/*!
@mainpage A Consumer Library Interface to DWARF
@tableofcontents{HTML:3,LaTeX:3}
@author David Anderson
@copyright This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.
@date 2026-02-01 v2.3.0
@section draft Suggestions for improvement are welcome.
Your thoughts on the document?
A) Are the section and subsection titles on Main Page
meaningful to you?
B) Are the titles on the Modules page meaningful to you?
Anything else you find misleading or confusing?
Send suggestions to ( libdwarf (at)
linuxmail with final characters .org ).
Sorry about the simple obfuscation to keep bots away.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
@section clone_command Downloading Libdwarf
Project page is at https://github.com/davea42/libdwarf-code
There is a Releases area on the project page, click Latest
and you will be presented with
options to download the source in three different forms.
For details on licensing, see COPYING in the files list.
README.md may be of interest (automatically shown on
the project page on github..
Examples of using libdwarf are in doc/checkexamples.c
and src/bin/dwarfexamples.
To download source, one can also do:
git clone https://github.com/davea42/libdwarf-code code
Some tests simply assume the project source base name is
code which is why the above is as shown.
This is a grave historical misfeature that needs to be fixed in
the test scripts.
@section dwsec_intro Introduction
This document describes an interface to @e libdwarf,
a library of functions to provide
access to DWARF debugging information records,
DWARF line number information, DWARF address
range and global names information, weak
names information, DWARF frame description
information, DWARF static function names, DWARF
static variables, and DWARF type information.
In addition the library provides access to
several object sections (created by compiler
writers and for debuggers) related to debugging
but not mentioned in any DWARF standard.
The DWARF Standard has long mentioned the "Unix
International Programming Languages Special
Interest Group" (PLSIG), under whose auspices the
DWARF committee was formed around 1991. "Unix
International" was disbanded in the 1990s and
no longer exists.
The DWARF committee published DWARF2 July 27,
1993, DWARF3 in 2005, DWARF4 in 2010, and DWARF5
in 2017.
In the mid 1990s this document and the library it
describes (which the committee never endorsed,
having decided not to endorse or approve any
particular library interface) was made available
on the internet by Silicon Graphics, Inc.
In 2005 the DWARF committee began an affiliation
with FreeStandards.org. In 2007 FreeStandards.org
merged with The Linux Foundation. The
DWARF committee dropped its affiliation with
FreeStandards.org in 2007 and established the
dwarfstd.org website.
@see https://www.dwarfstd.org for current information on
standardization activities and a copy of the standard.
@section dwsec_threadsafety Thread Safety
Libdwarf can safely open multiple Dwarf_Debug
pointers simultaneously but all such Dwarf_Debug
pointers must be opened within the same thread.
And all @e libdwarf calls must be made from within
that single (same) thread.
@section dwsec_error Error Handling in libdwarf
Essentially every @e libdwarf call could involve dealing
with an error (possibly data corruption in
the object file). Here we explain the two main
approaches the library provides (though we think
only one of them is truly appropriate except
in toy programs).
In all cases where the library
returns an error code (almost every
library function does) the caller should
check whether the returned integer is
DW_DLV_OK, DW_DLV_ERROR, or DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY
and then act accordingly.
A) The recommended approach is to
define a Dwarf_Error and initialize it to 0.
@code
Dwarf_Error error = 0;
@endcode
Then, in every call where there is a Dwarf_Error argument
pass its address. For example:
@code
int res = dwarf_tag(die,DW_TAG_compile_unit,&error);
@endcode
The possible return values to res are, in general:
@code
DW_DLV_OK
DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY
DW_DLV_ERROR
@endcode
If DW_DLV_ERROR is returned then error is set
(by the library) to a pointer to important
details about the error and
the library will not pass back any data through
other pointer arguments.
If DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY is
returned the error argument is ignored by the library
and
the library will not pass back any data through
pointer arguments.
If DW_DLV_OK is returned argument pointers that
are defined as ways to return data to your code
are used and values are set in your data by
the library.
Some functions cannot possibly return some of these
three values. As defined later for each function.
B) An alternative (not recommended) approach is
to pass NULL to the error argument.
@code
int res = dwarf_tag(die,DW_TAG_compile_unit,NULL);
@endcode
If your initialization provided an 'errhand'
function pointer argument (see below) the
library will call errhand if an error is encountered.
(Your errhand function could exit if you so choose.)
The the library will then return DW_DLV_ERROR, though
you will have no way to identify what the error was.
Could be a malloc fail or data corruption or an
invalid argument to the call, or something else.
That is the whole picture. The library never
calls exit() under any circumstances.
@subsection dw_errorinit Error Handling at Initialization
Each initialization call (for example)
@code
Dwarf_Debug dbg = 0;
const char *path = "myobjectfile";
char *true_path = 0;
unsigned int true_pathlen = 0;
Dwarf_Handler errhand = 0;
Dwarf_Ptr errarg = 0;
Dwarf_Error error = 0;
int res = 0;
res = dwarf_init_path(path,true_path,true_pathlen,
DW_GROUPNUMBER_ANY,errhand,errarg,&dbg,&error);
@endcode
has two arguments that appear nowhere
else in the library.
@code
Dwarf_Handler errhand
Dwarf_Ptr errarg
@endcode
For the recommended A) approach:
Just pass NULL to both those arguments.
If the initialization call returns DW_DLV_ERROR
you should then call
@code
dwarf_dealloc_error(dbg,error);
@endcode
to free the Dwarf_Error data because
dwarf_finish() does not clean up
a dwarf-init error.
This works even though dbg will be NULL.
For the not recommended B) approach:
Because dw_errarg is a general pointer one could
create a struct with data of interest and use
a pointer to the struct as the dw_errarg.
Or one could use an integer or NULL,
it just depends what you want to do in the
Dwarf_Handler function you write.
If you wish to provide a dw_errhand, define a function
(this first example is not a good choice as it
terminates the application!).
@code
void bad_dw_errhandler(Dwarf_Error error,Dwarf_Ptr ptr)
{
printf("ERROR Exit on %lx due to error 0x%lx %s\n",
(unsigned long)ptr,
(unsigned long)dwarf_errno(error),
dwarf_errmsg(error));
exit(1)
}
@endcode
and pass bad_dw_errhandler (as a function pointer,
no parentheses).
The Dwarf_Ptr argument your error handler
function receives is the value you passed in as dw_errarg,
and can be anything, it allows you to associate
the callback with a particular dwarf_init* call
if you wish to make such an association.
By doing an exit() you guarantee that your application
abruptly stops. This is only acceptable in toy
or practice programs.
A better dw_errhand function is
@code
void my_dw_errhandler(Dwarf_Error error,Dwarf_Ptr ptr)
{
/* Clearly one could write to a log file or do
whatever the application finds useful. */
printf("ERROR on %lx due to error 0x%lx %s\n",
(unsigned long)ptr,
(unsigned long)dwarf_errno(error),
dwarf_errmsg(error));
}
@endcode
because it returns rather than exiting.
