procmem-linux

a library to read and write process memory on linux

features

• locate processes by executable name or pid
• read/write any type that implements bytemuck::AnyBitPattern (reads) and bytemuck::NoUninit (writes)
• read c-style null terminated and fixed-length strings
• read/write arbitrary bite slices
• find base addresses of loaded libraries

quick start

use process_memory::{Process, MemoryMode, error::MemoryError};

fn main() -> Result<(), MemoryError> {
    // open a process by name or pid
    let mut proc = Process::open_exe_name("target_executable")?;

    // optionally switch to file-based mode
    proc.set_mode(MemoryMode::File);

    // read a value of type T at a given address
    let value: u32 = proc.read(0x7ffd_1234_5678)?;
    println!("value at address: {}", value);

    // write a new value
    proc.write(0x7ffd_1234_5678, &42u32)?;

    // read a null-terminated string
    let message = proc.read_terminated_string(0x7ffd_1234_9000)?;
    println!("message: {}", message);

    // write a string
    proc.write_string(0x7ffd_1234_5678, "Hello World")?;

    // read a vector of type T of length 4 at a given address
    let value_vec: Vec<u8> = proc.read(0x7ffd_1234_5678, 4)?;
    println!("values at address: {:?}", value_vec);

    // scan an ida pattern ("Hello World", with two wildcards)
    let pattern = proc.scan_pattern("48 65 ? ? 6f 20 57 6f 72 6c 64", 0x7ffd_1234_5678)?;
    println!("pattern address: {}", pattern);

    Ok(())
}

memory mode

the crate works in two different modes: Syscall and File mode.

in Syscall mode, it tries to use process_vm_readv and process_vm_writev to avoid copies and avoid detection. this requires kernel >= 3.2 and glibc >= 2.15.

in File mode, it opens /proc/{pid}/mem and uses normal read/write syscalls. this is slower, but might be necessary as a fallback, or when write permissions are restricted.

File mode is about 12.5% slower than Syscall mode, based on rudimentary benchmarks.

the default mode is to try and use syscall mode, but this can be overridden if wanted:

use procmem_linux::{Process, MemoryMode};

let mut process = Process::open_pid(1234).unwrap();
process.set_mode(MemoryMode::File);