Summary:
Trying to import custom .sig file into IDA and I get the warning "signature format error (file pos=1caf)", and it does not seem to apply any signature.
There was a similar post at:
t-1026.html
But like the other author, I really have no clue what the response means.

I tried making a signature for a simple library I compiled (VC6 debug) and IDA loaded it fine.

Details:
IDA: 5.2.0.908 (32 bit)
FLAIR: flair38 (sigmake: 1.35, pcf: 1.10)

I need signatures for boost for an app I'm reversing. I used the boost installer to have it download pre-compiled boost libraries, included in them filesystem-vc80-mt-s-1_40.lib, which is my best guess to what they are probably using. I run the following:
$ cd /cygdrive/c/Program Files/boost/boost_1_40/lib
$ pcf libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-1_40.lib libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-1_40
.pat
libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-1_40.lib: skipped 44, total 895
$ sigmake libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-1_40.pat libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-
1_40.sig
libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-1_40.sig: modules/leaves: 643/359, COLLISIONS: 48
And delete the header from the top f the exc file so as to ignore all collisions. Rerunning:
$ sigmake libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-1_40.pat libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-
1_40.sig

Now in IDA:
File -> Load File -> FLIRT signature file
Select libboost_filesystem-vc80-mt-s-1_40 (Unnamed sample library)
Get message saying it "has been put into queue and will be applied later"
In the background it says:
Loading signature XXX Just a moment...
But has the error box:
Warning: signature format error (file pos=1caf)
If it helps, relevant file area:
00001c90 74 65 6d 40 62 6f 6f 73 74 40 40 40 66 69 6c 65 |tem@boost@@@file|
00001ca0 73 79 73 74 65 6d 40 62 6f 6f 73 74 40 40 40 65 |system@boost@@@e|
00001cb0 78 63 65 70 74 69 6f 6e 5f 64 65 74 61 69 6c 40 |xception_detail@|

Let me know if posting any files would help.

Could it be because you are using an old version of FLAIR? Try using FLAIR v5.2 to see if this solves your problem.

Thanks for the reply. I switched to 5.2. Now things seem to be running happily. I didn't realize that version was so out of date

So.... any of the guys at iND want to give us the FLAIR and 5.5 SDK?

:P

Have Phun