It is not ideal. The DW_DLV_ERROR code
is returned from @e libdwarf and your code
can do what it likes with the error situation.
The library will continue from the error and
will return an error code on returning to your
@libdwarf call ... but the calling function will not
know what the error was.
@code
Dwarf_Ptr x = address of some struct I want in the errhandler;
res = dwarf_init_path(...,my_dw_errhandler,x,... );
if (res == ...)
@endcode
If you do not wish to provide a dw_errhand, just pass
both arguments as NULL.
@subsection dw_errorcall Error Handling Everywhere
So let us examine a simple case where anything could
happen. We are taking the
recommended A)
method of using a non-null Dwarf_Error*:
@code
int func(Dwarf_Dbg dbg,Dwarf_Die die, Dwarf_Error* error) {
Dwarf_Die newdie = 0;
int res = 0;
res = dwarf_siblingof_c(die,&newdie,error);
if (res != DW_DLV_OK) {
/* Whether DW_DLV_ERROR or DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY
(the latter is actually impossible
for this function) returning res is the
appropriate default thing to do. */
return res;
}
/* Do something with newdie. */
dwarf_dealloc_die(newdie);
newdie = 0; /* A good habit... */
return DW_DLV_OK;
}
@endcode
@subsubsection DW_DLV_OK
When res == DW_DLV_OK
newdie is a valid pointer and when appropriate we should do
dwarf_dealloc_die(newdie).
For other @e libdwarf calls
the meaning depends on the function called,
so read the description of the function
you called for more information.
@subsubsection DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY
When res == DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY
then newdie is not
set and there is no error. It means
die was the last of a siblinglist.
For other @e libdwarf calls the
meaning depends on the function called,
so read the description of the function
you called for more information.
@subsubsection DW_DLV_ERROR
When res == DW_DLV_ERROR
Something bad happened.
The only way to know what happened is to examine
the *error as in
@code
int ev = dwarf_errno(*error);
or
char * msg = dwarf_errmsg(*error);
@endcode
or both and report that somehow.
The above three values are the only returns possible
from the great majority of @e libdwarf functions, and
for these functions the return type is always @b int .
If it is a decently large or long-running
program then you want to free any local memory
you allocated and return res. If it is a small
or experimental program print something and exit
(possibly leaking memory).
If you want to discard the error report from the
dwarf_siblingof_c() call then possibly do
@code
dwarf_dealloc_error(dbg,*error);
*error = 0;
return DW_DLV_OK;
@endcode
Except in a special case involving function
dwarf_set_de_alloc_flag() (which you will not usually
call), any dwarf_dealloc() that is needed will
happen automatically when you call dwarf_finish().
@subsubsection A Slight Performance Enhancement
Very long running library access programs using
relevant appropriate dwarf_dealloc calls should
consider calling dwarf_set_de_alloc_flag(0).
Using this one could get a performance enhancement
of perhaps five percent in @e libdwarf CPU time
and a reduction in memory use.
Be sure to test using valgrind (at runtime) or
the gcc option -fsanitize at compile time and run
tests appropriately to ensure your code really does
the extra dwarf_dealloc calls needed since when
using dwarf_set_de_alloc_flag(0) dwarf_finish()
does only limited cleanup.
@section dwsec_cuplan Extracting Data Per Compilation Unit
The library is designed to run a single pass
through the set of Compilation Units (CUs), via a
sequence of calls to dwarf_next_cu_header_e().
(dwarf_next_cu_header_d() is supported but
its use requires that it be immediately
followed by a call to dwarf_siblingof_b().
see dwarf_next_cu_header_d(). )
Within a CU opened with dwarf_next_cu_header_e()
do something (if desired) on the CU_DIE returned,
and call dwarf_child() on the CU_DIE to begin
recursing through all DIEs. If you save the CU_DIE
you can repeat passes beginning with dwarf_child()
on the CU_DIE, though it almost certainly faster
to remember, in your data structures, what you
need from the first pass.
The general plan:
@code
create your local data structure(s)
A. Check your local data structures to see if
you have what you need
B. If sufficient data present act on it,
ensuring your data structures are kept for
further use.
C. Otherwise Read a CU, recording relevant data
in your structures and loop back to A.
@endcode
For an example (best approach)
@see examplecuhdre
or (second-best approach)
@see examplecuhdrd
Write your code to record relevant (to you)
information from each CU as you go so your code
has no need for a second pass through the CUs.
This is much much faster than allowing multiple
passes would be.
@section dwsec_linetabreg Line Table Registers
Line Table Registers
Please refer to the DWARF5 Standard for details.
The line table registers are named in Section
6.2.2 State Machine Registers and are
not much changed from DWARF2.
Certain functions on Dwarf_Line data
return values for these 'registers'
as these are the data available for
debuggers and other tools to relate
a code address to a source file name and
possibly also to a line number and column-number
within the source file.
@code
address
op_index
file
line
column
is_stmt
basic_block
end_sequence
prologue_end
epilogue_begin
isa
discriminator
@endcode
@section dwsec_independentsec Reading Special Sections Independently
DWARF defines (in each version of DWARF)
sections which have a somewhat special character.
These are referenced from compilation units and
other places and the Standard does not forbid
blocks of random bytes at the start or end or
between the areas referenced from elsewhere.
Sometimes compilers (or linkers) leave trash
behind as a result of optimizations. If there
is a lot of space wasted that way it is a quality
of implementation issue. But usually the wasted
space, if any, is small.
Compiler writers or others may be interested
in looking at these sections independently
so @e libdwarf provides functions that allow
reading the sections without reference to what
references them.
@link abbrev Abbreviations can be read independently @endlink
@link string Strings can be read independently @endlink
@link str_offsets String Offsets can be read independently @endlink
@link debugaddr The addr table can be read independently @endlink
Those functions allow starting at byte 0 of the
section and provide a length so you can calculate
the next section offset to call or refer to.
Usually that works fine. If there is some
random data somewhere outside of referenced
areas or the data format is a gcc extension
of an early DWARF version the reader
function may fail, returning
DW_DLV_ERROR. Such an error is neither a
compiler bug nor a @e libdwarf bug.
@section frameregs Special Frame Registers
In dealing with .debug_frame or .eh_frame there
are five values that must be set unless
one has relatively few registers in the target
ABI (anything under 188 registers, see dwarf.h
DW_FRAME_LAST_REG_NUM for this default).
The requirements stem from the design of the
section. See the DWARF5 Standard for details.
The .debug_frame section is basically
the same from DWARF2 on.
The .eh_frame section is similar to .debug_frame
but is intended to support exception handling
and has fields and data not present in .debug_frame.
Keep in mind that register values correspond
to columns in the theoretical fully complete
line table of a row per pc and a column per register.
There is no time or space penalty in setting
Undefined_Value, Same_Value, and CFA_Column
much larger than the Table_Size.
Here are the five values.
