Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 4, Revised Edition

Dmitry Vostokov

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About the Book

This reference volume consists of revised, edited, cross-referenced, and thematically organized articles from Software Diagnostics Institute and Software Diagnostics Library (former Crash Dump Analysis blog) written in July 2009 - January 2010. In addition to various corrections, this major revision updates relevant links and removes obsolete references. Some articles are preserved for historical reasons. Most of the content, especially memory analysis and trace and log analysis pattern languages, is still relevant today and for the foreseeable future. The output of WinDbg commands is also remastered to include color highlighting. Crash dump analysis pattern names are also corrected to reflect the continued expansion of the catalog.

The fourth revised volume features:

15 new crash dump analysis patterns
13 new pattern interaction case studies
10 new trace analysis patterns
6 new Debugware patterns and case study
Workaround patterns
Updated checklist
Fully cross-referenced with revised Volumes 1-3
Memory visualization tutorials
Memory space art

The primary audience for Memory Dump Analysis Anthology reference volumes is: software engineers developing and maintaining products on Windows platforms, technical support, escalation, and site reliability engineers dealing with complex software issues, quality assurance engineers testing software on Windows platforms, security and vulnerability researchers, reverse engineers, malware and memory forensics analysts. Trace and log analysis articles may be of interest to users of other platforms.

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Dmitry Vostokov

Dmitry Vostokov is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, educator, scientist, inventor, and author. He founded the pattern-oriented software diagnostics, forensics, and prognostics discipline (Systematic Software Diagnostics) and Software Diagnostics Institute. Vostokov has also authored over 50 books on software diagnostics, anomaly detection and analysis, software and memory forensics, root cause analysis and problem solving, memory dump analysis, debugging, software trace and log analysis, reverse engineering, and malware analysis. He has over 30 years of experience in software architecture, design, development, and maintenance in various industries, including leadership, technical, and people management roles. Dmitry founded OpenTask Iterative and Incremental Publishing and Software Diagnostics Technology and Services (former Memory Dump Analysis Services). In his spare time, he explores Software Narratology and Quantum Software Diagnostics. His interest areas are theoretical software diagnostics and its mathematical and computer science foundations, application of formal logic, semiotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data mining to diagnostics and anomaly detection, software diagnostics engineering and diagnostics-driven development, diagnostics workflow and interaction. Recent interest areas also include functional programming, cloud native computing, monitoring, observability, visualization, security, automation, applications of category theory to software diagnostics, development and big data, and diagnostics of artificial intelligence.

Episode 213

An Interview with Dmitry Vostokov

Table of Contents

Preface 17

Acknowledgments 19

About the Author 20

PART 1: Professional Crash Dump Analysis and Debugging 21

Common Mistakes 21

Not Using Checklists 21

Not Paying Attention to All Aspects of Default Analysis 23

Not Paying Attention to Context 26

Raw Stack Dump of WOW64 Process 31

On Space and Mode 35

Registry Corruption: A Case Study 36

Wild Code and Partial Stack Reconstruction 39

Manual Parameter Reconstruction on x64 Windows Systems 42

Counterfactual Debugging 46

Dereference Fixpoints 46

Data Ordering 48

Clean Raw Stack Execution Residue 64

Essential and Derived Properties 71

Software Defect Researcher: A New Profession 74

WinDbg Shortcuts 75

lmu and lmk 75

.opendump 80

Live Kernel Debugging of System Freeze 82

Mode-Independent WinDbg Scripts 91

PART 2: Crash Dump Analysis Patterns 93

Succession of Patterns 93

Ubiquitous Component (User Space) 94

Nested Offender 120

Hunting for a Driver 124

Virtualized System 131

Effect Component 137

Well-Tested Function 144

Mixed Exception 145

Random Object 150

Not My Version (Hardware) 153

Missing Process 154

Platform-Specific Debugger 156

Value Deviation (Stack Trace) 159

CLR Thread 163

Insufficient Memory (Control Blocks) 166

PART 3: Crash Dump Analysis AntiPatterns 167

Habitual Reply 167

PART 4: Pattern Interaction 169

Null Data Pointer, Pass-Through Functions, and Platformorphic Fault 169

Stack Trace Collection, Message Box, Hidden Exception, Nested Offender, Insufficient Memory, C++ Exception, Heap Leak, and Ubiquitous Component 172

Blocked LPC Thread, Coupled Processes, Stack Trace Collection, and Blocked GUI Thread 181

Virtualized Process, Incorrect Stack Trace, Stack Trace Collection, Multiple Exceptions, Optimized Code, and C++ Exception 182

NULL Data Pointer, Stack Trace, Inline Function Optimization, and Platformorphic Fault 189

Stack Trace Collection, Suspended Threads, Not My Version, Special Process, Main Thread, and Blocked LPC Chain Threads 192

