Vector35 / Vector35/debugger

Cannot detach from the kernel debugging and keep the guest system running

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bug DbgEng Adapter functionality Impact: Medium kernel debugging
Dominant language
C++
Stars
331
Forks
33
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Right now, when we detach/quit from a kernel debugging session, it always cause the guest system to enter into a paused state. However, if I use WinDbg to connect to the guest, I can decide if I wish to keep the system running after I detach from it. That is, if I pause the system before I detach, the system will remain paused. If I do not pause it before detaching from it, the system will remain in the running state.

I believe after we detach from it and the guest is paused, it is still in a sane state. Since, if I re-connect to its kernel, I can debug it just fine. This seems to suggest that we are simply doing an extra pause before we detach from the kernel debugging session, but preliminary investigation shows that trying to detach from the kernel debugging session while the target is running leads to a no-operation. So I am not sure how I can detach from the kernel debugging without first pausing it at all.

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Research direction

Reproduce detaching from kernel debugging while the guest is running and while it is paused, then trace the debugger's detach and guest-state handling. Done means detaching preserves the guest's pre-detach running or paused state, while still allowing a later kernel-debugging reconnection.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
devtools, operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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