How to modify memory contents using GDB?

Question

I know that we can use several commands to access and read memory: for example, print, p, x...

But how can I change the contents of memory at any specific location (while debugging in GDB)?

Thanks for any info.

Answer 1

The easiest is setting a program variable (see GDB: assignment):

(gdb) l
6       {
7           int i;
8           struct file *f, *ftmp;
9
(gdb) set variable i = 10
(gdb) p i
$1 = 10

Then you can just update arbitrary (writable) location by address:

(gdb) set {int}0x83040 = 4

There's more. Read the manual.

Answer 2

As Nikolai has said you can use the gdb 'set' command to change the value of a variable.

You can also use the 'set' command to change memory locations. eg. Expanding on Nikolai's example:

(gdb) l
6       {
7           int i;
8           struct file *f, *ftmp;
9
(gdb) set variable i = 10
(gdb) p i
$1 = 10

(gdb) p &i
$2 = (int *) 0xbfbb0000
(gdb) set *((int *) 0xbfbb0000) = 20
(gdb) p i
$3 = 20

This should work for any valid pointer, and can be cast to any appropriate data type.