System Error Code 0x32 when trying to attach debugger to calc.exe

I am currently learning how debuggers function and I am trying to program one myself following the book 'Gray Hat Python' by Justin Seitz. I am quite new to python and using the Windows API so any help is appreciated.

I am using python 2.7 and Windows 10 64bit (in German if that makes a difference) and therein might lie the problem because the book was written for 32bit systems and python 2.5.

When I try to run the debugger using:

debugger = my_debugger.debugger()
debugger.load("C:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\calc.exe")

I get the following error message

[*] Error: 0x00000002

indicating that kernel32.CreateProcessA returned 'False' and the file calc.exe was not found. I tried using a different path but that did not work either.

So I tried a different approach attaching the debugger to an already running calculator process using the process ID

debugger = my_debugger.debugger()
pid = raw_input("Enter the PID of the process to attach to: ")
debugger.attach(int(pid))
debugger.detach()

which yielded another error message

[*] Unable to attach to the process
[*] Error: 0x00000032

which confused me even more.

I tried googling the problem and found another stackoverflow thread and I tried their solutions, but to no avail. Python: kernel32.CreateProcessA() What is it doing?

The debugger contains the following code:

from ctypes import *
from my_debugger_defines import *

kernel32 = windll.kernel32

class debugger():

    def __init__(self):
        self.h_process = None
        self.pid = None
        self.debugger_active = False

    def load(self,path_to_exe):

        # dwCreation flag determines how to create the process
        # set creation_flags = CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE if you want
        # to see the calculator GUI
        creation_flags = DEBUG_PROCESS

        # instantiate the structs
        startupinfo = STARTUPINFO()
        process_information = PROCESS_INFORMATION()

        # The following two options allow the started process
        # to be shown as a separate window. This also illustrates
        # how different settings in the STARTUPINFO struct can affect
        # the debuggee.
        startupinfo.dwFlags = 0x1
        startupinfo.wShowWindow = 0x0

        # We then initialize the cb variable in the STARTUPINFO struct
        # which is just the size of the struct itself
        startupinfo.cb = sizeof(startupinfo)
        if kernel32.CreateProcessA(path_to_exe,
                                    None,
                                    None,
                                    None,
                                    None,
                                    creation_flags,
                                    None,
                                    None,
                                    byref(startupinfo),
                                    byref(process_information)):
            print "[*] We have successfully launched the process!"
            print "[*] PID: %d" % process_information.dwProcessId

            # Obtain a valid handle to the newly created process
            # and store it for future access
            self.h_process = self.open_process(process_information.dwProcessId)

        else:
            print "[*] Error: 0x%08x." % kernel32.GetLastError()

    def open_process(self, pid):

        h_process  = kernel32.OpenProcess(PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS,False,pid)
        return h_process

    def attach(self,pid):

        self.h_process = self.open_process(pid)

        # We attempt to attach to the process
        # if this fails we exit the call

        if kernel32.DebugActiveProcess(pid):

            self.debugger_active = True
            self.pid = int(pid)

        else:
            print "[*] Unable to attach to the process."
            print "[*] Error: 0x%08x." % kernel32.GetLastError()

    def run(self):

        # Now we have to poll the debuggee for
        # debugging events

        while self.debugger_active == True:

            self.get_debug_event()

    def get_debug_event(self):

        debug_event = DEBUG_EVENT()
        continue_status = DBG_CONTINUE

        if kernel32.WaitForDebugEvent(byref(debug_event),INFINITE):

            # We arent going to build any event handlers
            # just yet. Let's just resume the process for now.
            raw_input("Press a key to continue...")
            self.debugger_active = False
            kernel32.ContinueDebugEvent( \
                debug_event.dwProcessId, \
                debug_event.dwThreadId, \
                continue_status)

    def detach(self):

        if kernel32.DebugActiveProcessStop(self.pid):

            print("[*] Finished debugging. Exiting...")
            return True

        else:
            print ("There was an error")
            return False

my_debugger_defines.py contains structures and constants that we need.

from ctypes import *

# Let's map the Microsoft types to ctypes for clarity
BYTE      = c_ubyte
WORD      = c_ushort
DWORD     = c_ulong
LPBYTE    = POINTER(c_ubyte)
LPTSTR    = POINTER(c_char) 
HANDLE    = c_void_p
PVOID     = c_void_p
LPVOID    = c_void_p
UINT_PTR  = c_ulong
SIZE_T    = c_ulong

# Constants
DEBUG_PROCESS         = 0x00000001
CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE    = 0x00000010
PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS    = 0x001F0FFF
INFINITE              = 0xFFFFFFFF
DBG_CONTINUE          = 0x00010002