@b Table_Size: This sets the number of columns
in the theoretical table. It starts at
DW_FRAME_LAST_REG_NUM which defaults to 188.
This is the only value you
might need to change, given the defaults
of the others are set reasonably large by
default. Setting this higher than necessary
wastes cpu time and memory space.
@b Undefined_Value: A register number that means
the register value is undefined. For example due
to a call clobbering the register.
DW_FRAME_UNDEFINED_VAL defaults to 12288.
There no such column in the table.
@b Same_Value: A register number that means
the register value is the same as the value
at the call. Nothing can have clobbered it.
DW_FRAME_SAME_VAL defaults to 12289.
There no such column in the table.
@b Initial_Value: The value must be either
DW_FRAME_UNDEFINED_VAL or DW_FRAME_SAME_VAL to represent
how most registers are to be thought of at a function call.
This is a property of the ABI and instruction set.
Specific frame instructions in the CIE or FDE
will override this for registers not matching
this value.
@b CFA_Column: A number for the CFA.
Defined so we can use a register number
to refer to it.
DW_FRAME_CFA_COL defaults to 12290.
There no such column in the table.
See libdwarf.h struct Dwarf_Regtable3_s member rt3_cfa_rule
or function dwarf_get_fde_info_for_cfa_reg3_b()
or function dwarf_get_fde_info_for_cfa_reg3_c() .
A set of functions allow these to be changed at
runtime. The set should be called (if needed)
immediately after initializing a Dwarf_Debug
and before any other calls on that Dwarf_Debug.
If just one value (for example, Table_Size) needs
altering, then just call that single function.
For the library accessing frame data to work
properly there are certain invariants that
must be true once the set of functions have
been called.
REQUIRED:
@code
Table_Size > the number of registers in the ABI.
Undefined_Value != Same_Value
CFA_Column != Undefined_value
CFA_Column != Same_value
Initial_Value == Same_Value ||
(Initial_Value == Undefined_value)
Undefined_Value > Table_Size
Same_Value > Table_Size
CFA_Column > Table_Size
@endcode
If these conditions are not honored the library
will return a DW_DLV_ERROR code rather than use
an improper set of values.
@section dwsec_pubnames .debug_pubnames etc DWARF2-DWARF4
Each section consists of a header for a specific
compilation unit (CU) followed by an a set of
tuples, each tuple consisting of an offset of a
compilation unit followed by a null-terminated
namestring. The tuple set is ended by a 0,0
pair. Then followed with the data for the next
CU and so on.
The function set provided for each such section
allows one to print all the section data as it
literally appears in the section (with headers
and tuples) or to treat it as a single array
with CU data columns.
Each has a set of 6 functions.
@code
Section typename Standard
.debug_pubnames Dwarf_Global DWARF2-DWARF4
.debug_pubtypes Dwarf_Global DWARF3,DWARF4
@endcode
These sections are accessed calling dwarf_globals_by_type()
using type of DW_GL_GLOBALS or DW_GL_PUBTYPES.
Or call dwarf_get_pubtypes().
The following four were defined in SGI/IRIX
compilers in the 1990s but were never part of the
DWARF standard.
These sections are accessed calling dwarf_globals_by_type()
using type of DW_GL_FUNCS,DW_GL_TYPES,DW_GL_VARS, or
DW_GL_WEAKS.
It not likely you will encounter these four sections.
@code
.debug_funcs
.debug_typenames
.debug_vars
.debug_weaks
@endcode
@section dwsec_noobj Reading DWARF with no object file present
This most commonly happens with just-in-time
compilation, and someone working on the
code wants do debug this on-the-fly code in a
situation where nothing can be written to disc,
but DWARF can be constructed in memory.
For a simple example of this
@see jitreader
But the @e libdwarf feature can be used in a wide variety of ways.
For example, the DWARF data could be kept in
simple files of bytes on the internet. Or on the
local net. Or if files can be written locally
each section could be kept in a simple stream
of bytes in the local file system.
Another example is a non-standard file system,
or file format, with the intent of obfuscating
the file or the DWARF.
For this to work the code generator must generate
standard DWARF.
Overall the idea is a simple one: You write a
small handful of functions and supply function
pointers and code implementing the functions.
These are part of your application or library,
not part of @e libdwarf.
You set up a little bit of data with that
code (all described below) and then you
have essentially written the dwarf_init_path
equivalent and you can access compilation units,
line tables etc and the standard @e libdwarf
function calls work.
Take great care in your object reader code because
any failure to reject object files with corrupt
data in areas such as object headers, section
headers, or relocation records nullifies the
intended guarantee that the library will not crash.
Data you need to create involves these types.
What follows describes how to fill them in and
how to make them work for you.
@code
typedef struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Interface_a_s
Dwarf_Obj_Access_Interface_a;
struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Interface_a_s {
void* ai_object;
const Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a *ai_methods;
};
typedef struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a_s
Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a
struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a_s {
int (*om_get_section_info)(void* obj,
Dwarf_Unsigned section_index,
Dwarf_Obj_Access_Section_a* return_section,
int* error);
Dwarf_Small (*om_get_byte_order)(void* obj);
Dwarf_Small (*om_get_length_size)(void* obj);
Dwarf_Small (*om_get_pointer_size)(void* obj);
Dwarf_Unsigned (*om_get_filesize)(void* obj);
Dwarf_Unsigned (*om_get_section_count)(void* obj);
int (*om_load_section)(void* obj,
Dwarf_Unsigned section_index,
Dwarf_Small** return_data, int* error);
int (*om_relocate_a_section)(void* obj,
Dwarf_Unsigned section_index,
Dwarf_Debug dbg,
int* error);
};
typedef struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Section_a_s
Dwarf_Obj_Access_Section_a
struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Section_a_s {
const char* as_name;
Dwarf_Unsigned as_type;
Dwarf_Unsigned as_flags;
Dwarf_Addr as_addr;
Dwarf_Unsigned as_offset;
Dwarf_Unsigned as_size;
Dwarf_Unsigned as_link;
Dwarf_Unsigned as_info;
Dwarf_Unsigned as_addralign;
Dwarf_Unsigned as_entrysize;
};
@endcode
@b Dwarf_Obj_Access_Section_a:
Your implementation of a @b om_get_section_info
must fill in a few fields for @e libdwarf.
The fields here are
standard Elf, but for most you can just use
the value zero. We assume you will not be
doing relocations at runtime and do not describe
how to do relocations.
@b as_name: Here you set a section name via
the pointer. The section names must be names
as defined in the DWARF standard, so if such do
not appear in your data you have to create the
strings yourself.
@b as_type: Fill in zero.
@b as_flags: Fill in zero.
@b as_addr: Fill in the address, in local memory,
where the bytes of the section are.
@b as_offset: Fill in zero.
@b as_size: Fill in the size, in bytes,
of the section you are telling @e libdwarf about.
@b as_link: Fill in zero.
@b as_info: Fill in zero.
@b as_addralign: Fill in zero.
@b as_entrysize: Fill in one(1).
