# Memory Forensics > Comprehensive techniques for acquiring, analyzing, and extracting artifacts from memory dumps for incident response and malware analysis. - Skill: `ranbot-ai/memory-forensics` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add ranbot-ai/memory-forensics` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ranbot-ai/memory-forensics/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: ranbot-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/ranbot-ai) - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ranbot-ai/memory-forensics --- # Memory Forensics 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 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 # 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 --dump # Process environment variables vol -f memory.raw windows.envars --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 # 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 ``` #### 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 # 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 # 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 vol -f memory.raw windows.handles --pid # 5. Dump suspicious executables vol -f memory.raw windows.pslist --pid --dump # 6. Extract strings from dumps strings -a pid..exe > strings.txt # 7. YARA scanning vol -f memory.raw windows.yarascan --yara-rules malware.yar ``` ### Incident Response Workf