The issue arises because GCC on x86-64 platforms optimizes operations like `memcpy` and `std::string` by segmenting constants into vector-sized chunks rather than preserving contiguous text. In tests using GCC 12 or newer, the compiler split directory paths into overlapping 16-byte segments, preventing standard utilities like `grep` and GNU binutils's `strings` from matching the full original text. Additionally, GCC deduplicates repeating patterns in padded placeholder strings, compressing an intended 256-byte path down to 176 bytes. This compression disrupts in-place patching workflows relied upon by tools like Spack and Conda to alter binary targets post-compilation.
Key points
Strings copied into buffers are fragmented during compiler optimization, whereas strings…: Strings copied into buffers are fragmented during compiler optimization, whereas strings passed strictly as pointers remain intact in the binary.
Relocation systems in package managers like Conda and Spack break when padded placeholder…: Relocation systems in package managers like Conda and Spack break when padded placeholder strings are compressed and lose their contiguous sequence.
Traditional text-scanning utilities can no longer be solely relied upon to catch unwanted…: Traditional text-scanning utilities can no longer be solely relied upon to catch unwanted absolute paths in modern x86-64 binaries.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Nov 12th, 2026
Many[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Linux distributions and package managers audit just-built binaries for non-relocatable absolute paths. If a binary contains a path /path/from/build/machine
, it might not run on the end-user's machine.
Now, a basic grep
on the binary, or a slightly more sophisticated
$ strings bin/app | grep /path/from/build/machine
using GNU binutils's strings
will detect these paths, right?
The answer is no, at least when using GCC and targeting x86-64
: you should not assume that string constants end up literally in the binary.
Basic example
In this C++ source we create a std::string
from a string constant:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#define PREFIX "/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew"
int main() {
std::string prefix{PREFIX};
std::cout << prefix << '\n';
}
Compile with GCC 12 or later and run, which prints the path:
$ g++ -O2 main.cpp -o main
$ ./main
/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew
But the path occurs precisely 0 times in the binary itself:
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