@b Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a_s:
The functions we need to access object data
from @e libdwarf are declared here.
In these function pointer declarations
'void *obj' is intended to be a pointer (the object field in
Dwarf_Obj_Access_Interface_s) that hides the
library-specific and object-specific data that
makes it possible to handle multiple object
formats and multiple libraries. It is not
required that one handles multiple such in a
single @e libdwarf archive/shared-library
(but not ruled out either). See
dwarf_elf_object_access_internals_t and
dwarf_elf_access.c for an example.
Usually the struct @b Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a_s is
statically defined
and the function pointers are set at
compile time.
The om_get_filesize member is new September 4, 2021.
Its position is NOT at the end of the list.
The member names all now have om_ prefix.
@section dwsec_sectiongroup Section Groups: Split Dwarf, COMDAT groups
A typical executable or shared object is unlikely
to have any section groups as the linker would
have removed those when building an executable
or shared-object, and in that case what follows
is irrelevant and unimportant.
@b COMDAT groups are defined by the Elf ABI and
enable compilers and linkers
to work together to eliminate blocks
of duplicate DWARF and duplicate CODE.
@b Split @b Dwarf (sometimes referred to as
Debug Fission) allows compilers and linkers
to separate large amounts of DWARF from
the executable, shrinking disk space
needed in the executable while allowing
full debugging (also applies to shared objects).
See the DWARF5 Standard, Section E.1
Using Compilation Units page 364.
To name COMDAT groups (defined later here) we add
the following defines to libdwarf.h (the
DWARF standard does not specify how to do any of this).
@code
/* These support opening DWARF5 split dwarf objects and
Elf SHT_GROUP blocks of DWARF sections. */
#define DW_GROUPNUMBER_ANY 0
#define DW_GROUPNUMBER_BASE 1
#define DW_GROUPNUMBER_DWO 2
@endcode
The DW_GROUPNUMBER_ are used in @e libdwarf functions
dwarf_init_path(), dwarf_init_path_dl() and
dwarf_init_b(). In all those cases unless
you know there is any complexity in your object file,
pass in DW_GROUPNUMBER_ANY.
To see section groups usage, see the example
source:
@see showsecgroups
@see examplesecgroup
The function interface declarations:
@see dwarf_sec_group_sizes
@see dwarf_sec_group_map
If an object file has multiple groups
@e libdwarf will not reveal contents of more
than the single requested group with a given
dwarf_init_path() call.
One must pass in another groupnumber
to another dwarf_init_path(), meaning initialize
a new Dwarf_Debug, to get @e libdwarf to
access that group.
When opening a Dwarf_Debug the following applies:
If DW_GROUPNUMBER_ANY is passed in @e libdwarf will
choose either of DW_GROUPNUMBER_BASE(1) or
DW_GROUPNUMBER_DWO (2) depending on the object
content. If both groups one and two are in the
object @e libdwarf will chose DW_GROUPNUMBER_BASE.
If DW_GROUPNUMBER_BASE is passed in @e libdwarf
will choose it if non-split DWARF is in the object, else
the init call will return DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY.
If DW_GROUPNUMBER_DWO is passed in @e libdwarf
will choose it if .dwo sections are in the object, else
the init will call return DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY.
If a groupnumber greater than two is passed in
@e libdwarf accepts it, whether any sections
corresponding to that groupnumber exist or not.
If the groupnumber is not an actual group
the init will call return DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY.
For information on groups "dwarfdump -i"
on an object file will show all section group
information @b unless the object file is a simple
standard object with no .dwo sections and no
COMDAT groups (in which case the output will be
silent on groups). Look for Section Groups
data in the dwarfdump output. The groups
information will be appearing very early in the
dwarfdump output.
Sections that are part of an Elf COMDAT GROUP are
assigned a group number > 2. There can be many
such COMDAT groups in an object file (but none
in an executable or shared object). Each such
COMDAT group will have a small set of sections
in it and each section in such a group will be
assigned the same group number by @e libdwarf.
Sections that are in a .dwp .dwo object file
are assigned to DW_GROUPNUMBER_DWO,
Sections not part of a .dwp package file or
a.dwo section, or a COMDAT group are assigned
DW_GROUPNUMBER_BASE.
At least one compiler relies on relocations to
identify COMDAT groups, but the compiler authors
do not publicly document how this works so we
ignore such (these COMDAT groups will result in
@e libdwarf returning DW_DLV_ERROR).
Popular compilers and tools are using such
sections. There is no detailed documentation that
we can find (so far) on how the COMDAT section
groups are used, so @e libdwarf is based on
observations of what compilers generate.
@section dwsec_separatedebug Details on separate DWARF object access
There are, at present, three distinct approaches
in use to put DWARF information into separate
objects to significantly shrink the size of
the executable. All of them involve identifying
a separate file.
Split Dwarf is one method. It defines the attribute
@b DW_AT_dwo_name (if present) as having
a file-system appropriate
name of the split object with most of the DWARF.
The second is Macos dSYM. It is a convention of placing
the DWARF-containing object (separate from the
object containing code) in a specific subdirectory
tree.
The third involves GNU debuglink and GNU
debug_id. These are two distinct ways (outside
of DWARF) to provide
names of alternative DWARF-containing objects
elsewhere in a file system.
If one initializes a Dwarf_Debug object with
dwarf_init_path() or dwarf_init_path_dl()
appropriately @e libdwarf will automatically
open the alternate dSYM or
debuglink/debug_id object on the object with
most of the DWARF.
@see https://sourceware.org/gdb/onlinedocs/gdb/Separate-Debug-Files.html
@e libdwarf provides means to automatically read
the alternate object (in place of the one named
in the init call) or to suppress that and read
the named object file.
@code
int dwarf_init_path(const char * dw_path,
char * dw_true_path_out_buffer,
unsigned int dw_true_path_bufferlen,
unsigned int dw_groupnumber,
Dwarf_Handler dw_errhand,
Dwarf_Ptr dw_errarg,
Dwarf_Debug* dw_dbg,
Dwarf_Error* dw_error);
int dwarf_init_path_dl(const char *dw_path,
char * true_path_out_buffer,
unsigned true_path_bufferlen,
unsigned groupnumber,
Dwarf_Handler errhand,
Dwarf_Ptr errarg,
Dwarf_Debug * ret_dbg,
char ** dl_path_array,
unsigned int dl_path_count,
unsigned char * path_source,
Dwarf_Error * error);
@endcode
Case 1:
If @e dw_true_path_out_buffer or
@e dw_true_path_bufferlen is passed in as zero
then the library will not look for an alternative
object.
Case 2:
If @e dw_true_path_out_buffer passes a pointer to
space you provide and @e dw_true_path_bufferlen passes in
the length, in bytes, of the buffer, @e libdwarf will
look for alternate DWARF-containing objects.
We advise that the caller zero all the
bytes in @e dw_true_path_out_buffer before calling.
