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security: strip debug symbols from release builds#348

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hongkongkiwi wants to merge 1 commit intoexpressvpn:mainfrom
hongkongkiwi:security-strip-debug-symbols
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security: strip debug symbols from release builds#348
hongkongkiwi wants to merge 1 commit intoexpressvpn:mainfrom
hongkongkiwi:security-strip-debug-symbols

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@hongkongkiwi
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Summary

Strip debug symbols from release builds to reduce binary size and improve security.

Changes

  • Changed debug = 1 to strip = "symbols" in [profile.release] section of Cargo.toml

Security Impact

  • Reduces binary size
  • Removes debug information that could aid reverse engineering
  • Makes debugging production crashes slightly harder (but production should use crash reporting tools)

Replace debug=1 with strip=symbols in release profile to reduce binary
size and remove debug symbols that could aid reverse engineering.
@hongkongkiwi hongkongkiwi requested a review from a team as a code owner January 28, 2026 03:47
@kp-mariappan-ramasamy
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Thanks for the PR @hongkongkiwi

I need additional details to understand how this change improves security.

Yes, removing the debug reduces the binary size. But its a choice and not a security issue. And if anyone wants less size, they could build by themselves.

As for the reverse engineering part, Lightway source code is completely open source. What does the adversary have to reverse engineer ?

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2 participants