--- name: memory-forensics description: "Comprehensive techniques for acquiring, analyzing, and extracting artifacts from memory dumps for incident response and malware analysis." risk: unknown source: community date_added: "2026-02-27" --- # Memory Forensics Comprehensive techniques for acquiring, analyzing, and extracting artifacts from memory dumps for incident response and malware analysis. ## Use this skill when - Working on memory forensics tasks or workflows - Needing guidance, best practices, or checklists for memory forensics ## Do not use this skill when - The task is unrelated to memory forensics - You need a different domain or tool outside this scope ## Instructions - Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs. - Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes. - Provide actionable steps and verification. - If detailed examples are required, open `resources/implementation-playbook.md`. ## Memory Acquisition ### Live Acquisition Tools #### Windows ```powershell # WinPmem (Recommended) winpmem_mini_x64.exe memory.raw # DumpIt DumpIt.exe # Belkasoft RAM Capturer # GUI-based, outputs raw format # Magnet RAM Capture # GUI-based, outputs raw format ``` #### Linux ```bash # LiME (Linux Memory Extractor) sudo insmod lime.ko "path=/tmp/memory.lime format=lime" # /dev/mem (limited, requires permissions) sudo dd if=/dev/mem of=memory.raw bs=1M # /proc/kcore (ELF format) sudo cp /proc/kcore memory.elf ``` #### macOS ```bash # osxpmem sudo ./osxpmem -o memory.raw # MacQuisition (commercial) ``` ### Virtual Machine Memory ```bash # VMware: .vmem file is raw memory cp vm.vmem memory.raw # VirtualBox: Use debug console vboxmanage debugvm "VMName" dumpvmcore --filename memory.elf # QEMU virsh dump memory.raw --memory-only # Hyper-V # Checkpoint contains memory state ``` ## Volatility 3 Framework ### Installation and Setup ```bash # Install Volatility 3 pip install volatility3 # Install symbol tables (Windows) # Download from https://downloads.volatilityfoundation.org/volatility3/symbols/ # Basic usage vol -f memory.raw # With symbol path vol -f memory.raw -s /path/to/symbols windows.pslist ``` ### Essential Plugins #### Process Analysis ```bash # List processes vol -f memory.raw windows.pslist # Process tree (parent-child relationships) vol -f memory.raw windows.pstree # Hidden process detection vol -f memory.raw windows.psscan # Process memory dumps vol -f memory.raw windows.memmap --pid --dump # Process environment variables vol -f memory.raw windows.envars --pid # Command line arguments vol -f memory.raw windows.cmdline ``` #### Network Analysis ```bash # Network connections vol -f memory.raw windows.netscan # Network connection state vol -f memory.raw windows.netstat ``` #### DLL and Module Analysis ```bash # Loaded DLLs per process vol -f memory.raw windows.dlllist --pid # Find hidden/injected DLLs vol -f memory.raw windows.ldrmodules # Kernel modules vol -f memory.raw windows.modules # Module dumps vol -f memory.raw windows.moddump --pid ``` #### Memory Injection Detection ```bash # Detect code injection vol -f memory.raw windows.malfind # VAD (Virtual Address Descriptor) analysis vol -f memory.raw windows.vadinfo --pid # Dump suspicious memory regions vol -f memory.raw windows.vadyarascan --yara-rules rules.yar ``` #### Registry Analysis ```bash # List registry hives vol -f memory.raw windows.registry.hivelist # Print registry key vol -f memory.raw windows.registry.printkey --key "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" # Dump registry hive vol -f memory.raw windows.registry.hivescan --dump ``` #### File System Artifacts ```bash # Scan for file objects vol -f memory.raw windows.filescan # Dump files from memory vol -f memory.raw windows.dumpfiles --pid # MFT analysis vol -f memory.raw windows.mftscan ``` ### Linux Analysis ```bash # Process listing vol -f memory.raw linux.pslist # Process tree vol -f memory.raw linux.pstree # Bash history vol -f memory.raw linux.bash # Network connections vol -f memory.raw linux.sockstat # Loaded kernel modules vol -f memory.raw linux.lsmod # Mount points vol -f memory.raw linux.mount # Environment variables vol -f memory.raw linux.envars ``` ### macOS Analysis ```bash # Process listing vol -f memory.raw mac.pslist # Process tree vol -f memory.raw mac.pstree # Network connections vol -f memory.raw mac.netstat # Kernel extensions vol -f memory.raw mac.lsmod ``` ## Analysis Workflows ### Malware Analysis Workflow ```bash # 1. Initial process survey vol -f memory.raw windows.pstree > processes.txt vol -f memory.raw windows.pslist > pslist.txt # 2. Network connections vol -f memory.raw windows.netscan > network.txt # 3. Detect injection vol -f memory.raw windows.malfind > malfind.txt # 4. Analyze suspicious processes vol -f memory.raw windows.dlllist --pid vol -f memory.raw windows.handles --pid # 5. Dump suspicious executables vol -f memory.raw windows.pslist --pid --dump # 6. Extract strings from dumps strings -a pid..exe > strings.txt # 7. YARA scanning vol -f memory.raw windows.yarascan --yara-rules malware.yar ``` ### Incident Response Workflow ```bash # 1. Timeline of events vol -f memory.raw windows.timeliner > timeline.csv # 2. User activity vol -f memory.raw windows.cmdline vol -f memory.raw windows.consoles # 3. Persistence mechanisms vol -f memory.raw windows.registry.printkey \ --key "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" # 4. Services vol -f memory.raw windows.svcscan # 5. Scheduled tasks vol -f memory.raw windows.scheduled_tasks # 6. Recent files vol -f memory.raw windows.filescan | grep -i "recent" ``` ## Data Structures ### Windows Process Structures ```c // EPROCESS (Executive Process) typedef struct _EPROCESS { KPROCESS Pcb; // Kernel process block EX_PUSH_LOCK ProcessLock; LARGE_INTEGER CreateTime; LARGE_INTEGER ExitTime; // ... LIST_ENTRY ActiveProcessLinks; // Doubly-linked list ULONG_PTR UniqueProcessId; // PID // ... PEB* Peb; // Process Environment Block // ... } EPROCESS; // PEB (Process Environment Block) typedef struct _PEB { BOOLEAN InheritedAddressSpace; BOOLEAN ReadImageFileExecOptions; BOOLEAN BeingDebugged; // Anti-debug check // ... PVOID ImageBaseAddress; // Base address of executable PPEB_LDR_DATA Ldr; // Loader data (DLL list) PRTL_USER_PROCESS_PARAMETERS ProcessParameters; // ... } PEB; ``` ### VAD (Virtual Address Descriptor) ```c typedef struct _MMVAD { MMVAD_SHORT Core; union { ULONG LongFlags; MMVAD_FLAGS VadFlags; } u; // ... PVOID FirstPrototypePte; PVOID LastContiguousPte; // ... PFILE_OBJECT FileObject; } MMVAD; // Memory protection flags #define PAGE_EXECUTE 0x10 #define PAGE_EXECUTE_READ 0x20 #define PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE 0x40 #define PAGE_EXECUTE_WRITECOPY 0x80 ``` ## Detection Patterns ### Process Injection Indicators ```python # Malfind indicators # - PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE protection (suspicious) # - MZ header in non-image VAD region # - Shellcode patterns at allocation start # Common injection techniques # 1. Classic DLL Injection # - VirtualAllocEx + WriteProcessMemory + CreateRemoteThread # 2. Process Hollowing # - CreateProcess (SUSPENDED) + NtUnmapViewOfSection + WriteProcessMemory # 3. APC Injection # - QueueUserAPC targeting alertable threads # 4. Thread Execution Hijacking # - SuspendThread + SetThreadContext + ResumeThread ``` ### Rootkit Detection ```bash # Compare process lists vol -f memory.raw windows.pslist > pslist.txt vol -f memory.raw windows.psscan > psscan.txt diff pslist.txt psscan.txt # Hidden processes # Check for DKOM (Direct Kernel Object Manipulation) vol -f memory.raw windows.callbacks # Detect hooked functions vol -f memory.raw windows.ssdt # System Service Descriptor Table # Driver analysis vol -f memory.raw windows.driverscan vol -f memory.raw windows.driverirp ``` ### Credential Extraction ```bash # Dump hashes (requires hivelist first) vol -f memory.raw windows.hashdump # LSA secrets vol -f memory.raw windows.lsadump # Cached domain credentials vol -f memory.raw windows.cachedump # Mimikatz-style extraction # Requires specific plugins/tools ``` ## YARA Integration ### Writing Memory YARA Rules ```yara rule Suspicious_Injection { meta: description = "Detects common injection shellcode" strings: // Common shellcode patterns $mz = { 4D 5A } $shellcode1 = { 55 8B EC 83 EC } // Function prologue $api_hash = { 68 ?? ?? ?? ?? 68 ?? ?? ?? ?? E8 } // Push hash, call condition: $mz at 0 or any of ($shellcode*) } rule Cobalt_Strike_Beacon { meta: description = "Detects Cobalt Strike beacon in memory" strings: $config = { 00 01 00 01 00 02 } $sleep = "sleeptime" $beacon = "%s (admin)" wide condition: 2 of them } ``` ### Scanning Memory ```bash # Scan all process memory vol -f memory.raw windows.yarascan --yara-rules rules.yar # Scan specific process vol -f memory.raw windows.yarascan --yara-rules rules.yar --pid 1234 # Scan kernel memory vol -f memory.raw windows.yarascan --yara-rules rules.yar --kernel ``` ## String Analysis ### Extracting Strings ```bash # Basic string extraction strings -a memory.raw > all_strings.txt # Unicode strings strings -el memory.raw >> all_strings.txt # Targeted extraction from process dump vol -f memory.raw windows.memmap --pid 1234 --dump strings -a pid.1234.dmp > process_strings.txt # Pattern matching grep -E "(https?://|[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3})" all_strings.txt ``` ### FLOSS for Obfuscated Strings ```bash # FLOSS extracts obfuscated strings floss malware.exe > floss_output.txt # From memory dump floss pid.1234.dmp ``` ## Best Practices ### Acquisition Best Practices 1. **Minimize footprint**: Use lightweight acquisition tools 2. **Document everything**: Record time, tool, and hash of capture 3. **Verify integrity**: Hash memory dump immediately after capture 4. **Chain of custody**: Maintain proper forensic handling ### Analysis Best Practices 1. **Start broad**: Get overview before deep diving 2. **Cross-reference**: Use multiple plugins for same data 3. **Timeline correlation**: Correlate memory findings with disk/network 4. **Document findings**: Keep detailed notes and screenshots 5. **Validate results**: Verify findings through multiple methods ### Common Pitfalls - **Stale data**: Memory is volatile, analyze promptly - **Incomplete dumps**: Verify dump size matches expected RAM - **Symbol issues**: Ensure correct symbol files for OS version - **Smear**: Memory may change during acquisition - **Encryption**: Some data may be encrypted in memory ## Limitations - Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above. - Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review. - Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.