Security Researcher & Developer

Nofil Qasim

Senior Vulnerability Researcher at Ebryx. Specializing in low-level security, exploit development, and binary exploitation.

Uncovering vulnerabilities in system design and crafting robust security mitigations across cloud environments and embedded systems.

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20+
0-days Found
5+
Years Experience
10+
Open Source

About Me

I'm a Computer Science professional passionate about uncovering security vulnerabilities at the intersection of system design and implementation. My work focuses on finding flaws that can be exploited and developing robust mitigations.

Currently at Ebryx F.Z.C, I lead research initiatives identifying and mitigating low-level attack vectors against cloud environments. I've worked extensively on compile-time and run-time security mitigations like SHSTK and IBT.

My research interests lie in discovering system design vulnerabilities, exploit development techniques, and crafting architectural mitigations that eliminate entire vulnerability classes at a fundamental level.

Binary Exploitation

x86-64, ROP chains, heap exploitation, and advanced reverse engineering techniques

Low-Level Systems

Kernel vulnerabilities, OS development, WebAssembly security, and system design flaws

Security Research

ZTNA applications, malware analysis, AV/EDR evasion, and novel mitigation techniques

Education

B.S. Computer Science
PUCIT - University of the Punjab
September 2019 – July 2023

Team

Kernelcide Security Team
Open Source Contributor

Professional Experience

Senior Vulnerability Researcher

Ebryx F.Z.CAjman, UAE (Remote)
July 2024 – Present
  • Identified and demonstrated prevalent low-level attack vectors against cloud environments
  • Formulated generic mitigation techniques to wipe out entire vulnerability classes
  • Performed detailed research on compile-time mitigations (SHSTK, IBT) on precompiled binaries
  • Designed run-time alternatives to compile-time mitigations for JITed languages like Lua

Vulnerability Researcher

Ebryx (Pvt.) LtdLahore, Punjab, Pakistan
July 2023 – July 2024
  • Led team performing security assessments on ZTNA solution, discovered 20+ 0-days
  • Set up distributed fuzzing environment for Linux Kernel using syzkaller on ESXi
  • Researched and implemented Linux usermode and kernel exploits (n-day & 1-day)
  • Designed architectural mitigations against discovered vulnerabilities

Malware Researcher

Ebryx (Pvt.) LtdLahore, Punjab, Pakistan
November 2021 – July 2023
  • Worked on fully featured RAT (Remote Access Trojan) development
  • Successfully tested Windows exploits and researched AV/EDR evasion techniques
  • Evaded major security products: Crowdstrike EDR, Kaspersky AV, Windows Defender
  • Researched initial access and malware deployment against medium-sized organizations

Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant - Operating Systems
PUCIT, Feb 2022 – Oct 2022
Teaching Assistant - Computer Organization
PUCIT, Feb 2021 – Jun 2021

Volunteering

Cyber Security Lead
Google Developer Student Clubs, 2020 – 2023
University Lead
BSides Pakistan, 2020 – 2023

Featured Projects

Open source projects and tools I've built for security research and systems programming

Scanipy

Powerful CLI tool for automated security scanning of GitHub repositories using Semgrep and CodeQL

Automated vulnerability scanning
SARIF output support
Resume interrupted analyses
Available on PyPI
PythonSecurityCLIAutomation

cronOS

Custom Operating System kernel written from scratch in C and x86-64 Assembly

Multiboot compliant kernel
Custom linux-like architecture
Custom libkernel implementation
Low-level systems programming
Cx86-64 AssemblyOS DevelopmentKernel

Python Debugger (pydbg)

Low-level debugger written in Python for debugging and analysis of binary programs

GDB integration
Binary analysis capabilities
Breakpoint management
Register inspection
PythonDebuggingReverse EngineeringLow-Level

WASM Research Docs

Comprehensive research documentation on WebAssembly security and exploitation techniques

WebAssembly binary fuzzing
ROP via WASM jump table
Heap exploitation techniques
Research findings and notes
WebAssemblySecurity ResearchDocumentationExploitation

Hack Assembler

Assembler for the nand2tetris course, implementing low-level assembly to machine code translation

Symbol resolution
Machine code generation
nand2tetris compliant
Educational resource
CAssemblyEducationCompiler

SP-Progs

Collection of systems programming projects covering advanced C concepts and system-level operations

Memory management
Process management
File I/O operations
IPC mechanisms
CSystems ProgrammingLow-LevelEducational

Interested in my work? Check out more on GitHub

View All Projects

Research & Publications

WebAssembly Exploitation Techniques

PUCIT - University of the PunjabJuly 2022 – July 2023

Novel approach to applying x86-64 exploitation techniques on WebAssembly binaries

Key Achievements:

  • Formulated innovative research methodology
  • Discovered differences between WASM modules built from same source
  • Conducted binary fuzzing on WebAssembly modules
  • Implemented ROP via WASM jump table overwrite
  • Adapted heap exploitation techniques (House of Force) to emlmalloc and dlmalloc

MIPS Architecture Programming Guide

PUCIT - University of the PunjabNovember 2022 – July 2023

Comprehensive guide to MIPS32/64 architecture and assembly programming

Key Achievements:

  • Verified research claims and hypotheses
  • Reviewed and validated technical sources
  • Prepared research paper for submission
  • Documented salient features of architecture
  • Created comprehensive assembly programming guidelines

Key Security Findings

ZTNA Security Assessment

Led comprehensive security assessment of Zero Trust Network Architecture solution

20+ 0-day vulnerabilities discovered

Cloud Attack Vectors

Identified prevalent attack vectors against cloud environments

Novel low-level attack techniques

Mitigation Research

Designed architectural mitigations against vulnerability classes

Compile-time and run-time mitigations

Malware Analysis

Successfully evaded Crowdstrike, Kaspersky, Windows Defender

AV/EDR evasion techniques

Current Research Interests

  • System design vulnerabilities and exploitation
  • WebAssembly security and binary exploitation
  • Linux kernel vulnerabilities (n-day & 1-day)
  • Cloud environment attack vectors
  • Compile-time and run-time mitigations
  • AV/EDR evasion techniques
  • JIT language security
  • Supply chain attack vectors

Skills & Expertise

Deep expertise in security research, low-level systems, and exploit development

Programming Languages

CPythonC#Javax86-64 AssemblyLaTeXBash

Security & Exploitation

Binary ExploitationReverse EngineeringMalware DevelopmentExploit DevelopmentFuzzingVulnerability Assessment

Tools & Frameworks

GhidraGDBIDA ProFRIDAIntel PINGNU/MakeSemgrepCodeQL

Operating Systems

GNU/LinuxWindows + WSLKernel DevelopmentSystem Programming

Specializations

x86-64 ExploitationWebAssembly SecurityCloud SecurityZTNA ArchitectureKernel ExploitationAV/EDR Evasion

Methodologies

Security ResearchVulnerability AssessmentPenetration TestingThreat ModelingMitigation Design
20+

0-day Vulnerabilities Found

5+

Years in Security Research

10+

Open Source Projects

Recognition & Contributions

GitHub Achievements

  • 66 Followers
  • Arctic Code Vault Contributor
  • Pull Shark Achievement (2x)

Links & Presence

  • ORCID: 0000-0002-6222-2480
  • Team: Kernelcide Security Research
  • Focus: Low-level Security & Systems

Get In Touch

Interested in collaboration, security research opportunities, or have questions? Let's connect.

Other Ways to Connect

Blog & Updates

Follow my technical blog at nofilqasim.info for the latest research findings and articles.

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