If the alternate object name (with its
null-terminator) is too long to fit
in the buffer the call will return DW_DLV_ERROR
with dw_error providing error code
DW_DLE_PATH_SIZE_TOO_SMALL.
If the alternate object name fits in the buffer
@e libdwarf will open and use that alternate file
in the returned Dwarf_Dbg.
It is up to callers to notice that
@e dw_true_path_out_buffer now contains a string
and callers will probably wish to do something
with the string.
If the initial byte of @e dw_true_path_out_buffer
is a non-null when the call returns
then an alternative object was found and opened.
The second function, dwarf_init_path_dl(),
is the same as dwarf_init_path() except
the _dl version has three additional arguments,
as follows:
Pass in NULL or @e dw_dl_path_array, an array of pointers
to strings with alternate GNU debuglink paths you
want searched. For most people, passing in NULL
suffices.
Pass in @e dw_dl_path_array_size, the number of elements
in @e dw_dl_path_array.
Pass in @e dw_dl_path_source as NULL or a pointer to char.
If non-null @e libdwarf will set it to one of three values:
- DW_PATHSOURCE_basic which means the original input
@e dw_path is the one opened in dw_dbg.
- DW_PATHSOURCE_dsym which means a Macos dSYM object
was found and is the one opened in dw_dbg.
@e dw_true_path_out_buffer contains the dSYM
object path.
- DW_PATHSOURCE_debuglink which means a GNU debuglink
or GNU debug-id
path was found and names the one opened in dw_dbg.
@e dw_true_path_out_buffer contains the
object path.
@section dwsec_shared Linking against libdwarf.so (or dll or dylib)
If you wish to do the basic @e libdwarf tests and are linking
against a shared library @e libdwarf you must do an install
for the tests to succeed (in some environments it is
not strictly necessary).
For example, if building with configure, do
@code
make
make install
make check
@endcode
You can install anywhere, there is no need to install
in a system directory! Creating a temporary directory
and installing there suffices. If installed
in appropriate system directories that works too.
When compiling to link against a shared library @e libdwarf
you must not define LIBDWARF_STATIC.
For examples of this for all three build systems
read the project shell script
@code
scripts/allsimplebuilds.sh
@endcode
@section dwsec_static Linking against libdwarf.a
- If you are building an application
- And are linking your application against a
static library libdwarf.a
- Then you must ensure that each source file
compilation with an include
of libdwarf.h has the macro LIBDWARF_STATIC defined
to your source compilation.
- If @e libdwarf was built with zlib and zstd decompression library
enabled you must add -lz -lzstd to the link line of the build
of your application.
To pass LIBDWARF_STATIC to the preprocessor with Visual
Studio:
- Right click on a project name
- In the contextual menu, click on Properties at the very bottom.
- In the new window, double click on C/C++
- On the right, click on Preprocessor definitions
- There is a small down arrow on the right, click on it then click on Modify
- Add LIBDWARF_STATIC to the values
- Click on OK to close the windows
@section dwsec_dbglink Suppressing CRC calculation for debuglink
GNU Debuglink-specific issue:
If GNU debuglink is present and considered by
dwarf_init_path() or dwarf_init_path_dl()
the library may be required to compute a 32bit
crc (Cyclic Redundancy Check) on the file
found via GNU debuglink.
@see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_redundancy_check
For people doing repeated builds of objects using
such the crc check is a waste of time as they
know the crc comparison will pass.
For such situations a special interface function
lets the
dwarf_init_path() or dwarf_init_path_dl()
caller suppress the crc check without having
any effect on anything else in @e libdwarf.
It might be used as follows (the same pattern
applies to dwarf_init_path_dl() ) for any program
that might do multiple
dwarf_init_path() or dwarf_init_path_dl()
calls in a single program execution.
@code
int res = 0;
int crc_check= 0;
crc_check = dwarf_suppress_debuglink_crc(1);
res = dwarf_init_path(..usual arguments);
/* Reset the crc flag to previous value. */
dwarf_suppress_debuglink_crc(crc_check);
/* Now check res in the usual way. */
@endcode
This pattern ensures the crc check is suppressed for this
single dwarf_init_path() or dwarf_init_path_dl()
call while leaving the setting unchanged for further
dwarf_init_path() or dwarf_init_path_dl()
calls in the running program.
@section userobjread Object Reading By User Code
With the usual libdwarf initialization functions
the library does extensive checks of object formats
and attempts to find all object errors and returns
error codes reading objects with errors affecting
the library.
Including, for example, object header errors
and relocation section errors.
The intent is to return correct output
for correct DWARF and avoid program
crashes in the library when the object or
DWARF data is corrupt (returning error codes
as appropriate).
dwarf_object_init_b() is an alternative to the
usual libdwarf initialization functions -- making it possible
to read object formats libdwarf knows nothing about.
This interface delegates the object reading to user code.
dwarf_object_init_b() requires the user code to
provide correct and complete section
information for the sections the library requires.
The library cannot guarantee correct,
successful, crash-free operation if the user code reading
an object is insufficiently careful, thorough,
and consistent in returning DW_DLV_OK,
DW_DLV_NO_ENTRY, and DW_DLV_ERROR as applicable.
@section dwsec_mmap
As of version 0.12.0 libdwarf allows callers
to select mmap (instead of malloc/read) to access
object section DWARF data.
Even if mmap is selected it is possible libdwarf
will chose to use malloc in specific cases.
If at library build time the required functions/header
are not available the following will have no effect.
One way to select mmap is to call
@code
dwarf_set_load_preference(Dwarf_Alloc_Mmap);
@endcode
Another way to select mmap is with an
environment variable
@code
export DWARF_WHICH_ALLOC=mmap
@endcode
so libdwarf will see the variable at runtime.
The environment variable overrides the
function call.
Calling dwarf_set_load_preference(0)
will return the current overall preference
will return the current overall preference,
an instance of
@code
enum Dwarf_Sec_Alloc_Pref
@endcode
The new function
@code
dwarf_get_mmap_count(Dwarf_Debug dw_dbg)
@endcode
returns the application count and size
of allocations for DWARF sections
from the open Dwarf_Debug
pointer.
Each supported build environment has a new
build option to prevent libdwarf from assuming
that things in the build are always present.
@section dwsec_changes Recent Changes
We list these with newest first.
Changes 2.2.0 to 2.3.0
Released 1 February 2026
Added function dwarf_iterate_fde_all_regs3() which
lets callers get all rows of the .debug_frame
and .eh_frame sections via callbacks the function
makes to a function you write. Simple to use
and, for FDEs with many rows, sixty times faster.
A prerelease version failed to allow retrieving
the CFA pseudo-register value, but that is fixed.
See dwarfexample/frame2.c for an example of use.
Added function dwarf_set_harmless_errors_enabled(
Dwarf_Debug dw_dbg,int dw_v). Passing in dw_v
of 0 (zero) turns off checking for what are really
harmless errors, which makes a meaningful improvement
in library performance for some calls.
