Custom AES `s_box` replacement – how to verify and apply correctly?

[hashirhamxa]

Hi Crypto++ team,

I am trying to customize AES by using my own s_box. Specifically, I want to replace the default AES s_box with a custom substitution box to experiment with modified encryption behavior.

What I did:
I located the AES s_box in rdtables.cpp and replaced the original sbox array with my own values. However, I'm not sure if this is sufficient for Crypto++ to actually use my modified box.

My Questions:

1. Does replacing the sbox array in rdtables.cpp automatically update the AES implementation to use my custom box?
2. Are there any other places in the codebase where I need to modify or regenerate derived tables (like T-tables, inverse s-box, etc.) to reflect my new s_box?
3. How can I verify that my custom s_box is being used in encryption/decryption operations?
4. I’m not very familiar with C++, so if there's a build step or regeneration needed, I would really appreciate some guidance on how to do that.
   Thanks a lot in advance for your help!
   Looking forward to learning more about how Crypto++ manages AES internals.