Is there a way to implement the C# Random() class in C++? I specifically need to generate the same number sequences based on a given seed.
The scenario:
I am working to "break" several encrypting malware by exploiting their usage of Random() in C# to generate the key. Obviously this is weak to having only 2^32 possible keys, ~4.3B keys, which is in the realm of possibility to guess. I have written bruteforcers in C#, but they are rather slow, no matter how much I optimize. I would like to implement a bruteforcer in C++ for the best efficiency ("closer to the hardware"), as I can get much better speed optimizations with the decryption part (e.g. AES-256 typically, could even leverage a GPU in the future), and exponentially get better outputs.
Obviously, Random(seed) != srand(seed), based on being different generators. Is there a way to implement the PRNG C# uses, in C++? I obviously cannot modify the C# malware, as the encryption has already been done to the victim's files, so I cannot just "rewrite both to use the same common RNG".
You can see the source for Random (in c#) here.
Thanks everyone for the answers and comments. I am posting my ported C++ code here if anyone else needs it for a similar project. It was pretty copy/paste, and only had to "translate" a few lines, and break it out into a proper prototype. Confirmed to side-by-side produce the exact same number sequences as a C# application. :)
Random.h
#include <limits>
#pragma once
class Random
{
private:
const int MBIG = INT_MAX;
const int MSEED = 161803398;
const int MZ = 0;
int inext;
int inextp;
int *SeedArray = new int[56]();
double Sample();
double GetSampleForLargeRange();
int InternalSample();
public:
Random(int seed);
~Random();
int Next();
int Next(int minValue, int maxValue);
int Next(int maxValue);
double NextDouble();
};
Random.cpp
#include "stdafx.h"
#include "Random.h"
#include <limits.h>
#include <math.h>
#include <stdexcept>
double Random::Sample() {
//Including this division at the end gives us significantly improved
//random number distribution.
return (this->InternalSample()*(1.0 / MBIG));
}
int Random::InternalSample() {
int retVal;
int locINext = this->inext;
int locINextp = this->inextp;
if (++locINext >= 56) locINext = 1;
if (++locINextp >= 56) locINextp = 1;
retVal = SeedArray[locINext] - SeedArray[locINextp];
if (retVal == MBIG) retVal--;
if (retVal<0) retVal += MBIG;
SeedArray[locINext] = retVal;
inext = locINext;
inextp = locINextp;
return retVal;
}
Random::Random(int seed) {
int ii;
int mj, mk;
//Initialize our Seed array.
//This algorithm comes from Numerical Recipes in C (2nd Ed.)
int subtraction = (seed == INT_MAX) ? INT_MAX : abs(seed);
mj = MSEED - subtraction;
SeedArray[55] = mj;
mk = 1;
for (int i = 1; i<55; i++) { //Apparently the range [1..55] is special (Knuth) and so we're wasting the 0'th position.
ii = (21 * i) % 55;
SeedArray[ii] = mk;
mk = mj - mk;
if (mk<0) mk += MBIG;
mj = SeedArray[ii];
}
for (int k = 1; k<5; k++) {
for (int i = 1; i<56; i++) {
SeedArray[i] -= SeedArray[1 + (i + 30) % 55];
if (SeedArray[i]<0) SeedArray[i] += MBIG;
}
}
inext = 0;
inextp = 21;
seed = 1;
}
Random::~Random()
{
delete SeedArray;
}
int Random::Next() {
return this->InternalSample();
}
double Random::GetSampleForLargeRange() {
int result = this->InternalSample();
// Note we can't use addition here. The distribution will be bad if we do that.
bool negative = (InternalSample() % 2 == 0) ? true : false; // decide the sign based on second sample
if (negative) {
result = -result;
}
double d = result;
d += (INT_MAX - 1); // get a number in range [0 .. 2 * Int32MaxValue - 1)
d /= 2 * INT_MAX - 1;
return d;
}
int Random::Next(int minValue, int maxValue) {
if (minValue>maxValue) {
throw std::invalid_argument("minValue is larger than maxValue");
}
long range = (long)maxValue - minValue;
if (range <= (long)INT_MAX) {
return ((int)(this->Sample() * range) + minValue);
}
else {
return (int)((long)(this->GetSampleForLargeRange() * range) + minValue);
}
}
int Random::Next(int maxValue) {
if (maxValue<0) {
throw std::invalid_argument("maxValue must be positive");
}
return (int)(this->Sample()*maxValue);
}
double Random::NextDouble() {
return this->Sample();
}
Main.cpp
#include "Random.h"
#include <iostream>
int main(int argc, char* argv[]){
// Example usage with a given seed
Random r = Random(7898);
std::cout << r.Next() << std::endl;
}