By default harmless errors are checked-for.
dwarf_set_frame_rule_table_size() now allows setting
register rules table size as low as 50 entries.
The default remains arbitrary: DW_FRAME_LAST_REG_NUM (189)
as that suffices for most architectures without being
excessive.
Changes 2.1.0 to 2.2.0
Released 10 October 2025
Added functions dwarf_lvn_name_direct()
dwarf_lvn_name() dwarf_lvn_table_entry()
enabling access to all the fields relevant in
DWARF6 DW_AT_language_version attributes.
In builds using (for example) cc -std=c99
gcc will turn off visibility of
strdup() in string.h leading to
a build failure. So now we
define _GNU_SOURCE in builds.
Corrected a bug in reading line table data
that used DW_FORM_strx (and other strx forms).
Fixed various failures to handle corrupted
(fuzzed) Apple Mach-o object files.
Changes 2.0.0 to 2.1.0
Released 20 July 2025
Corrected (and tested) use of DWARF6 attributes
DW_AT_language_name and DW_AT_language_version.
As of July 2025 we are not aware of a released
compiler providing these attributes.
Added function dwarf_srclanglname() so that
DW_AT_language_name attribute values can be accessed.
Added dwarf_language_version_data() because
dwarf_language_version_string() is not an
appropriate function name here.
The old name still exists and works.
Added dwarf_srclanglname_version() so that
the data provided in DWARF6 DW_AT_language_version
can be returned.
Fixed minor warnings from a compiler (dwarfgen) and from meson.
No change to output.
Removed heuristic checks for decompress reasonableness
as such proved to be ... unreasonable in certain real
object files..
Corrected the cmake build of shared-library
libdwarfp/CMakeLists.txt
Given an unusual object using debuglink but with
no sections with names
starting with .debug_ or _eh_frame, libdwarf would complain
about not having any DWARF sections and ignore the debuglink
data. See github issue 297 for details of the fix.
Changes 0.12.0 to 2.0.0
Released 20 May 2025.
Skipping all versions 1.x.x because before libdwarf used
Semantic Versioning gcc built libdwarf.so.1.0.0 .
Fixed a longstanding bug in configure.ac
which began to cause builds to fail with recent
autoconf.
Fixed a problem in test/CmakeLists.txt that caused
current builds to fail on Msys2 Mingw64. Had been
working for many months.
Updated the error report (for zlib, zstd) when
decompression exceeds a heuristic. Now reports
the compressed-len and the uncompressed-len.
Increased the heuristic multiple allowed from 16
to 32.
Changes 0.11.1 to 0.12.0
Released 02 April 2025
To optionally support mmap/munmap of object files
sections we read we have added a function prototype
for struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a_s function
om_load_section(). This will help when
reading multi gigiabyte object files.
And we added a function prototype for destructing
the object specific data while removing library
internal public functions.
If an application does not call any of the functions
which are new in v0.12.0 then it will work
without recompilation.
Any application calling the new functions (for
example, v0.12.0 dwarfdump) will only work with
a v0.12.0 libdwarf.
If one is calling dwarf_object_init_b()
(almost no one ever calls this function)
one is therefore instantiating
struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a_s
oneself, you will surely find that your application
will not work with libdwarf 0.12.0.
Moreover, recompilation
will fail unless you update your source to add
the two new pointers to your instantiation (typically
just add two zeros or NULLs in that struct instance).
Added new API function dwarf_machine_architecture_a() which
has an additional argument added to let dwarfdump
create an better .text (etc) address-range
for the object file being read
for improved checking (fewer incorrect
error reports) in dwarfdump -k output.
Up through December 2024 libdwarf could be
made to be very very slow (Denial of Service)
with calls with thousands of duplicate attributes
in an abbreviation list
of a specially constructed Compilation Unit.
Beginning 2025 by default that cannot happen as
the library quickly notices and returns DW_DLV_ERROR
with error details noted.
Callers should check the return value and act
appropriately, as always, when calling the library.
In case one has (and cannot fix) object files with
duplicated attributes one can call a new API function:
dwarf_library_allow_dup_attr().
The library defaults to false (0) meaning the checks are done in
libdwarf by default. Pass non-zero value
to allow duplicate attributes in a Debugging Information
Entry through to callers.
Added the ability to select, at runtime, whether libdwarf
will use malloc to load section content
from an object file being read (previously the only option)
or will use mmap instead.
If the build determines mmap
is unavailable then malloc will be used.
Added API function dwarf_set_load_preference() giving
callers the option to choose the default section load
functions. libdwarf now recognizes the environment
variable DWARF_WHICH_ALLOC to select whether the library
uses mmap or malloc/read to load object section data, and
the environment variable values 'DWARF_WHICH_ALLOC=mmap'
or 'DWARF_WHICH_ALLOC=malloc'
are the only values recognized.
A recognized environment variable overrides
dwarf_set_load_preference() values.
If the libdwarf build determines mmap is unavailable
then only malloc will be used.
Added API function dwarf_get_mmap_count() giving callers
the ability to determine what section loads were used
and the total amount of section data loaded.
Added API function dwarf_get_LANGUAGE_name() to be
able to easily get a string for DW_LNAME_Ada etc.
Added API function dwarf_language_version_string().
This returns information defined by
DWARF 6 and useful in interpreting DWARF6
language-version strings based on
a name accessed from DW_AT_language_name attribute.
Changes 0.11.0 to 0.11.1
Corrected handling of DWARF5 .debug_rnglists and
.debug_loclists. No API change, no incompatibilities.
Changes 0.10.1 to 0.11.0
Added function dwarf_get_ranges_baseaddress()
to the api to allow dwarfdump and other library callers
to easily derive the (cooked) address from
the raw data in the DWARF2, DWARF3, DWARF4 .debug_ranges
section.
An example of use is in doc/checkexamples.c (see examplev).
Changes 0.9.2 to 0.10.1
Released 01 July 2024
(Release 0.10.0 was missing a CMakeLists.txt file
and is withdrawn).
Added API function
dwarf_get_locdesc_entry_e() to allow dwarfdump
to report some data from .debug_loclists more
completely -- it reports a byte length of each
loclist item. This is of little interest to anyone,
surely. dwarf_get_locdesc_entry_d() is still
what you should be using.
dwarf_debug_addr_table() now supports reading
the DWARF4 GNU extension .debug_addr table.
A heuristic sanity check for PE object files was too conservative
in limiting VirtualSize to 200MB. A library user has
an exe with .debug_info size of over 200MB.
Increased the limit to be 2000MB and changed the names of the
errors for the three heuristic checks to include _HEURISTIC_ so it is
easier to know the kind of error/failure it is.
When doing a shared-library build with cmake we were not emitting
the correct .so version names nor setting SONAME with the
correct version name. This long-standing mistake is now fixed.
Changes 0.9.1 to 0.9.2
Version 0.9.2 released 2 April 2024
Vulnerabilities DW202402-001, DW202402-002,DW202402-003,
and DW202403-001 could crash @e libdwarf given
a carefully corrupted (fuzzed) DWARF object file.
