Make the WinDbg/TTD version a setting instead of downloading the latest (Fix #1130)

api/debuggerapi.h

@@ -981,6 +981,5 @@ namespace BinaryNinjaDebuggerAPI {
 	bool IsWinDbgInstalled(const std::string& installPath = "");
 	std::string GetWinDbgInstallerPath();
 	std::string GetWinDbgInstalledVersion(const std::string& installPath = "");
-	std::string GetWinDbgLatestVersion();
 
 };  // namespace BinaryNinjaDebuggerAPI

api/ffi.h

@@ -877,7 +877,6 @@ extern "C"
 	DEBUGGER_FFI_API bool BNDebuggerIsWinDbgInstalled(const char* installPath);
 	DEBUGGER_FFI_API char* BNDebuggerGetWinDbgInstallerPath(void);
 	DEBUGGER_FFI_API char* BNDebuggerGetWinDbgInstalledVersion(const char* installPath);
-	DEBUGGER_FFI_API char* BNDebuggerGetWinDbgLatestVersion(void);
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }

api/windbginstaller.cpp

@@ -57,12 +57,3 @@ std::string BinaryNinjaDebuggerAPI::GetWinDbgInstalledVersion(const std::string&
 	BNDebuggerFreeString(version);
 	return result;
 }
-
-
-std::string BinaryNinjaDebuggerAPI::GetWinDbgLatestVersion()
-{
-	char* version = BNDebuggerGetWinDbgLatestVersion();
-	std::string result = version ? version : "";
-	BNDebuggerFreeString(version);
-	return result;
-}

core/debugger.cpp

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ limitations under the License.
 	#include "adapters/localwindowskerneladapter.h"
 	#include "adapters/windowsdumpfile.h"
 	#include "adapters/windowsnativeadapter.h"
+	#include "../installer/windbg_version.h"
 #endif
 
 using namespace BinaryNinja;
@@ -116,6 +117,14 @@ static void RegisterSettings()
 			"description" : "Attempt to unload the already loaded DLL if they are from a wrong path. You may turn this on if the DbgEng DLLs, e.g., dbghelp.dll, is loaded from a wrong path, but it happens early than the debugger initialization",
 			"ignore" : ["SettingsProjectScope", "SettingsResourceScope"]
 			})");
+	settings->RegisterSetting("debugger.windbgVersion",
+		R"({
+			"title" : "WinDbg/TTD Version",
+			"type" : "string",
+			"default" : ")" + std::string(WinDbgInstaller::kDefaultVersion) + R"(",
+			"description" : "The WinDbg version that 'Install WinDbg/TTD' downloads, e.g., 1.2603.20001.0. The default is a version validated against the debugger, since new WinDbg releases occasionally break the DbgEng/TTD adapter. Change it to install a different released version.",
+			"ignore" : ["SettingsProjectScope", "SettingsResourceScope"]
+			})");
 	settings->RegisterSetting("debugger.defaultWindowsAdapter",
 		R"({
 			"title" : "Default Windows Debug Adapter",

core/ffi.cpp

@@ -2231,13 +2231,6 @@ char* BNDebuggerGetWinDbgInstalledVersion(const char* installPath)
 	return BNAllocString(version.c_str());
 }
 
-
-char* BNDebuggerGetWinDbgLatestVersion(void)
-{
-	std::string version = GetLatestVersion();
-	return BNAllocString(version.c_str());
-}
-
 #else // !WIN32
 
 // Stub implementations for non-Windows platforms
@@ -2280,10 +2273,4 @@ char* BNDebuggerGetWinDbgInstalledVersion(const char* installPath)
 	return BNAllocString("");
 }
 
-
-char* BNDebuggerGetWinDbgLatestVersion(void)
-{
-	return BNAllocString("");
-}
-
 #endif // WIN32

core/windbginstaller.cpp

@@ -88,6 +88,11 @@ InstallResult InstallWinDbg(const std::string& installPath, bool isUpdate) {
     if (!installPath.empty()) {
         cmdLine += " --path \"" + installPath + "\"";
     }
+    /* Install the version the user has configured, rather than the installer's built-in default */
+    std::string version = Settings::Instance()->Get<std::string>("debugger.windbgVersion");
+    if (!version.empty()) {
+        cmdLine += " --windbg-version \"" + version + "\"";
+    }
 
     LogInfo("Running: %s", cmdLine.c_str());
 
@@ -160,92 +165,6 @@ InstallResult InstallWinDbg(const std::string& installPath, bool isUpdate) {
     }
 }
 
