iovisor / iovisor/bcc

libbpf-tools/trace_helper: Add feature to symbolize stripped ELF binary if it contains `.gnu_debuglink` section

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#4,849 2 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Dominant language
C
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

I fixed `trace_helper` symbol search bug and it is merged yesterday(https://github.com/iovisor/bcc/pull/4158). So `libbpf-tools` based tool may suffer to printing `null` on there backtrace, if the backtracing target `elf` binary file is stripped. Stripped binary cannot be symbolized since there is no symbol. But it could be symbolized if the stripped binary has `.gnu_debuglink` section.

So I suggest to add new feature on `libbpf-tools/trace_helper` to symbolize stripped `ELF` binary if it has `.gnu_debuglink` section.

Contributor guide

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Research direction

Start by reading libbpf-tools/trace_helper and the merged trace_helper symbol-search fix referenced in the issue. Trace how stripped ELF binaries currently produce null backtraces, then investigate using the .gnu_debuglink section to locate symbols. Done means libbpf-tools can symbolize an eligible stripped binary instead of printing null.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c, linux
Domain
observability-sre, operating-systems, tooling
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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