Provided by: bpfcc-tools_0.5.0-5ubuntu1_all bug

NAME

       execsnoop - Trace new processes via exec() syscalls. Uses Linux eBPF/bcc.

SYNOPSIS

       execsnoop [-h] [-t] [-x] [-n NAME] [-l LINE]

DESCRIPTION

       execsnoop traces new processes, showing the filename executed and argument list.

       It  works by traces the execve() system call (commonly used exec() variant).  This catches
       new processes that follow the fork->exec sequence, as well  as  processes  that  re-exec()
       themselves.  Some  applications  fork() but do not exec(), eg, for worker processes, which
       won't be included in the execsnoop output.

       This works by tracing the kernel sys_execve() function using  dynamic  tracing,  and  will
       need updating to match any changes to this function.

       Since this uses BPF, only the root user can use this tool.

REQUIREMENTS

       CONFIG_BPF and bcc.

OPTIONS

       -h     Print usage message.

       -t     Include a timestamp column.

       -x     Include failed exec()s

       -n NAME
              Only print command lines matching this name (regex)

       -l LINE
              Only print commands where arg contains this line (regex)

       --max-args MAXARGS
              Maximum number of arguments parsed and displayed, defaults to 20

EXAMPLES

       Trace all exec() syscalls:
              # execsnoop

       Trace all exec() syscalls, and include timestamps:
              # execsnoop -t

       Include failed exec()s:
              # execsnoop -x

       Only trace exec()s where the filename contains "mount":
              # execsnoop -n mount

       Only trace exec()s where argument's line contains "testpkg":
              # execsnoop -l testpkg

FIELDS

       TIME(s)
              Time of exec() return, in seconds.

       PCOMM  Parent process/command name.

       PID    Process ID

       RET    Return  value  of  exec(). 0 == successs. Failures are only shown when using the -x
              option.

       ARGS   Filename for the exec(), followed be up to 19 arguments. An ellipsis "..." is shown
              if the argument list is known to be truncated.

OVERHEAD

       This  traces  the  kernel execve function and prints output for each event. As the rate of
       this is generally expected to be low (< 1000/s), the  overhead  is  also  expected  to  be
       negligible.  If  you have an application that is calling a high rate of exec()s, then test
       and understand overhead before use.

SOURCE

       This is from bcc.

              https://github.com/iovisor/bcc

       Also look in the bcc distribution for a companion _examples.txt  file  containing  example
       usage, output, and commentary for this tool.

OS

       Linux

STABILITY

       Unstable - in development.

AUTHOR

       Brendan Gregg

SEE ALSO

       opensnoop(1)