Import_table"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Import table</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Import_table-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Address_Space_Layout_Randomization_(ASLR)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Address_Space_Layout_Randomization_(ASLR)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Address_Space_Layout_Randomization_(ASLR)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-.NET,_metadata,_and_the_PE_format" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#.NET,_metadata,_and_the_PE_format"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>.NET, metadata, and the PE format</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-.NET,_metadata,_and_the_PE_format-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Use_on_other_operating_systems" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Use_on_other_operating_systems"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Use on other operating systems</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Use_on_other_operating_systems-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> 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Available in 20 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-20" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">20 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executable_Portable" title="Executable Portable – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Executable Portable" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8_%D9%BE%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%87_%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%BE%D8%B0%DB%8C%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%E2%80%8C%D9%BE%D8%B0%DB%8C%D8%B1" title="قالب پرونده اجراپذیر انتقال‌پذیر – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="قالب پرونده اجراپذیر انتقال‌پذیر" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/PE_%ED%8F%AC%EB%A7%B7" title="PE 포맷 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="PE 포맷" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/PE_fajl" title="PE fajl – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="PE fajl" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable" title="Portable Executable – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Portable Executable" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue 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screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox"><caption class="infobox-title" style="padding-bottom: 0.15em;">Portable Executable</caption><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/Filename_extension" title="Filename extension">Filename extension</a></th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886049734">.mw-parser-output .monospaced{font-family:monospace,monospace}</style><div class="monospaced"> <code>.acm</code>, <code>.ax</code>, <code>.cpl</code>, <code>.dll</code>, <code>.drv</code>, <code>.efi</code>, <code><a href="/wiki/.exe" title=".exe">.exe</a></code>, <code>.mui</code>, <code>.ocx</code>, <code>.scr</code>, <code>.sys</code>, <code>.tsp</code>, <code>.mun</code>, <code>.msstyles</code></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;"><a href="/wiki/Media_type" title="Media type">Internet media type</a></th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734"><div class="monospaced"> application/vnd.microsoft.portable-executable<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;">Developed by</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;">Currently: <a href="/wiki/Microsoft" title="Microsoft">Microsoft</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;">Type of format</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;"><a href="/wiki/Binary_file" title="Binary file">Binary</a>, <a href="/wiki/Executable" title="Executable">executable</a>, <a href="/wiki/Object_code" title="Object code">object</a>, <a href="/wiki/Shared_libraries" class="mw-redirect" title="Shared libraries">shared libraries</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height: 1.2; padding-right: 0.65em;">Extended from</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height: 1.35;"><a href="/wiki/DOS_MZ_executable" title="DOS MZ executable">DOS MZ executable</a><br /><a href="/wiki/COFF" title="COFF">COFF</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>Portable Executable</b> (<b>PE</b>) format is a <a href="/wiki/File_format" title="File format">file format</a> for <a href="/wiki/Executable" title="Executable">executables</a>, <a href="/wiki/Object_file" title="Object file">object code</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dynamic-link_library" title="Dynamic-link library">dynamic-link-libraries</a> (DLLs), and binary files used on 32-bit and 64-bit <a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Windows" title="Microsoft Windows">Windows</a> <a href="/wiki/Operating_system" title="Operating system">operating systems</a>, as well as in <a href="/wiki/UEFI" title="UEFI">UEFI</a> environments.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is the standard format for executables on Windows NT-based systems, including files such as <code>.exe</code>, <code>.dll</code>, <code>.sys</code> (for system drivers), and <code>.mui</code>. At its core, the PE format is a structured data container that gives the Windows operating system loader everything it needs to properly manage the <a href="/wiki/Executable" title="Executable">executable code</a> it contains. This includes references for <a href="/wiki/Library_(computer_science)#Dynamic_linking" class="mw-redirect" title="Library (computer science)">dynamically linked libraries</a>, tables for importing and exporting <a href="/wiki/Application_programming_interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Application programming interface">API</a>s, resource management data and <a href="/wiki/Thread-local_storage" title="Thread-local storage">thread-local storage</a> (TLS) information. </p><p>According to the <a href="/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Unified Extensible Firmware Interface">Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)</a> specification, the PE format is also the accepted standard for executables in EFI environments.