Now the library returns an error
for these corruptions.
DW_CFA_high_user (in dwarf.h) was a misspelling.
Added the correct spelling DW_CFA_hi_user and
a comment on the incorrect spelling.
Changes 0.9.0 to 0.9.1
Version 0.9.1 released 27 January 2024
The abbreviation code type returned by
dwarf_die_abbrev_code() changed from int
to Dwarf_Unsigned as abbrev codes are
not constrained by the DWARF Standard.
The section count returned by dwarf_get_section_count()
is now of type Dwarf_Unsigned. The previous type
of int never made sense in @e libdwarf.
Callers will, in practice, see the same value as before.
All type-warnings issued by MSVC have been fixed.
Problems reading Macho (Apple) relocatable
object files have been fixed.
Each of the build systems available now has an option
which eliminates @e libdwarf references to the
object section decompression libraries.
See the respective READMEs.
Changes 0.8.0 to 0.9.0
Version 0.9.0 released 8 December 2023
Adding functions (rarely needed) for callers
with special requirements.
Added dwarf_get_section_info_by_name_a() and
dwarf_get_section_info_by_index_a() which add
dw_section_flags pointer argument to return
the object section file flags (whose meaning
depends entirely on the object file format),
and dw_section_offset pointer argument to return
the object-relevant offset of the section
(here too the meaning depends on the object format).
Also added dwarf_machine_architecture() which returns
a few top level data items about the object
@e libdwarf has opened, including the 'machine' and 'flags'
from object headers (all supported object types).
This adds new library functions
dwarf_next_cu_header_e()
and dwarf_siblingof_c().
Used exactly as documented dwarf_next_cu_header_d()
and dwarf_siblingof_b() work fine and continue to
be supported for the forseeable future. However
it would be easy to misuse as the requirement that
dwarf_siblingof_b() be called immediately after
a successful call to dwarf_next_cu_header_d()
was never stated and that dependency was impossible
to enforce. The dependency was an API mistake
made in 1992.
So dwarf_next_cu_header_e() now returns the
compilation-unit DIE as well as header
data and dwarf_siblingof_c() is not needed
except to traverse sibling DIEs.
(the compilation-unit DIE by definition has no siblings).
Changes were required to support Mach-O (Apple)
universal binaries,
which were not readable by earlier versions of the library.
We have new library functions
dwarf_init_path_a(),
dwarf_init_path_dl_a(), and
dwarf_get_universalbinary_count().
The first two allow a caller to specify which
(numbering from zero) object file to
report on by adding a new argument dw_universalnumber.
Passing zero as the dw_universalnumber argument
is always safe.
The third lets callers retrieve the number
being used.
These new calls do not replace anything so existing
code will work fine.
Applying the previously
existing calls dwarf_init_path() dwarf_init_path_dl()
to a Mach-O universal binary works, but the library
will return data on the first (index zero)
as a default since there is no dw_universalnumber
argument possible.
For improved performance in reading Fde data
when iterating though all usable pc values
we add dwarf_get_fde_info_for_all_regs3_b(), which
returns the next pc value with actual frame data.
We retain dwarf_get_fde_info_for_all_regs3() so
existing code need not change.
Changes 0.7.0 to 0.8.0
v0.8.0 released 2023-09-20
New functions dwarf_get_fde_info_for_reg3_c(),
dwarf_get_fde_info_for_cfa_reg3_c() are defined.
The advantage of the new versions is they correctly
type the dw_offset argument return value
as Dwarf_Signed instead of the earlier and incorrect type
Dwarf_Unsigned.
The original functions dwarf_get_fde_info_for_reg3_b() and
dwarf_get_fde_info_for_cfa_reg3_b()
continue to exist and work for compatibility with
the previous release.
For all open() calls for which the O_CLOEXEC flag exists
we now add that flag to the open() call.
Vulnerabilities involving reading
corrupt object files (created by fuzzing)
have been fixed:
DW202308-001 (ossfuzz 59576),
DW202307-001 (ossfuzz 60506),
DW202306-011 (ossfuzz 59950),
DW202306-009 (ossfuzz 59755),
DW202306-006 (ossfuzz 59727),
DW202306-005 (ossfuzz 59717),
DW202306-004 (ossfuzz 59695),
DW202306-002 (ossfuzz 59519),
DW202306-001 (ossfuzz 59597).
DW202305-010 (ossfuzz 59478).
DW202305-009 (ossfuzz 56451).
DW202305-008 (ossfuzz 56451),
DW202305-007 (ossfuzz 56474),
DW202305-006 (ossfuzz 56472),
DW202305-005 (ossfuzz 56462),
DW202305-004 (ossfuzz 56446).
Changes 0.6.0 to 0.7.0
v0.7.0 released 2023-05-20
Elf section counts can exceed 16 bits
(on linux see man 5 elf)
so some function prototype members
of struct Dwarf_Obj_Access_Methods_a_s
changed.
Specifically, om_get_section_info()
om_load_section(), and
om_relocate_a_section()
now pass section indexes as Dwarf_Unsigned
instead of Dwarf_Half.
Without this change executables/objects
with more than 64K sections cannot
be read by @e libdwarf. This is unlikely
to affect your code since for most users
@e libdwarf takes care of this and dwarfdump
is aware of this change.
Two functions have been removed from libdwarf.h
and the library: dwarf_dnames_abbrev_by_code()
and dwarf_dnames_abbrev_form_by_index().
dwarf_dnames_abbrev_by_code() is slow and pointless.
Use either dwarf_dnames_name() or
dwarf_dnames_abbrevtable() instead, depending
on what you want to accomplish.
dwarf_dnames_abbrev_form_by_index() is not needed,
was difficult to call due to argument list
requirements, and never worked.
Changes 0.5.0 to 0.6.0
v0.6.0 released 2023-02-20
The dealloc required by dwarf_offset_list()
was wrong. The call could crash @e libdwarf
on systems with 32bit pointers.
The new and proper dealloc (for all
pointer sizes) is
dwarf_dealloc(dbg,offsetlistptr,DW_DLA_UARRAY);
A memory leak from dwarf_load_loclists()
and dwarf_load_rnglists() is fixed and the
libdwarf-regressiontests error that hid the leak
has also been fixed.
A compatibility change affects callers of
dwarf_dietype_offset(), which on success returns
the offset of the target of the DW_AT_type attribute
(if such exists in the Dwarf_Die). Added a pointer
argument so the function can (when
appropriate) return a FALSE argument
indicating the offset refers to DWARF4 .debug_types
section, rather than TRUE value when .debug_info
is the section the offset refers to.
If anyone was using this function it would fail
badly (while pretending success)
with a DWARF4 DW_FORM_ref_sig8 on a DW_AT_type
attribute from the Dwarf_Die argument. One will likely
encounter DWARF4 content so a single correct function
seemed necessary. New regression tests will ensure
this will continue to work.