# Debug event constants
EXCEPTION_DEBUG_EVENT      =    0x1
CREATE_THREAD_DEBUG_EVENT  =    0x2
CREATE_PROCESS_DEBUG_EVENT =    0x3
EXIT_THREAD_DEBUG_EVENT    =    0x4
EXIT_PROCESS_DEBUG_EVENT   =    0x5
LOAD_DLL_DEBUG_EVENT       =    0x6
UNLOAD_DLL_DEBUG_EVENT     =    0x7
OUTPUT_DEBUG_STRING_EVENT  =    0x8
RIP_EVENT                  =    0x9

# debug exception codes.
EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION     = 0xC0000005
EXCEPTION_BREAKPOINT           = 0x80000003
EXCEPTION_GUARD_PAGE           = 0x80000001
EXCEPTION_SINGLE_STEP          = 0x80000004


# Thread constants for CreateToolhelp32Snapshot()
TH32CS_SNAPHEAPLIST = 0x00000001
TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS  = 0x00000002
TH32CS_SNAPTHREAD   = 0x00000004
TH32CS_SNAPMODULE   = 0x00000008
TH32CS_INHERIT      = 0x80000000
TH32CS_SNAPALL      = (TH32CS_SNAPHEAPLIST | TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS | TH32CS_SNAPTHREAD | TH32CS_SNAPMODULE)
THREAD_ALL_ACCESS   = 0x001F03FF

# Context flags for GetThreadContext()
CONTEXT_FULL                   = 0x00010007
CONTEXT_DEBUG_REGISTERS        = 0x00010010

# Memory permissions
PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE         = 0x00000040

# Hardware breakpoint conditions
HW_ACCESS                      = 0x00000003
HW_EXECUTE                     = 0x00000000
HW_WRITE                       = 0x00000001

# Memory page permissions, used by VirtualProtect()
PAGE_NOACCESS                  = 0x00000001
PAGE_READONLY                  = 0x00000002
PAGE_READWRITE                 = 0x00000004
PAGE_WRITECOPY                 = 0x00000008
PAGE_EXECUTE                   = 0x00000010
PAGE_EXECUTE_READ              = 0x00000020
PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE         = 0x00000040
PAGE_EXECUTE_WRITECOPY         = 0x00000080
PAGE_GUARD                     = 0x00000100
PAGE_NOCACHE                   = 0x00000200
PAGE_WRITECOMBINE              = 0x00000400


# Structures for CreateProcessA() function
# STARTUPINFO describes how to spawn the process
class STARTUPINFO(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("cb",            DWORD),        
        ("lpReserved",    LPTSTR), 
        ("lpDesktop",     LPTSTR),  
        ("lpTitle",       LPTSTR),
        ("dwX",           DWORD),
        ("dwY",           DWORD),
        ("dwXSize",       DWORD),
        ("dwYSize",       DWORD),
        ("dwXCountChars", DWORD),
        ("dwYCountChars", DWORD),
        ("dwFillAttribute",DWORD),
        ("dwFlags",       DWORD),
        ("wShowWindow",   WORD),
        ("cbReserved2",   WORD),
        ("lpReserved2",   LPBYTE),
        ("hStdInput",     HANDLE),
        ("hStdOutput",    HANDLE),
        ("hStdError",     HANDLE),
        ]

# PROCESS_INFORMATION receives its information
# after the target process has been successfully
# started.
class PROCESS_INFORMATION(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("hProcess",    HANDLE),
        ("hThread",     HANDLE),
        ("dwProcessId", DWORD),
        ("dwThreadId",  DWORD),
        ]

# When the dwDebugEventCode is evaluated
class EXCEPTION_RECORD(Structure):
    pass

EXCEPTION_RECORD._fields_ = [
        ("ExceptionCode",        DWORD),
        ("ExceptionFlags",       DWORD),
        ("ExceptionRecord",      POINTER(EXCEPTION_RECORD)),
        ("ExceptionAddress",     PVOID),
        ("NumberParameters",     DWORD),
        ("ExceptionInformation", UINT_PTR * 15),
        ]

class _EXCEPTION_RECORD(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("ExceptionCode",        DWORD),
        ("ExceptionFlags",       DWORD),
        ("ExceptionRecord",      POINTER(EXCEPTION_RECORD)),
        ("ExceptionAddress",     PVOID),
        ("NumberParameters",     DWORD),
        ("ExceptionInformation", UINT_PTR * 15),
        ]

# Exceptions
class EXCEPTION_DEBUG_INFO(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("ExceptionRecord",    EXCEPTION_RECORD),
        ("dwFirstChance",      DWORD),
        ]