-/* Helper function to run installer CLI and capture JSON output */
-static std::string RunInstallerCommand(const std::string& command, const std::string& extraArgs = "") {
-    std::string installerPath = GetInstallerPath();
-    if (installerPath.empty()) {
-        return "";
-    }
-
-    std::string cmdLine = "\"" + installerPath + "\" " + command + " --json";
-    if (!extraArgs.empty()) {
-        cmdLine += " " + extraArgs;
-    }
-
-    /* Create pipes for stdout */
-    SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES sa = {};
-    sa.nLength = sizeof(sa);
-    sa.bInheritHandle = TRUE;
-
-    HANDLE hReadPipe, hWritePipe;
-    if (!CreatePipe(&hReadPipe, &hWritePipe, &sa, 0)) {
-        return "";
-    }
-
-    /* Ensure read handle is not inherited */
-    SetHandleInformation(hReadPipe, HANDLE_FLAG_INHERIT, 0);
-
-    STARTUPINFOA si = {};
-    si.cb = sizeof(si);
-    si.dwFlags = STARTF_USESTDHANDLES | STARTF_USESHOWWINDOW;
-    si.hStdOutput = hWritePipe;
-    si.hStdError = hWritePipe;
-    si.wShowWindow = SW_HIDE;
-
-    PROCESS_INFORMATION pi = {};
-
-    if (!CreateProcessA(
-            nullptr,
-            const_cast<char*>(cmdLine.c_str()),
-            nullptr,
-            nullptr,
-            TRUE,  /* Inherit handles */
-            CREATE_NO_WINDOW,
-            nullptr,
-            nullptr,
-            &si,
-            &pi)) {
-        CloseHandle(hReadPipe);
-        CloseHandle(hWritePipe);
-        return "";
-    }
-
-    /* Close write end in parent */
-    CloseHandle(hWritePipe);
-
-    /* Read output */
-    std::string output;
-    char buffer[4096];
-    DWORD bytesRead;
-    while (ReadFile(hReadPipe, buffer, sizeof(buffer) - 1, &bytesRead, nullptr) && bytesRead > 0) {
-        buffer[bytesRead] = '\0';
-        output += buffer;
-    }
-
-    CloseHandle(hReadPipe);
-
-    WaitForSingleObject(pi.hProcess, INFINITE);
-    CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
-    CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
-
-    return output;
-}
-
-/* Simple JSON value extractor - finds "key":"value" pattern */
-static std::string ExtractJsonValue(const std::string& json, const std::string& key) {
-    std::string searchKey = "\"" + key + "\":\"";
-    size_t pos = json.find(searchKey);
-    if (pos == std::string::npos) {
-        return "";
-    }
-    pos += searchKey.length();
-    size_t endPos = json.find("\"", pos);
-    if (endPos == std::string::npos) {
-        return "";
-    }
-    return json.substr(pos, endPos - pos);
-}
-
 std::string GetInstalledVersion(const std::string& installPath) {
     /* Read version directly from marker file (fast, no CLI call needed) */
     std::string path = installPath;
@@ -278,11 +197,6 @@ std::string GetInstalledVersion(const std::string& installPath) {
     return "";
 }
 
-std::string GetLatestVersion() {
-    std::string output = RunInstallerCommand("check-update");
-    return ExtractJsonValue(output, "latest");
-}
-
 } // namespace BinaryNinjaDebugger
 
 #endif // WIN32

core/windbginstaller.h

@@ -67,13 +67,6 @@ std::string GetInstallerPath();
  */
 std::string GetInstalledVersion(const std::string& installPath = "");
 
-/*
- * Get the latest available WinDbg version from Microsoft
- *
- * @return Version string, or empty on error
- */
-std::string GetLatestVersion();
-
 } // namespace BinaryNinjaDebugger
 
 #endif // WIN32

docs/guide/dbgeng-ttd.md

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ The WinDbg installation only needs to be done once.
 - Open Binary Ninja
 - Click `Debugger` -> `Install WinDbg/TTD` from the menu
 - A dialog will appear showing the installation progress:
-    - The installer automatically downloads the latest WinDbg from Microsoft
+    - The installer downloads a specific WinDbg version from Microsoft
     - It extracts the necessary files (DbgEng DLLs and TTD components)
     - WinDbg will be installed to `%APPDATA%\Binary Ninja\windbg`
     - Progress and status are displayed in real-time
@@ -32,17 +32,33 @@ The WinDbg installation only needs to be done once.
 
 The automatic installer handles all the complexity of downloading and extracting the WinDbg MSIX bundle.
 
-### Update WinDbg/TTD
+By default, the installer installs a WinDbg version that has been validated against the debugger, rather than the newest release.
+New WinDbg releases occasionally ship regressions that break the DbgEng/TTD adapter, so the default version is bumped only after the new release has been tested.
 
-If you already have WinDbg/TTD installed and want to check for updates:
+#### Select the WinDbg Version to Install
+
+The version that the installer downloads is controlled by the `debugger.windbgVersion` setting:
+
+- In Binary Ninja, open the Settings view via the menu `Edit` -> `Settings`, or use the shortcut (Ctrl+,)
+- Search for `debugger.windbgVersion`
+- Set it to the version you wish to install, e.g., `1.2603.20001.0`
+    - Any released WinDbg version can be used, as long as Microsoft still hosts its MSIX bundle at
+      `https://windbg.download.prss.microsoft.com/dbazure/prod/<version-with-dashes>/windbg.msixbundle`
+    - Leave it at its default value unless you have a reason to use a different version
+- Click `Debugger` -> `Install WinDbg/TTD` to install the version you have set
+
+### Reinstall WinDbg/TTD
+
+If you already have WinDbg/TTD installed:
 
 - Click `Debugger` -> `Install WinDbg/TTD` from the menu
 - A dialog will appear showing:
     - The currently installed version
-    - The latest available version from Microsoft
-- If a newer version is available, click "Update" to download and install it
-- If you are already on the latest version, the dialog will indicate that no update is needed
-- Restart Binary Ninja after updating
+    - The version that will be installed, i.e., the value of `debugger.windbgVersion`
+- If the two match, you can click "Reinstall" to install it again, e.g. if the installation was damaged
+- If they differ, click "Install" to replace the installed version with the configured one.
+  Note this can be a downgrade: if you installed a newer WinDbg yourself, this replaces it with the configured version
+- Restart Binary Ninja afterwards
 
 <img src="../../img/debugger/ttd_update_windbg.png" width="600px">
 

installer/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ set(INSTALLER_LIB_HEADERS
     http_downloader.h
     zip_extractor.h
     windbg_installer.h
+    windbg_version.h
     signature_verifier.h
 )