getpid¶

Intro¶

getpid - get process identification

Description¶

getpid() calls the kernel API which returns the identification (ID) of the calling process. The ID returned is the Process ID (PID) which is a unique value that identifies each process within the system.

This API is often used when a process needs to obtain its own pid for use within other API calls, such as getppid(), for example. While getting the PID for a process is relatively easy, some difficulties arise when the call needs to work across processes. This is where some synchronization is needed between processes to ensure that the correct PID value is returned.

The getpid() API is usually found in the child process section of Linux, as it is one of the very few ways of obtaining the parent's PID from a child process. There are also other uses of getpid(), such as when checking whether or not a particular process is running, or when sending signals or associated information to a process that is running.

Arguments¶

There are no arguments for the getpid() API.

Hooks¶

SysCallTable¶

Type¶

Kprobes

Purpose¶

To prevent malicious processes from replacing the getpid() system call entry point with a malicious one, this function is hooked to verify that the system call operation is performed correctly.

Example Use Case¶

The getpid() system call can be used in any process to obtain the identifier (PID) of that process. It is a commonly used API for getting the parent process's PID from its child process. For example, a child process can use getpid() to obtain its own PID, and then use that to obtain the PID of its parent process using the getppid() API call.

This system call can also be used to verify that a process is running, by obtaining its PID from the system and using this to check if it is running. In addition, it can also be used for sending signals and associated data to a running process.

Issues¶

None

getppid() - get parent process identification

This document was automatically generated by OpenAI and needs review. It might not be accurate and might contain errors. The authors of Tracee recommend that the user reads the "events.go" source file to understand the events and their arguments better.