pwndbg/pwndbg

heap tracker: display object type or a symbol from backtrace?

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#3,092 opened on Jun 7, 2025

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 (2 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Python (5,820 stars) (776 forks)batch import
featuregood first issueheaphelp wanted

Description

Currently the track-heap enable shows us only that a malloc/calloc/free etc. happened and which size/address it was passed or returned, but it would be awesome to show where in the program the allocation or deallocation happened - or - for what kind of object.

This would need to be smart somehow so it is useful, as we probably don't want to display the whole backtrace for each malloc/calloc/free etc. but just one symbol - like "SomeObject::SomeMethod".

This could also work e.g. only if sources are available or maybe the user should pass some regex for the backtrace and we should only show a symbol that matches?

Contributor guide

Tech stack
python
Domain
toolingdeveloper experience
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
3-5 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
PythonGDB scriptingpwndbg internalsheap memory management
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
The implementation should examine the existing heap tracking code, likely in pwndbg/commands/heap.py, to understand how malloc/calloc/free hooks work. Then, using GDB's backtrace API, retrieve the top frame symbol. Consider allowing users to pass a regex filter for the backtrace to limit output. The feature should be optional to avoid performance overhead.