get_thread_area - Linux


Overview

get_thread_area retrieves the Thread-Area pointer for the current thread. It is useful for direct access to per-thread data structures or for privileged access to thread context in the kernel.

Syntax

get_thread_area(user_space_ptr)

Arguments

  • user_space_ptr: A pointer to a variable in user space that will receive the pointer to the Thread-Area structure.

Options/Flags

None.

Examples

To retrieve the Thread-Area pointer:

void *ta;
get_thread_area(&ta);

Common Issues

get_thread_area is only available for x86-64 and ARM64 architectures.

Integration

get_thread_area is often used in conjunction with other low-level Linux system programming tasks, such as:

  • Accessing thread-specific kernel data structures
  • Modifying thread context for debugging or performance optimization
  • Implementing user-mode threads

Related Commands