From 8e48c16fc8d4f3b34bca3c32b2ead2ad21198f66 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Schamper <1254028+Schamper@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:03:48 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Add middleware loader

---
 dissect/target/loader.py      | 36 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 dissect/target/loaders/vbk.py | 36 +++++++++++++++--------------------
 2 files changed, 51 insertions(+), 21 deletions(-)

diff --git a/dissect/target/loader.py b/dissect/target/loader.py
index b37ee5a205..7a82a19cbd 100644
--- a/dissect/target/loader.py
+++ b/dissect/target/loader.py
@@ -152,6 +152,42 @@ def map(self, target: Target) -> None:
         raise NotImplementedError
 
 
+class MiddlewareLoader(Loader):
+    """A base class for preparing arbitrary data to be used by other :class:`Loader`s.
+
+    Instead of mapping data directly to a :class:`Target <dissect.target.target.Target>`, loaders of this type
+    prepare data in some way and make it available for other :class:`Loader`s to use.
+
+    Subclasses should implement the :method:`detect` method like any other loader, and return a path to the prepared
+    data in the :method:`prepare` method . The loading mechanism will then use that path to find other loaders to map
+    the prepared data into the target.
+
+    Feels like forever since I've heard the term "middleware", I'm bringing it back baby!
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, path: Path, *, fallbacks: list[type[Loader]] | None = None, **kwargs):
+        super().__init__(path, **kwargs)
+        # This will be the loader that successfully mapped the prepared path
+        self.loader = None
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def detect(path: Path) -> bool:
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+    def prepare(self, target: Target) -> Path:
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+    def map(self, target: Target) -> None:
+        path = self.prepare(target)
+
+        if (loader := find_loader(path, fallbacks=[DirLoader, RawLoader])) is not None:
+            ldr = loader(path)
+            ldr.map(target)
+
+            # Store a reference to the loader if we successfully mapped
+            self.loader = ldr
+
+
 def register(module_name: str, class_name: str, internal: bool = True) -> None:
     """Registers a ``Loader`` class inside ``LOADERS``.
 
diff --git a/dissect/target/loaders/vbk.py b/dissect/target/loaders/vbk.py
index 13d6f6c203..0e911bf537 100644
--- a/dissect/target/loaders/vbk.py
+++ b/dissect/target/loaders/vbk.py
@@ -7,8 +7,7 @@
 from dissect.target.exceptions import LoaderError
 from dissect.target.filesystem import VirtualFilesystem
 from dissect.target.filesystems.vbk import VbkFilesystem
-from dissect.target.loader import Loader, find_loader
-from dissect.target.loaders.raw import RawLoader
+from dissect.target.loader import MiddlewareLoader
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from pathlib import Path
@@ -19,7 +18,7 @@
 RE_RAW_DISK = re.compile(r"(?:[a-f0-9]{8}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{12})|(?:DEV__.+)")
 
 
-class VbkLoader(Loader):
+class VbkLoader(MiddlewareLoader):
     """Load Veaam Backup (VBK) files.
 
     References:
@@ -35,7 +34,7 @@ def __init__(self, path: Path, **kwargs):
     def detect(path: Path) -> bool:
         return path.suffix.lower() == ".vbk"
 
-    def map(self, target: Target) -> None:
+    def prepare(self, target: Target) -> Path:
         # We haven't really researched any of the VBK metadata yet, so just try some common formats
         root = self.vbkfs.path("/")
         if (base := next(root.glob("*"), None)) is None:
@@ -51,24 +50,19 @@ def map(self, target: Target) -> None:
 
             candidates.append(root.joinpath("+".join(map(str, disks))))
 
-        # Try to find a loader
-        for candidate in candidates:
-            if candidate.suffix.lower() == ".vmcx":
-                # For VMCX files we need to massage the file layout a bit
-                vfs = VirtualFilesystem()
-                vfs.map_file_entry(candidate.name, candidate)
+        # We should only have one candidate at this point
+        if len(candidates) > 1:
+            raise LoaderError("Unsupported VBK structure, use `-L raw` to manually inspect the VBK")
 
-                for entry in chain(base.glob("Ide*/*"), base.glob("Scsi*/*")):
-                    vfs.map_file_entry(entry.name, entry)
+        candidate = candidates[0]
+        if candidate.suffix.lower() == ".vmcx":
+            # For VMCX files we need to massage the file layout a bit
+            vfs = VirtualFilesystem()
+            vfs.map_file_entry(candidate.name, candidate)
 
-                candidate = vfs.path(candidate.name)
+            for entry in chain(base.glob("Ide*/*"), base.glob("Scsi*/*")):
+                vfs.map_file_entry(entry.name, entry)
 
-            if (loader := find_loader(candidate, fallbacks=[RawLoader])) is not None:
-                ldr = loader(candidate)
-                ldr.map(target)
+            candidate = vfs.path(candidate.name)
 
-                # Store a reference to the loader if we successfully mapped
-                self.loader = ldr
-                break
-        else:
-            raise LoaderError("Unsupported VBK structure, use `-L raw` to manually inspect the VBK")
+        return candidate