radareorg/radare2

Symbols in /usr/lib/debug aren't automatically loaded

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#8666 opened on Oct 9, 2017

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RBindebug-infogood first issuehigh-priority

Description

See https://github.com/radare/radare2/issues/4888 for context.

Several linux systems split debug symbols from executables and installs them under /usr/lib/debug/ e.g. /usr/path/to/bin/cmd has symbols at /usr/lib/debug/usr/path/to/bin/cmd. radare2 1.6.0 doesn't appear to load these symbols. The symbols for calls are missing, attemping to seek, s, to a function fails, etc. On the other hand, gdb automatically loads the symbols from these files.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
c
Domain
clisecurity
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.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Understanding of ELF binary formatFamiliarity with radare2's source codeKnowledge of Linux debug symbol paths
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
30
Research direction
Examine the issue #4888 referenced in the description for prior context. Review radare2's symbol loading code, likely in libr/bin or libr/core, to understand how debug symbols are currently searched. Compare with gdb's behavior to determine the expected file path pattern. Implement a function to automatically search for debug symbols in /usr/lib/debug/ based on the executable's path. Test with a Linux system that has split debug symbols.