Memory Forensics

Memory forensics with Volatility and related tools. Acquire RAM dumps, extract processes and DLLs, investigate rootkits and fileless malware, recover credentials from memory, and reconstruct timelines from memory images.

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 <domain> 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 <plugin>

# 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 <PID> --dump

# Process environment variables
vol -f memory.raw windows.envars --pid <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 <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 <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 <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 <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 <PID>
vol -f memory.raw windows.handles --pid <PID>

# 5. Dump suspicious executables
vol -f memory.raw windows.pslist --pid <PID> --dump

# 6. Extract strings from dumps
strings -a pid.<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