Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 8a

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) about software diagnostics, debugging, crash dump analysis, memory forensics, software trace and log analysis written in June 2014 - November 2014.

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Compared to the seventh volume, Volume 8a features:

19 new crash dump analysis patterns
10 new software log and trace analysis patterns
Introduction to malnarratives and higher-order pattern narratives
Introduction to pattern language for performance analysis
Introduction to the pattern-oriented debugging process

The primary audience for Memory Dump Analysis Anthology reference volumes (Diagnomicon) 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, security and vulnerability researchers, reverse engineers, malware and memory forensics analysts.

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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 7

About the Author 9

PART 1: Professional Crash Dump Analysis and Debugging 11

Software Diagnostics Professional Certification 11

Three Roads to Kernel Space 13

PART 2: Crash Dump Analysis Patterns 15

Design Value 15

Hidden IRP 16

Tampered Dump 17

Wait Chain (RTL_RESOURCE) 29

Memory Fluctuation (Process Heap) 35

Last Object 37

Rough Stack Trace 39

Past Stack Trace 43

Stack Trace (I/O Request) 46

Stack Trace (File System Filters) 48

Stack Trace (Database) 51

Wait Chain (Modules) 56

Insufficient Memory (Stack Trace Database) 57

Insufficient Memory (Region) 63

Memory Leak (Regions) 65

Invalid Handle (Managed Space) 69

Ghost Thread 77

Dry Weight 79

Exception Module 80

PART 3: Memory Forensics 83

Memory Forensics Professional Certification 83

Native Memory Forensics 84

PART 4: A Bit of Science and Philosophy 85

Memory Symmetry Breaking 85

Memoevolutionism 86

Entropy as Memory and Memory as Entropy 87

Notes on Memoidealism 88

Welcome to Memorianism 89

United Memory Lands, Memorianites, EthnOS 90

Quotes from Memoriarch 91

Pattern-Oriented Philosophy 92

PART 5: Software Trace Analysis Patterns 93

Hidden Facts 93

Back Trace 95

Blackout 97

Missing Message 99

Use Case Trail 101

Event Sequence Phase 103

Milestones 105

File Size 107

Singleton Event 108

Visitor Trace 110

PART 6: Fun with Crash Dumps 111

Debugging Slang and Proverbs 111

PUS 111

Coollect 111

Dump-out 111

LOGIC 111

DiagNose 112

Consolidation 112

No Pass a Run! 112

ID IoT Zone 112

Putty in Someone's Hands 112

DisPatched vs. DESPatched 112

Programmatica Nervosa 113

GOTCHA 113

Pan-o-RAM-ic 113

VLSI 113

Debugging Proverb 113

Space Opera 114

If Programmers Were Writers 115

My Computer Celebrates Halloween 116

Look, there’s a Bug! 117

Diagnostics in Science Fiction 118

Hard Copy Natives 119

PART 7: Software Narratology 121

Malnarratives 121

Higher-Order Pattern Narratives (Analyzing Diagnostic Analysis) 123

PART 8: Software Diagnostics, Troubleshooting, and Debugging 127

A Pattern Language for Performance Analysis 127

The Timeless Way of Diagnostics 128

Pattern-Oriented Debugging Process 130

PART 9: Art and Visualization 133

Café WoW 133

Bang Debugging 134

Bug Hunter 135

Glass of Water Dump 136

Memory Dump Analysis 137

Organic Incidents and Bad Stench 138

PART 10: Miscellaneous 139

Book Discovery 139

Quotes 140

Appendix 143

Crash Dump Analysis Checklist 143

Index of WinDbg Commands 147

Notes 149

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