Debugging with gdbserver

gdbserver is a GDB stub implemented as a separate program. It runs a program to be debugged or attaches to a process and then waits for commands. The remote GDB debugger module has been tested with gdbserver available with Cygwin and Linux.

To debug a specific program from the start, run the following command:

    gdbserver localhost:23946 <program>

and then choose Debugger → Attach → <process running on target> in IDA.

To debug a running process:

    gdbserver --multi localhost:23947

then choose Debugger → Attach → <enter PID to attach> in IDA and enter the PID of the process to attach to.

Another method of debugging a running process is:

    gdbserver localhost:23947 --attach <PID>

then choose Debugger → Attach → <process running on target> in IDA.

To start a program from inside IDA, first launch the debugger server:

    gdbserver --multi localhost:23947

Then use Debugger → Start process or Debugger → Run in IDA.

The --multi option is only available in GDB 6.8 or higher.