Gain insights into debugging Linux process and kernel failures using GDB and crash utility. Delve into memory dump analysis, identifying issues like memory leaks, CPU spikes, and deadlocks.

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It’s essential to examine core dumps to diagnose any non-trivial hangs or crashes due to a user process or the kernel faults. Most people have no training in dealing with core dumps, so the causes of most crashes remain undiagnosed.

This course starts with debugging core dumps. You will learn how to debug the Linux process and kernel failures (using the GDB debugger and the crash utility), browse core memory dumps, identify corruption, memory leaks, CPU spikes, halted threads, deadlocks and wait chains, among other things.

Instead of taking a theoretical route, you will focus on hands-on lessons on a variety of memory analysis patterns found in 64-bit core memory dumps from the x64 architecture. You will follow the novel pattern-oriented diagnostic analysis approach that considerably helps with the analysis. Moreover, the course will provide you with problematic applications and the associated core dumps, along with brief descriptions of relevant patterns and some frequently asked questions.

Accelerated Linux Core Dump Analysis

Specifies that `<file2>` contains the symbol table

Specifies that `<file2>` contains the stack trace at the time of crash

Specifies that `<file2>` is the executable file that generated the core dump

Specifies that `<file2>` should be used to save the logs

**(Select all that apply.)** What does the `-se` flag do in the `gdb -c <file1> -se <file2>` command?

(Select all that apply.) What does the <code>-se</code> flag do in the <code>gdb -c &lt;file1&gt; -se &lt;file2&gt;</code> command?

Shows the disassembly of the crashing function

What does the <code>bt</code> command do?

Fetches five instructions from the `<address>` and executes them

Fetches five words from the `<address>` and displays them as executable instructions

Fetches five words from the `<address>` and displays them in hexadecimal format

Fetches the first five characters of a string at `<address>` location in the memory

What does the `x/5x <address>` command do?

What does the <code>x/5x &lt;address&gt;</code> command do?

If we want to check the correctness of some frames in the backtrace, what command should we use?

If we want to check the correctness of some frames in the backtrace, what command should we use?

Test your knowledge of using GDB with multi-threaded applications.

Getting Started

Fundamentals of Core Dump Analysis

Using GDB With Multi-Threaded Applications

Null Pointer Patterns and External Debugging Information

Spiking Threads

Heap Corruption

Stack Corruption and Overflow

Active Threads

Runtime Exceptions and Execution Residues

Heap Errors

Deadlocks

Post-processing

Kernel Dump Analysis with Crash

Wrapping Up

Appendix

Quiz: Using GDB With Multi-Threaded Applications