Qubes-Community-Content/docs/security/forensics.md

# Forensics

Sometimes it may be necessary to forensically investigate a Qubes OS VM. This guide describes how this can be accomplished. It is intended for advanced users.

For forensics of Qubes OS `dom0` please refer to any standard Linux forensics guide.

## Disk Forensics

You can [mount disks of all VMs to another investigation VM](https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/mount-lvm-image/) in both r/w and r/o fashion and use your favorite forensic analysis tools.

Users of non-LVM [storage pools](https://dev.qubes-os.org/projects/core-admin-client/en/latest/manpages/qvm-pool.html) may refer to [this code](https://github.com/3hhh/blib/blob/bd993049f8ff6ba9507af06ab388c89f8fb86113/lib/os/qubes4/dom0#L1114).

## Memory Forensics

The following guide uses [volatility3](https://github.com/volatilityfoundation/volatility3) for memory forensics on a previously created memory dump.
Other tools may work as well.

The VM under analysis is called `vm`. The VM where the memory dump is analyzed is called `analysis-vm`.

### (dom0) Use template VM kernels

Since Qubes OS currently does [not provide kernel debug symbols](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/7831) for its default kernels, you will have to switch to VM template kernels at least for the VM under analysis _and_ the analysis VM. Without this step, the analysis tool (here [volatility3](https://github.com/volatilityfoundation/volatility3)) will be unable to interpret the memory dump.

Please follow [the official guide on how to use a kernel installed inside a VM](https://www.qubes-os.org/doc/managing-vm-kernels/#using-kernel-installed-in-the-vm). The required package for `pvh` VMs is called `grub2-xen-pvh`.

### (dom0) Pause the VM under analysis

```
qvm-pause vm
```

You can later unpause it via `qvm-unpause vm`. Skipping this step may cause memory smear and render the memory dump useless.

### (dom0) Dump the memory

```
virsh -c xen:// dump vm vm.dump --live
sudo chown [user]:[user] vm.dump
```

### (dom0) Create the analysis-vm

```
qvm-clone --class StandaloneVM debian-11 analysis-vm
qvm-prefs analysis-vm label red
qvm-prefs analysis-vm netvm sys-firewall
qubes-vm-settings analysis-vm (make sure you have at least 7 GB free system storage and enough private storage to fit your memory dump)
qvm-copy-to-vm analysis-vm vm.dump
```

### (analysis-vm) Install [volatility3](https://github.com/volatilityfoundation/volatility3/releases)

Follow the install instructions inside the `REAMDE.md`.

As of 2023 the volatility3 support for Xen memory dumps [is limited](https://github.com/volatilityfoundation/volatility3/issues/896). Your mileage may vary.

### (analysis-vm) Create a volatility binary for convenience

```
sudo su
echo '#!/bin/bash'$'\n''python3 "[path to vol.py]/vol.py" "$@"' > /usr/bin/volatility
chmod +x /usr/bin/volatility
exit
```

### (analysis-vm) Build and install [dwarf2json](https://github.com/volatilityfoundation/dwarf2json)

You may have to install golang first (debian: `sudo apt install golang`).

```
cd ~
git clone 'https://github.com/volatilityfoundation/dwarf2json'
cd dwarf2json
go build
```

### (analysis-vm) Generate the [symbol tables](https://volatility3.readthedocs.io/en/latest/symbol-tables.html) for volatility3

On debian use `sudo apt install linux-image-amd64-dbg` to install the version matching the kernel version of the VM under analysis.

Afterwards generate the symbol table lookups for volatility3 via `dwarf2json`:
```
./dwarf2json linux --elf /usr/lib/debug/boot/vmlinux-[kernel version]-amd64 --system-map /usr/lib/debug/boot/System.map-[kernel version]-amd64 > [volatility path]/volatility3/symbols/[kernel version]-amd64.json
```

### (analysis-vm) Analyze the memory dump

```
cd ~
mv ~/QubesIncoming/dom0/vm.dump ~
volatility isfinfo (should show the symbol file)
volatility -f vm.dump banner
volatility -f vm.dump linux.pslist
```