https://nalar.dev/tags/ptrace/ Recent content in Ptrace on Nalar Hugo en-us Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://nalar.dev/pr-set-dumpable-changes-linux-process-inspection-boundaries/ Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://nalar.dev/pr-set-dumpable-changes-linux-process-inspection-boundaries/ <p>A service receives credentials into process memory, drops privileges, and continues running under an ordinary account. Another same-account process may still be able to inspect it through interfaces intended for debugging. Linux places an additional process attribute, commonly called <code>dumpable</code>, into several of these access decisions.</p> <p><code>prctl(PR_SET_DUMPABLE, 0)</code> marks the calling process non-dumpable. The effect is broader than suppressing a core file: Linux also incorporates dumpable state into ptrace access checks and changes ownership behavior for files under <code>/proc/&lt;pid&gt;</code>. These effects form related boundaries, but they are not a single universal ban on process observation.</p>