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On Windows NT systems, it currently supports a range of <a href="/wiki/Instruction_set_architecture" title="Instruction set architecture">instruction sets</a>, including <a href="/wiki/IA-32" title="IA-32">IA-32</a>, <a href="/wiki/X86-64" title="X86-64">x86-64</a> (AMD64/Intel 64), <a href="/wiki/IA-64" title="IA-64">IA-64</a>, <a href="/wiki/ARM_architecture" class="mw-redirect" title="ARM architecture">ARM</a> and <a href="/wiki/ARM64" class="mw-redirect" title="ARM64">ARM64</a>. Before the advent of <a href="/wiki/Windows_2000" title="Windows 2000">Windows 2000</a>, Windows NT (and by extension the PE format) also supported <a href="/wiki/MIPS_architecture" title="MIPS architecture">MIPS</a>, <a href="/wiki/DEC_Alpha" title="DEC Alpha">Alpha</a>, and <a href="/wiki/PowerPC" title="PowerPC">PowerPC</a> architectures. Moreover, thanks to its use in <a href="/wiki/Windows_CE" title="Windows CE">Windows CE</a>, PE has maintained compatibility with several MIPS, <a href="/wiki/ARM_architecture" class="mw-redirect" title="ARM architecture">ARM</a> (including <a href="/wiki/ARM_architecture#Thumb" class="mw-redirect" title="ARM architecture">Thumb</a>), and <a href="/wiki/SuperH" title="SuperH">SuperH</a> variants.<sup id="cite_ref-PE_Format_(Windows)_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PE_Format_(Windows)-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Functionally, the PE format is similar to other platform-specific executable formats, such as the <a href="/wiki/Executable_and_Linkable_Format" title="Executable and Linkable Format">ELF</a> format used in <a href="/wiki/Linux" title="Linux">Linux</a> and most <a href="/wiki/Unix-like" title="Unix-like">Unix-like systems</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Mach-O" title="Mach-O">Mach-O</a> format found in <a href="/wiki/MacOS" title="MacOS">macOS</a> and <a href="/wiki/IOS" title="IOS">iOS</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Microsoft first introduced the PE format with <a href="/wiki/Windows_NT_3.1" title="Windows NT 3.1">Windows NT 3.1</a>, replacing the older 16-bit <a href="/wiki/New_Executable" title="New Executable">New Executable</a> (NE) format. Soon after, Windows 95, 98, ME, and the Win32s extension for Windows 3.1x, all adopted the PE structure. Each PE file includes a DOS executable header, which generally displays the message "<a href="/wiki/New_Executable" title="New Executable">This program cannot be run in DOS mode</a>". However, this DOS section can be replaced by a fully functional DOS program, as demonstrated in the Windows 98 SE installer. Developers can add such a program using the <code>/STUB</code> switch with Microsoft's linker, effectively creating a <a href="/wiki/Fat_binary" title="Fat binary">fat binary</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Over time, the PE format has grown with the Windows platform. Notable extensions include the <a href="/wiki/.NET" title=".NET">.NET</a> PE format for managed code, PE32+ for 64-bit address space support, and a specialized version for <a href="/wiki/Windows_Embedded_Compact" class="mw-redirect" title="Windows Embedded Compact">Windows CE</a>. </p><p>To determine whether a PE file is intended for 32-bit or 64-bit architectures, one can examine the Machine field in the IMAGE_FILE_HEADER.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Common machine values are <code>0x014c</code> for 32-bit Intel processors and <code>0x8664</code> for x64 processors. Additionally, the Magic field in the <code>IMAGE_OPTIONAL_HEADER</code> reveals whether addresses are 32-bit or 64-bit. A value of <code>0x10B</code> indicates a 32-bit (PE32) file, while <code>0x20B</code> indicates a 64-bit (PE32+) file.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Technical_details">Technical details</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Technical details"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Layout">Layout</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Layout"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Portable_Executable_32_bit_Structure_in_SVG_fixed.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Portable_Executable_32_bit_Structure_in_SVG_fixed.svg/220px-Portable_Executable_32_bit_Structure_in_SVG_fixed.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="311" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Portable_Executable_32_bit_Structure_in_SVG_fixed.svg/330px-Portable_Executable_32_bit_Structure_in_SVG_fixed.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Portable_Executable_32_bit_Structure_in_SVG_fixed.svg/440px-Portable_Executable_32_bit_Structure_in_SVG_fixed.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2980" data-file-height="4213" /></a><figcaption>Structure of a Portable Executable 32 bit</figcaption></figure> <p>A PE file consists of several headers and sections that instruct the <a href="/wiki/Dynamic_linker" title="Dynamic linker">dynamic linker</a> about on how to map the file into memory. An executable image consists of several different regions, each requiring different memory protection attributes. To ensure proper alignment, the start of each section must align to a page boundary.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For instance, the <i>.text</i> section, which contains program code, is typically mapped as an execute/read-only. Conversely, the <i>.data</i> section, which holds global variables, is mapped as no-execute/read write. However, to conserve space, sections are not aligned on disk in this manner. The dynamic linker maps each section to memory individually and assigns the correct permissions based on the information in the headers.