Deep Dive: eBPF Runtime Monitoring

Introduction

eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) has revolutionized Linux kernel observability. It allows us to run sandboxed programs in the kernel without changing kernel source code or loading modules.

In this deep dive, I'll explain how ECRSM uses eBPF tracepoints to monitor system calls like execve and connect to detect suspicious behavior in real-time.

The Architecture

1. ▹Kernel Space: C programs attached to tracepoints.
2. ▹User Space: A Go agent that loads the maps and polls the perf buffer.
3. ▹Visualization: A React dashboard receiving events via WebSockets.

Safety First

Writing to the kernel is dangerous. ECRSM strictly uses read-only tracepoints. We never modify packet data or syscall arguments, ensuring system stability is never compromised.