# it populates this union appropriately
class DEBUG_EVENT_UNION(Union):
    _fields_ = [
        ("Exception",         EXCEPTION_DEBUG_INFO),
#        ("CreateThread",      CREATE_THREAD_DEBUG_INFO),
#        ("CreateProcessInfo", CREATE_PROCESS_DEBUG_INFO),
#        ("ExitThread",        EXIT_THREAD_DEBUG_INFO),
#        ("ExitProcess",       EXIT_PROCESS_DEBUG_INFO),
#        ("LoadDll",           LOAD_DLL_DEBUG_INFO),
#        ("UnloadDll",         UNLOAD_DLL_DEBUG_INFO),
#        ("DebugString",       OUTPUT_DEBUG_STRING_INFO),
#        ("RipInfo",           RIP_INFO),
        ]   

# DEBUG_EVENT describes a debugging event
# that the debugger has trapped
class DEBUG_EVENT(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("dwDebugEventCode", DWORD),
        ("dwProcessId",      DWORD),
        ("dwThreadId",       DWORD),
        ("u",                DEBUG_EVENT_UNION),
        ]

# Used by the CONTEXT structure
class FLOATING_SAVE_AREA(Structure):
    _fields_ = [

        ("ControlWord", DWORD),
        ("StatusWord", DWORD),
        ("TagWord", DWORD),
        ("ErrorOffset", DWORD),
        ("ErrorSelector", DWORD),
        ("DataOffset", DWORD),
        ("DataSelector", DWORD),
        ("RegisterArea", BYTE * 80),
        ("Cr0NpxState", DWORD),
]

# The CONTEXT structure which holds all of the 
# register values after a GetThreadContext() call
class CONTEXT(Structure):
    _fields_ = [

        ("ContextFlags", DWORD),
        ("Dr0", DWORD),
        ("Dr1", DWORD),
        ("Dr2", DWORD),
        ("Dr3", DWORD),
        ("Dr6", DWORD),
        ("Dr7", DWORD),
        ("FloatSave", FLOATING_SAVE_AREA),
        ("SegGs", DWORD),
        ("SegFs", DWORD),
        ("SegEs", DWORD),
        ("SegDs", DWORD),
        ("Edi", DWORD),
        ("Esi", DWORD),
        ("Ebx", DWORD),
        ("Edx", DWORD),
        ("Ecx", DWORD),
        ("Eax", DWORD),
        ("Ebp", DWORD),
        ("Eip", DWORD),
        ("SegCs", DWORD),
        ("EFlags", DWORD),
        ("Esp", DWORD),
        ("SegSs", DWORD),
        ("ExtendedRegisters", BYTE * 512),
]

# THREADENTRY32 contains information about a thread
# we use this for enumerating all of the system threads

class THREADENTRY32(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("dwSize",             DWORD),
        ("cntUsage",           DWORD),
        ("th32ThreadID",       DWORD),
        ("th32OwnerProcessID", DWORD),
        ("tpBasePri",          DWORD),
        ("tpDeltaPri",         DWORD),
        ("dwFlags",            DWORD),
    ]

# Supporting struct for the SYSTEM_INFO_UNION union
class PROC_STRUCT(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("wProcessorArchitecture",    WORD),
        ("wReserved",                 WORD),
]


# Supporting union for the SYSTEM_INFO struct
class SYSTEM_INFO_UNION(Union):
    _fields_ = [
        ("dwOemId",    DWORD),
        ("sProcStruc", PROC_STRUCT),
]
# SYSTEM_INFO structure is populated when a call to 
# kernel32.GetSystemInfo() is made. We use the dwPageSize
# member for size calculations when setting memory breakpoints
class SYSTEM_INFO(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("uSysInfo", SYSTEM_INFO_UNION),
        ("dwPageSize", DWORD),
        ("lpMinimumApplicationAddress", LPVOID),
        ("lpMaximumApplicationAddress", LPVOID),
        ("dwActiveProcessorMask", DWORD),
        ("dwNumberOfProcessors", DWORD),
        ("dwProcessorType", DWORD),
        ("dwAllocationGranularity", DWORD),
        ("wProcessorLevel", WORD),
        ("wProcessorRevision", WORD),
]

# MEMORY_BASIC_INFORMATION contains information about a 
# particular region of memory. A call to kernel32.VirtualQuery()
# populates this structure.
class MEMORY_BASIC_INFORMATION(Structure):
    _fields_ = [
        ("BaseAddress", PVOID),
        ("AllocationBase", PVOID),
        ("AllocationProtect", DWORD),
        ("RegionSize", SIZE_T),
        ("State", DWORD),
        ("Protect", DWORD),
        ("Type", DWORD),
]

If you are using 64-bit Python, you should run calc.exe from:

> C:\Windows\SysWow64