<sup id="cite_ref-Peering_Inside_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Peering_Inside-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Import_table">Import table</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Import table"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <i>import address table</i> (IAT) is used as a lookup table when the application calls a function in a different module. The <a href="/wiki/Dynamic-link_library" title="Dynamic-link library">imports</a> can be specified by ordinal or by name. Because a compiled program cannot know the memory locations of its dependent libraries beforehand, an indirect jump is necessary for API calls. As the dynamic linker holds modules and resolves dependancies, it populates the IAT slots with actual addresses of the corresponding library functions. Although this adds an extra jump, incurring a performance penalty compared to intermodular calls, it minimizes the number of memory pages that that require <a href="/wiki/Copy-on-write" title="Copy-on-write">copy-on-write</a> changes, thus conserving memory and disk I/O. If a call is known to be intermodular beforehand (if indicated by a <a href="/wiki/Dynamic-link_library" title="Dynamic-link library">dllimport</a> attribute), the compiler can generate optimized code with a simple indirect call <a href="/wiki/Opcode" title="Opcode">opcode</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Peering_Inside_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Peering_Inside-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Address_Space_Layout_Randomization_(ASLR)"><span id="Address_Space_Layout_Randomization_.28ASLR.29"></span>Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>PE files aren't <a href="/wiki/Position-independent_code" title="Position-independent code">position-independent</a> by default; they are compiled to run at a specific, fixed memory address. Modern operating systems use Address Space Layout Randomization (<a href="/wiki/Address_space_layout_randomization" title="Address space layout randomization">ASLR</a>) to make it harder for attackers to exploit memory-related vulnerabilities. ASLR works by randomly changing the memory address of important parts of the program every time it's loaded. This includes the base address of the program itself, shared libraries (DLLs), and memory areas like the heap and stack. ASLR rearranges the address space positions of key data areas of a process, including the base of the <a href="/wiki/Executable" title="Executable">executable</a> and the positions of the <a href="/wiki/Stack-based_memory_allocation" title="Stack-based memory allocation">stack</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dynamic_memory_allocation" class="mw-redirect" title="Dynamic memory allocation">heap</a> and <a href="/wiki/Library_(computer_science)" class="mw-redirect" title="Library (computer science)">libraries</a>. By randomizing these memory addresses each time the process an application is loaded, ASLR prevents attackers from being able to reliably predict memory locations. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id=".NET,_metadata,_and_the_PE_format"><span id=".NET.2C_metadata.2C_and_the_PE_format"></span>.NET, metadata, and the PE format</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: .NET, metadata, and the PE format"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In a .NET executable, the PE code section contains a stub that invokes the <a href="/wiki/Common_Language_Runtime" title="Common Language Runtime">CLR</a> virtual machine startup entry, <code>_CorExeMain</code> or <code>_CorDllMain</code> in <code>mscoree.dll</code>, much like it was in <a href="/wiki/Visual_Basic" title="Visual Basic">Visual Basic</a> executables. The virtual machine then makes use of .NET metadata present, the root of which, <code>IMAGE_COR20_HEADER</code> (also called "CLR header") is pointed to by <code>IMAGE_DIRECTORY_ENTRY_COMHEADER</code> (the entry was previously used for <a href="/wiki/COM%2B" class="mw-redirect" title="COM+">COM+</a> metadata in COM+ applications, hence the name<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (July 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup>) entry in the PE header's data directory. <code>IMAGE_COR20_HEADER</code> strongly resembles PE's optional header, essentially playing its role for the CLR loader.<sup id="cite_ref-PE_Format_(Windows)_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PE_Format_(Windows)-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The CLR-related data, including the root structure itself, is typically contained in the common code section, <code>.text</code>. It is composed of a few directories: metadata, embedded resources, strong names and a few for native-code interoperability. Metadata directory is a set of tables that list all the distinct .NET entities in the assembly, including types, methods, fields, constants, events, as well as references between them and to other assemblies. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Use_on_other_operating_systems">Use on other operating systems</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Use on other operating systems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The PE format is also used by <a href="/wiki/ReactOS" title="ReactOS">ReactOS</a>, an open-source operating system created to be binary-compatible with Windows. Historically, it has also been used by other operating systems such as <a href="/wiki/SkyOS" title="SkyOS">SkyOS</a> and <a href="/wiki/BeOS" title="BeOS">BeOS</a> R3. However, both SkyOS and BeOS eventually moved to <a href="/wiki/Executable_and_Linkable_Format" title="Executable and Linkable Format">ELF</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2021)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Mono_(software)" title="Mono (software)">Mono development platform</a>, which aims to be binary compatible with the Microsoft <a href="/wiki/.NET_Framework" title=".NET Framework">.NET Framework</a>, uses the same PE format as the Microsoft implementation. The same goes for Microsoft's own cross-platform <a href="/wiki/.NET_Core" class="mw-redirect" title=".NET Core">.NET Core</a>. </p><p>On <a href="/wiki/X86" title="X86">x86</a>(-64) <a href="/wiki/Unix-like" title="Unix-like">Unix-like</a> operating systems, Windows binaries (in PE format) can be executed using <a href="/wiki/Wine_(software)" title="Wine (software)">Wine</a>. The <a href="/wiki/HX_DOS_Extender" class="mw-redirect" title="HX DOS Extender">HX DOS Extender</a> also uses the PE format for native DOS 32-bit binaries, and can execute some Windows binaries in DOS, thus acting like an equivalent of Wine for DOS. