can1357/haruspex — explained in plain English
Analysis updated 2026-07-25 · repo last pushed 2026-01-08
Security researchers can find undocumented CPU instructions that malware might exploit as hidden backdoors.
Low-level developers can study how commands flow through the processor pipeline to optimize their code.
Hardware enthusiasts can explore and catalog undocumented instructions in Intel processors.
| can1357/haruspex | jtenniswood/espcontrol | 007firstlight/007-first-light-release | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars | 321 | 346 | 350 |
| Language | C++ | C++ | C++ |
| Last pushed | 2026-01-08 | — | — |
| Maintenance | Quiet | — | — |
| Setup difficulty | hard | — | easy |
| Complexity | 5/5 | — | 1/5 |
| Audience | researcher | general | general |
Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.
Requires an Intel CPU, Linux kernel access to run the core component, and adaptation of pseudo-code to your specific system since private build tools are not shared.
Haruspex is a project that uncovers hidden or undocumented instructions in Intel computer processors. Modern CPUs have a massive list of commands they can understand, but not all of these commands are publicly documented. This tool acts like a digital detective, figuring out what those secret commands are and how they affect the processor's internal workings. It works by taking advantage of "speculative execution," a trick modern processors use to guess what work they will need to do next in order to run faster. Haruspex tricks the processor into trying out unknown commands through this guessing process. Even though the processor ultimately cancels the guessed work before it officially finishes, it leaves behind subtle clues in the chip's internal performance counters. By reading those clues, the project can deduce what the mystery command actually did. This tool is primarily for security researchers, low-level systems developers, and hardware enthusiasts. For example, a security researcher might use it to find an undocumented instruction that malware could exploit, or a developer writing highly optimized software might want to understand exactly how different commands flow through the processor's pipeline to make their code run as fast as possible. The project includes a component that runs inside the computer's core system to generate this data, and a web server that lets users browse the findings in an interactive table. The creator notes that the core code is essentially "pseudo-code" because some of the private tools used to build it cannot be shared, but it is written clearly enough for another developer to adapt for their own system.
Haruspex is a tool that discovers hidden, undocumented instructions in Intel CPUs by exploiting speculative execution and reading internal performance counters. It helps security researchers and low-level developers understand secret processor commands.
Mainly C++. The stack also includes C++, Linux kernel module, Web server.
Quiet — no commits in 6-12 months (last push 2026-01-08).
Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1day+ to a first successful run.
Mainly researcher.
This repo across BitVibe Labs
double-check against the repo, no cap.