How I Fixed BinExport + BinDiff in Binary Ninja

I wanted the usual workflow:

• open target in Binary Ninja
• export .BinExport
• compare in BinDiff
• not fight plugin errors at 2am

What I got instead:

[Default] Plugin module '/home/fury/.binaryninja/plugins/binexport12_binaryninja.so' failed to load
[Default] This plugin was built for an outdated core ABI. Please rebuild the plugin with the latest API (65).

If you are seeing this exact thing: this post is your shortcut.

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The real problem

This was not a Binary Ninja core bug.
It was a stale user plugin symlink pointing to an old BinDiff package plugin.

My bad symlink:

ls -la ~/.binaryninja/plugins | rg binexport

Output on my box:

/home/fury/.binaryninja/plugins/binexport12_binaryninja.so -> /opt/bindiff/plugins/binaryninja/binexport12_binaryninja.so

That /opt/bindiff/... one was built for an older Binary Ninja core API.

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Verify ABI instead of guessing

I checked the plugin ABI by disassembling CorePluginABIVersion:

objdump -d --disassemble=CorePluginABIVersion \
  ~/.binaryninja/plugins/libbinexport12_binaryninja.so

Look for:

mov    $0x41,%eax

0x41 hex = 65 decimal (the ABI my Binary Ninja wanted).

If you get a value lower than your current Binary Ninja API requirement, that plugin is too old.

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Fix (the 30-second version)

Replace the stale symlink and point it to the ABI 65 local library:

rm -f ~/.binaryninja/plugins/binexport12_binaryninja.so
ln -s ~/.binaryninja/plugins/libbinexport12_binaryninja.so \
  ~/.binaryninja/plugins/binexport12_binaryninja.so

Confirm:

ls -la ~/.binaryninja/plugins | rg binexport12_binaryninja

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What about the Binary Ninja install plugin dir?

You might also have another BinExport library under:

• /home/fury/binaryninja/plugins/libbinexport12_binaryninja.so

That is fine. The key is: the plugin Binary Ninja actually loads from your user plugin path must match your current ABI.

No need to overcomplicate this unless you are building from source on purpose.

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Verify in UI

After restart:

• open a binary
• run BinExport
• check output file exists next to your target (*.BinExport)

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Clean BinDiff workflow in Binja

Once fixed, this is all I do:

1. Open binary in Binary Ninja.
2. Run BinExport.
3. Get target.BinExport.
4. Repeat for second binary.
5. Diff both .BinExport files in BinDiff.

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Quick troubleshooting checklist

If BinExport still fails in Binary Ninja:

1. ls -la ~/.binaryninja/plugins | rg binexport
2. make sure binexport12_binaryninja.so does not point to /opt/bindiff/...
3. check ABI from CorePluginABIVersion (0x41 for ABI 65)
4. restart Binary Ninja completely
5. test on a small binary first

The big lesson: plugin path precedence matters more than people think.
One stale symlink can waste an entire afternoon.