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Mac_OS_X_10.5" class="mw-redirect" title="Mac OS X 10.5">Mac OS X 10.5</a> has the ability to load and parse PE files, although it does not maintain binary compatibility with Windows.<sup id="cite_ref-chartier_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-chartier-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/UEFI" title="UEFI">UEFI</a> and EFI firmware use PE files as well as the Windows <a href="/wiki/Application_Binary_Interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Application Binary Interface">ABI</a> x64 <a href="/wiki/Calling_convention" title="Calling convention">calling convention</a> for <a href="/wiki/UEFI#Applications" title="UEFI">applications</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/A.out" title="A.out">a.out</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_executable_file_formats" title="Comparison of executable file formats">Comparison of executable file formats</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Executable_compression" title="Executable compression">Executable compression</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ar_(Unix)" title="Ar (Unix)">ar (Unix)</a> since all COFF libraries use that same format</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Application_virtualization" title="Application virtualization">Application virtualization</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFAndersson2015" class="citation web cs1">Andersson, Henrik (2015-04-23). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/application/vnd.microsoft.portable-executable">"application/vnd.microsoft.portable-executable"</a>. IANA<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2017-03-26</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=application%2Fvnd.microsoft.portable-executable&rft.pub=IANA&rft.date=2015-04-23&rft.aulast=Andersson&rft.aufirst=Henrik&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iana.org%2Fassignments%2Fmedia-types%2Fapplication%2Fvnd.microsoft.portable-executable&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APortable+Executable" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/in/security/definition/portable-executable-pe">"Portable executable (PE) - Definition - Trend Micro IN"</a>. <i>www.trendmicro.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2022-11-10</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.trendmicro.com&rft.atitle=Portable+executable+%28PE%29+-+Definition+-+Trend+Micro+IN&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trendmicro.com%2Fvinfo%2Fin%2Fsecurity%2Fdefinition%2Fportable-executable-pe&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APortable+Executable" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://uefi.org/sites/default/files/resources/UEFI%20Spec%202.8B%20May%202020.pdf">"UEFI Specification, version 2.8B"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=UEFI+Specification%2C+version+2.8B&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fuefi.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fresources%2FUEFI%2520Spec%25202.8B%2520May%25202020.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APortable+Executable" class="Z3988"></span>, a note on p.15, states that "this image type is chosen to enable UEFI images to contain Thumb and Thumb2 instructions while defining the EFI interfaces themselves to be in ARM mode."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-PE_Format_(Windows)-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-PE_Format_(Windows)_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-PE_Format_(Windows)_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms680547(v=vs.85).aspx">"PE Format (Windows)"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2017-10-21</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=PE+Format+%28Windows%29&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fmsdn.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Flibrary%2Fwindows%2Fdesktop%2Fms680547%28v%3Dvs.85%29.aspx&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APortable+Executable" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/7z0585h5.aspx">"/STUB (MS-DOS Stub File Name)"</a>. 3 August 2021.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=%2FSTUB+%28MS-DOS+Stub+File+Name%29&rft.date=2021-08-03&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fmsdn.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Flibrary%2F7z0585h5.aspx&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APortable+Executable" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://gdatasoftware.com/blog/pebitnesstrick">PE trick explained: Telling 32 and 64 bit apart with naked eye</a> by Karsten Hahn</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/debug/pe-format">PE Format</a> at Microsoft.com</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.csn.ul.ie/%7Ecaolan/pub/winresdump/winresdump/doc/pefile2.html">"The Portable Executable File From Top to Bottom"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2017-10-21</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+Portable+Executable+File+From+Top+to+Bottom&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csn.ul.ie%2F%257Ecaolan%2Fpub%2Fwinresdump%2Fwinresdump%2Fdoc%2Fpefile2.