Devices ksyms(7D)
NAME
ksyms - kernel symbols
SYNOPSIS
/dev/ksyms
DESCRIPTION
The file /dev/ksyms is a character special file that allows
read-only access to an ELF format image containing two sec-
tions: a symbol table and a corresponding string table. The
contents of the symbol table reflect the symbol state of the
currently running kernel. You can determine the size of the
image with the fstat() system call. The recommended method
for accessing the /dev/ksyms file is by using the ELF
access library. See elf(3ELF) for details. If you are not
familiar with ELF format, see a.out(4).
/dev/ksyms is an executable for the processor on which you
are accessing it. It contains ELF program headers which
describe the text and data segment(s) in kernel memory.
Since /dev/ksyms has no text or data, the fields specific
to file attributes are initialized to NUL. The remaining
fields describe the text or data segment(s) in kernel
memory.
Symbol table The SYMTAB section contains the symbol
table entries present in the currently run-
ning kernel. This section is ordered as
defined by the ELF definition with locally-
defined symbols first, followed by
globally-defined symbols. Within symbol
type, the symbols are ordered by kernel
module load time. For example, the kernel
file symbols are first, followed by the
first module's symbols, and so on, ending
with the symbols from the last module
loaded.
The section header index (stshndx) field of
each symbol entry in the symbol table is set
to SHNABS, because any necessary symbol
relocations are performed by the kernel link
editor at module load time.
String table The STRTAB section contains the symbol name
strings that the symbol table entries refer-
ence.
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Devices ksyms(7D)
SEE ALSO
kernel(1M), stat(2), elf(3ELF), kvmopen(3KVM), a.out(4),
mem(7D)
WARNINGS
The kernel is dynamically configured. It loads kernel
modules when necessary. Because of this aspect of the sys-
tem, the symbol information present in the running system
can vary from time to time, as kernel modules are loaded and
unloaded.
When you open the /dev/ksyms file, you have access to an
ELF image which represents a snapshot of the state of the
kernel symbol information at that instant in time. While the
/dev/ksyms file remains open, kernel module autounloading is
disabled, so that you are protected from the possibility of
acquiring stale symbol data. Note that new modules can
still be loaded, however. If kernel modules are loaded while
you have the /dev/ksyms file open, the snapshot held by you
will not be updated. In order to have access to the symbol
information of the newly loaded modules, you must first
close and then reopen the /dev/ksyms file. Be aware that
the size of the /dev/ksyms file will have changed. You will
need to use the fstat() function (see stat(2)) to determine
the new size of the file.
Avoid keeping the /dev/ksyms file open for extended periods
of time, either by using kvmopen(3KVM) of the default
namelist file or with a direct open. There are two reasons
why you should not hold /dev/ksyms open. First, the
system's ability to dynamically configure itself is par-
tially disabled by the locking down of loaded modules.
Second, the snapshot of symbol information held by you will
not reflect the symbol information of modules loaded after
your initial open of /dev/ksyms.
Note that the ksyms driver is a loadable module, and that
the kernel driver modules are only loaded during an open
system call. Thus it is possible to run stat(2) on the
/dev/ksyms file without causing the ksyms driver to be
loaded. In this case, the file size returned is
UNKNOWNSIZE. A solution for this behavior is to first open
the /dev/ksyms file, causing the ksyms driver to be loaded
(if necessary). You can then use the file descriptor from
this open in a fstat() system call to get the file's size.
NOTES
The kernel virtual memory access library (libkvm) routines
use /dev/ksyms as the default namelist file. See
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Devices ksyms(7D)
kvmopen(3KVM) for details.
SunOS 5.11 Last change: 11 Dec 2000 3
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