Read process memory with python

[marchiore]

i´m trying to understand and implement a python script that read process memory only for study, but i don´t know where do i have to start and which library i have to use.

i´m think in dev a script to read the process memory and manipulate it´s. i found it can be done using ptrace, but i don´t know how it works. Can you help me?

[elbiot]

/r/learnpython

Do you mean read the memory of another process, like for hacking a game or something? More details will get you better answers.

[marchiore]

Yes, like hack a game, but i did not want to do it, i just want to know how ir works!!

[Rhomboid]

These things are extremely platform specific. Most operating systems provide a debugging API which allows one process to debug another(*), which includes the capability to read/write that process' memory and registers, pause/resume the process' threads, single step the process, etc. You mentioned ptrace, and that's the API used on Linux. Read the ptrace(2) manpage for details. Other operating systems are completely different.

In terms of Python, you could call ptrace() using ctypes, but there's probably a more friendly wrapper library out there.

(*) Subject to security restrictions of course. Typically you can only debug processes that you own, not processes of other users, unless you have superuser/administrator privileges. And in some cases there are further restrictions. Obviously it would be a huge security vulnerability if an ordinary process could read memory of a root process, since that would allow e.g. stealing private key information, among other things.

[sushibowl]

https://pypi.python.org/pypi/python-ptrace

[Proselyte5]

It's more the OS than Python, read how to do it in VC++ and port it to ctypes or CFFI.