Truncated Dump, Stack Trace Collection, Waiting Thread Time, and Wait Chains 200

ALPC Wait Chain, Missing Threads, Message Box, Zombie, and Special Processes 202

Critical Section High Contention and Wait Chains, Blocked Threads and Periodic Error: Memory Dump and Trace Analysis Pattern Cooperation 208

WOW64 Process, NULL Data Pointer, Stack Overflow, Main Thread, Incorrect Stack Trace, Nested Exceptions, Hidden Exception, Manual Dump, Multiple Exceptions, and Virtualized System 211

Statement Current, Coupled Processes, Wait Chain, Spiking Thread, Hidden Exception, Message Box, and Not My Version 223

Stack Trace Collection, Missing Threads, Waiting Thread Time, Critical Section, and LPC Wait Chains 226

Wait Chain, Blocked Thread, Waiting Thread Time, IRP Distribution Anomaly, and Stack Trace Collection 231

PART 5: A Bit of Science and Philosophy 235

Memory Exponentiation (PowerSet) 235

Memory Dump View of Artificial Intelligence 236

Memoidealism as Monistic Aspect Pluralism 237

Memory Dumps as Posets 239

Metaphorical Bijectionism: A Method of Inquiry 241

Notes on Memoidealism 246

Panmemorism 247

Qubic Memory Representation 248

Manifold Memory Space 250

Ars Recordatio 252

Categories for the Working Software Defect Researcher 253

MemD Category 253

Operating Closure of Memory 256

Memoidealism Defined 258

Memuon: A Definition 259

PART 6: Fun with Crash Dumps 261

Music for Debugging 261

THE ALL MIGHTY DEBUGGER 261

Memory Space Music 262

The Duet of Threads 263

The Memory Dump of the Dead 264

Ancient Computations and a Vision of the New Dump 265

The Meaning of DUMP 266

Memory Analysis Ritual 267

The Intelligent Memory Movement 268

Moving towards the Psi Point 269

Experiments on Poor Bugs 270

Exception Processing Of Crash Hypothesis (EPOCH) 271

Debugging Slang 272

SAD Events 272

BoBo Address 273

Mad Day 274

Bug-sistential and Bug-sistentialism 275

Debugging Spy Network 276

Games for Debugging: Go 277

The Tsar of Memory Dump Analysis 278

DNA and RNA of Ruptured Computation 279

BAD0B0B0 Address: Childhood Memories 280

Bugs in Passing 281

Named Process: Vostokov.exe 283

Memory Analysts and Debuggers Day 286

After Volume 3 287

Crash, Core, and Memory Dumps in Science Fiction and Fantasy 288

Reasoning with a Bug 301

PART 7: Software Troubleshooting 303

RADII and SDSD 303

Epistemic Troubleshooting and Debugging 304

RADII Process Illustrated 305

Debugware Patterns 307

Trace Expert 307

Troubleshooting Unit of Work 308

Checklist 309

Supporting Module 310

Span Differentiator 311

Self-Extractor 312

A Case Study 314

Can Software Tweet? 319

The Law of Simple Tools 320

Workaround Patterns 321

Hidden Output 321

Frozen Process 324

Axed Code 325

PART 8: Software Trace Analysis 327

The Tool for Analysis of ETW Traces 327

There ought to be a Planet at that Location! 328

Software Trace: Bird’s Eye View 329

Extending Multithreading to Multibraiding (Adjoint Threading) 330

PART 9: Software Trace Analysis Patterns 335

Statement Density and Current 335

Exception Stack Trace 337

Thread of Activity 339

Discontinuity 341

Missing Component 342

Bifurcation Point 343

Characteristic Message Block 345

Activity Region 348

Vocabulary Index 349

Inter-Correlation 350

PART 10: The Origin of Crash Dumps 353

Full Page Heap Settings on x64 Windows 353

Memory Dumps from Hyper-Virtualized Windows 354

Fiber Bundle of Memory Space 357

On Self Dumps of Secure String API 358

PART 11: Memory Visualization 361

Pictures from Memory Space 361

Large-scale Structure of Memory Space 363

Advanced Memory Visualization 365

3D Memory Visualization 376

Memory Map Visualization Tools 389

PART 12: Art 391

Opcodism: The Art of Opcodes 391

Memory Dump and Minidumps 394

Hot Issues from Physicalist Artist Perspective 395

Memory Dumps from Physicalist Artist Perspective 396

Memory Hot Spot and the Illusion of Fix 397

Shared Section 398

Memory Space Road to the Ultimate Fix 399

Structure and Noise 400

PART 13: Miscellaneous 401

Assembling Code in WinDbg 401

Free Stack Traces 403

Stack Space and Program Database Types 405

The Longest Stack Trace 409

Software Victimology 414

Debugger as a Shut up Application 415

Two Great Windows Software Engineering Magazines 416

Appendix 417

Crash Dump Analysis Checklist 417

Index of WinDbg Commands 421

Cover Images 423

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