pbtk1.1.4

pbtk extracts Protocol Buffers structures from programs and converts them into readable .protos files, helping analysts understand applications that exchange serialized messages. It combines script-based processing with a unified graphical interface for examining Protobuf information and interacting with Protobuf data. The toolkit is intended for security and privacy work involving software and network endpoints that use Protocol Buffers.

It supports the principal Java runtimes—base, Lite, Nano, Micro, and J2ME—and can handle Proguard-obfuscated applications. It also analyzes binaries containing embedded reflection metadata, a pattern common in C++ programs and also present in Java and other language bindings. Web applications that use the JsProtoUrl runtime are supported as well.

Within the interface, users can edit Protobuf messages, replay them to network endpoints, and fuzz their contents. Individual fields can be changed while the message is being examined, with the resulting encoded data displayed through the same interface. This lets testers inspect message structures and observe how endpoints respond to modified Protobuf input. pbtk 1.1.3 is open-source software for Linux, requires snapd, and runs on x86_64 (amd64) systems.