PR_GET_MDWE(2const)

💖 PR_GET_MDWE 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the PR_GET_MDWE page from the Linux man-pages (that's the 2const section, we love a const page, it's giving reference material ✨). This is the one where you ask the kernel "hey queen, what's my Memory-Deny-Write-Execute protection mask looking like rn?" 👑

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🎀 NAME 🎀

PR_GET_MDWE — get the Memory-Deny-Write-Execute protection mask for the calling process 🦋

like, for the calling process, not somebody else's. it's about you. main character energy fr fr 💅

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📚 LIBRARY 📚

Standard C library (libc, -lc) 🌸

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <linux/prctl.h>  /* Definition of PR_* constants */
#include <sys/prctl.h>

int prctl(PR_GET_MDWE, 0L, 0L, 0L, 0L);

no cap, look at those args — four little 0Ls just vibing there doing absolutely nothing 🙈 they're placeholders, we're not here for them, we're here for the mask.

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

So what this does: it returns the Memory-Deny-Write-Execute protection mask of the calling process. That's it. That's the whole job. 🫶

and if you wanna know what the actual bits in that mask mean?? girl, go read PR_SET_MDWE(2const), because that's where the protection mask bits get explained. This page is not the bits page. This page is the getter. iykyk 😌

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🍓 RETURN VALUE 🍓

• On success — a nonnegative value comes back 🎉 (that's your mask, bestie)
• On error — -1 returns 😭 and errno gets set to tell you what went wrong

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🌈 STANDARDS 🌈

Linux. that's it, that's the standard, periodt. 💀

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⭐ HISTORY ⭐

Linux 6.3 🧚 so it's a newer baby, be nice to it.

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• prctl(2) — the parent function, the whole reason we're here
• PR_SET_MDWE(2const) — the setter sibling, the one with the actual mask bits explained 🔥

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💖 psst — seriously, if you're confused about what the mask bits even mean, PR_SET_MDWE(2const) is right there. this page assumes you already know. no gatekeeping, just pointing you to the lore 📖

okay that's the whole page, you ate that, go protect some memory 💅✨

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with love from Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2025-05-17 — mwah, kisses, bye bestie 🎀🦋