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APortable+Executable" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Peering_Inside-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Peering_Inside_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Peering_Inside_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms809762.aspx">"Peering Inside the PE: A Tour of the Win32 Portable Executable File"</a>. 30 June 2010<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2017-10-21</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Peering+Inside+the+PE%3A+A+Tour+of+the+Win32+Portable+Executable+File&rft.date=2010-06-30&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fmsdn.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Flibrary%2Fms809762.aspx&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APortable+Executable" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-chartier-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-chartier_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChartier2007" class="citation web cs1">Chartier, David (2007-11-30). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/11/30/uncovered-evidence-that-mac-os-x-could-run-windows-apps-soon">"Uncovered: Evidence that Mac OS X could run Windows apps soon"</a>. <i>Ars Technica</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2007-12-03</span></span>. <q>... Steven Edwards describes the discovery that Leopard apparently contains an undocumented loader for Portable Executables, a type of file used in 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows. More poking around revealed that Leopard's own loader tries to find Windows DLL files when attempting to load a Windows binary.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Ars+Technica&rft.atitle=Uncovered%3A+Evidence+that+Mac+OS+X+could+run+Windows+apps+soon&rft.date=2007-11-30&rft.aulast=Chartier&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farstechnica.com%2Fjournals%2Fapple.ars%2F2007%2F11%2F30%2Funcovered-evidence-that-mac-os-x-could-run-windows-apps-soon&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APortable+Executable" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Portable_Executable&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/Debug/pe-format">PE Format</a> (latest online document, changes in time)</li> <li>Microsoft Portable Executable and Common Object File Format Specification. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/5/9c5b2167-8017-4bae-9fde-d599bac8184a/pecoff.docx">Revision 11.0, Jan 2017</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://bytepointer.com/download.php?name=pecoff_v10.docx">Revision 10.0, Jun 2016</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/5/9c5b2167-8017-4bae-9fde-d599bac8184a/pecoff_v83.docx">Revision 8.3, Feb 2013</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100923032233/http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/5/9c5b2167-8017-4bae-9fde-d599bac8184a/pecoff_v8.docx">Revision 8.2, Sep 2010</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081211013825/http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/5/9c5b2167-8017-4bae-9fde-d599bac8184a/pecoff_v8.docx">Revision 8.1, Feb 2008</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060706172855/http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/5/9c5b2167-8017-4bae-9fde-d599bac8184a/pecoff_v8.doc">Revision 8.0, May 2006</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030724131335/http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hwdev/download/hardware/pecoff.doc">Revision 6.0, Feb 1999</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://bytepointer.com/resources/pecoff_v5.0.htm">Revision 5.0, Oct 1997</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://bytepointer.com/resources/pecoff_v4.1.htm">Revision 4.1, Aug 1994</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://bytepointer.com/resources/pecoff_v4.0.htm">Revision 4.0, Sep 1993</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://openwatcom.org/ftp/devel/docs/pe_and_symbols.pdf">Tool Interface Standard (TIS) Formats Specifications for Windows Version 1.0</a> (Intel Order Number 241597, TIS Committee, Feb 1993)</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://bytepointer.com/resources/oleary_pe_format.htm">Portable Executable Format</a> (Micheal J. O'Leary, Microsoft Developer Support)</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080907145154/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ms809762.aspx">Peering Inside the PE: A Tour of the Win32 Portable Executable File Format</a>. <a href="/wiki/Matt_Pietrek" title="Matt Pietrek">Matt Pietrek</a>, Microsoft Systems Journal, March 1994</li> <li>An In-Depth Look into the Win32 Portable Executable File Format. <a href="/wiki/Matt_Pietrek" title="Matt Pietrek">Matt Pietrek</a>, <a href="/wiki/MSDN" class="mw-redirect" title="MSDN">MSDN</a> Magazine. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20021105233944/http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/02/02/PE/default.aspx">Part I, February 2002</a>; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20021105025618/http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/02/03/PE2/default.aspx">Part II, March 2002</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20130130042959/http://www.ntcore.com/files/dotnetformat.htm">The .NET File Format by Daniel Pistelli</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blog.dkbza.org/">Ero Carrera's blog describing the PE header and how to walk through</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.andreybazhan.com/pe-internals/">PE Internals provides an easy way to learn the Portable Executable File Format</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pe-explorer.com/">PE Explorer</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output 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