A compatibility change affects callers of
dwarf_get_pubtypes(). If an application reads
.debug_pubtypes there is a compatibility
break. Such applications must be recompiled
with latest @e libdwarf, change Dwarf_Type
declarations to use Dwarf_Global, and can only
use the latest @e libdwarf. We are correcting a
1993 library design mistake that created extra
work and documentation for library users and
inflated the @e libdwarf API and documentation for
no good reason.
The changes are: the data type Dwarf_Type
disappears as do dwarf_pubtypename()
dwarf_pubtype_die_offset(),
dwarf_pubtype_cu_offset(),
dwarf_pubtype_name_offsets() and
dwarf_pubtypes_dealloc(). Instead the type is
Dwarf_Global, the type and functions used for
dwarf_get_globals(). The existing read/dealloc
functions for Dwarf_Global apply to pubtypes
data too.
No one should be referring to the 1990s SGI/IRIX
sections .debug_weaknames, .debug_funcnames,
.debug_varnames, or .debug_typenames as they
are not emitted by any compiler except from
SGI/IRIX/MIPS in that period. There is (revised)
support in @e libdwarf to read these sections,
but we will not mention details here.
Any use of DW_FORM_strx3 or DW_FORM_addrx3 in
DWARF would, in 0.5.0 and earlier, result in
@e libdwarf reporting erroneous data. A copy-paste
error in libdwarf/dwarf_util.c was noticed
and fixed 24 January 2023 for 0.6.0.
Bug DW202301-001.
Changes 0.4.2 to 0.5.0
v0.5.0 released 2022-11-22
The handling of the .debug_abbrev data in
@e libdwarf is now more cpu-efficient (measurably
faster) so access to DIEs and attribute lists
is faster. The changes are library-internal so
are not visible in the API.
Corrects CU and TU indexes in the .debug_names
(fast access) section to be zero-based. The code
for that section was previously unusable as it
did not follow the DWARF5 documentation.
dwarf_get_globals() now returns a list of
Dwarf_Global names and DIE offsets whether
such are defined in the .debug_names or
.debug_pubnames section or both. Previously it
only read .debug_pubnames.
A new function, dwarf_global_tag_number(),
returns the DW_TAG of any Dwarf_Global that was
derived from the .debug_names section.
Three new functions enable printing of the
.debug_addr table. dwarf_debug_addr_table(),
dwarf_debug_addr_by_index(), and
dwarf_dealloc_debug_addr_table(). Actual use of
the table(s) in .debug_addr is handled for you
when an attribute invoking such is encountered
(see DW_FORM_addrx, DW_FORM_addrx1 etc).
Added doc/libdwarf.dox to the distribution
(left out by accident earlier).
Changes 0.4.1 to 0.4.2
0.4.2 released 2022-09-13.
No API changes. No API additions. Corrected
a bug in dwarf_tsearchhash.c where a delete
request was accidentally assumed in all hash tree
searches. It was invisible to @e libdwarf uses.
Vulnerabilities DW202207-001 and DW202208-001
were fixed so error conditions when reading
fuzzed object files can no longer crash @e libdwarf
(the crash was possible but not certain before
the fixes). In this release we believe neither
@e libdwarf nor dwarfdump leak memory even when
there are malloc failures. Any GNU debuglink or
build-id section contents were not being properly
freed (if malloced, meaning a compressed section)
until 9 September 2022.
It is now possible to run the build
sanity tests in all three build mechanisms
(configure,cmake,meson) on linux, Macos, FreeBSD,
and Mingw msys2 (windows). @e libdwarf README.md
(or README) and README.cmake document how to
do builds for each supported platform and build
mechanism.
Changes 0.4.0 to 0.4.1
Reading a carefully corrupted DIE with form DW_FORM_ref_sig8
could result in reading memory outside any section, possibly
leading to a segmentation violation or other crash. Fixed.
@see https://www.prevanders.net/dwarfbug.xml DW202206-001
Reading a carefully corrupted .debug_pubnames/.debug_pubtypes
could lead to reading memory outside the section being
read, possibly leading to a segmentation violation or
other crash. Fixed.
@see https://www.prevanders.net/dwarfbug.xml DW202205-001
@e libdwarf accepts DW_AT_entry_pc in a compilation unit
DIE as a base address for location lists (though it will
prefer DW_AT_low_pc if present, per DWARF3). A particular
compiler emits DW_AT_entry_pc in a DWARF2 object,
requiring this change.
@e libdwarf adds dwarf_suppress_debuglink_crc() so that
library callers can suppress crc calculations.
(useful to save the time of crc when building and testing
the same thing(s) over and over; it just loses a little
checking.) Additionally, @e libdwarf now properly handles
objects with only GNU debug-id or only GNU debuglink.
dwarfdump adds \--show-args, an option to print its
arguments and version.
Without that new option the version and arguments are not
shown. The output of \-v (\--version) is a little more complete.
dwarfdump adds \--suppress-debuglink-crc, an option to avoid
crc calculations when rebuilding and rerunning tests
depending on GNU .note.gnu.buildid or .gnu_debuglink
sections. The help text and the dwarfdump.1 man page
are more specific documenting \--suppress-debuglink-crc
and \--no-follow-debuglink
Changes 0.3.4 to 0.4.0
Removed the unused Dwarf_Error argument from
dwarf_return_empty_pubnames() as the function can only
return DW_DLV_OK.
dwarf_xu_header_free() renamed to dwarf_dealloc_xu_header().
dwarf_gdbindex_free() renamed to dwarf_dealloc_gdbindex().
dwarf_loc_head_c_dealloc renamed to dwarf_dealloc_loc_head_c().
dwarf_get_location_op_value_d() renamed to
dwarf_get_location_op_value_c(), and 3 pointless
arguments removed. The dwarf_get_location_op_value_d
version and the three arguments were added for DWARF5
in libdwarf-20210528 but the change was a mistake.
Now reverted to the previous version.
The .debug_names section interfaces have changed.
Added dwarf_dnames_offsets() to provide details
of facts useful in problems reading the section.
dwarf_dnames_name() now does work and the interface
was changed to make it easier to use.
Changes 0.3.3 to 0.3.4
Replaced the groff -mm based libdwarf.pdf
with a libdwarf.pdf
generated by doxygen and latex.
Added support for the meson build system.
Updated an include in libdwarfp source files.
Improved doxygen documentation of @e libdwarf.
Now 'make check -j8' and the like works correctly.
Fixed a bug where reading a PE (Windows)
object could fail for certain section
virtual size values.
Added initializers to two uninitialized
local variables in dwarfdump source so a compiler
warning cannot not kill a --enable-wall build.
Added src/bin/dwarfexample/showsectiongroups.c so
it is easy to see what groups are present in an
object without all the other dwarfdump output.
Changes 20210528 to 0.3.3 (28 January 2022)
There were major revisions in going from date versioning
to Semantic Versioning. Many functions were deleted and
various functions changed their list of arguments.
Many many filenames changed. Include lists were
simplified. Far too much changed to list here.
*/