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Memory forensics faces significant challenges in modern operating systems like Windows, particularly in reconstructing executables from memory pages that have been paged out. Traditional forensic tools rely heavily on text carving and string searches, often ineffective in handling data's fragmented and complex distribution across system memory and pagefile.sys. This research introduces a deep structural analysis approach that significantly improves process extraction and executable reconstruction from Windows memory dumps.
The proposed method goes beyond traditional executable header analysis by deeply examining memory structures such as MMPTE (Prototype and Transition) to track missing memory pages accurately. This approach enables precise identification of executable regions that conventional tools often overlook by reconstructing the relationships between page table entries, virtual address mappings, and paged-out memory locations. Advanced page mapping techniques and structural validation of key Windows memory components like the Process Environment Block (PEB) ensure a more thorough and reliable recovery of executable data. Experimental results demonstrate a 35.06% improvement in executable extraction compared to existing tools like Volatility, highlighting the effectiveness of this deep structural analysis in forensic investigations.
This research enhances digital forensic capabilities by addressing key limitations in process reconstruction and paged-out memory analysis, enabling investigators to recover critical evidence more effectively. The findings contribute to advancing forensic methodologies for analyzing Windows memory dumps, bridging gaps left by traditional approaches, and improving the accuracy of executable recovery from volatile and paged memory.