Time travel source code debugger incorporating redaction of sensitive information

An apparatus for redacting sensitive information during a production debugging session, comprising:

• a hardware memory delta buffer operative to store chronological changes to variables modified during simulated execution of instrumented debuggee source code virtually out-of-process in an isolated execution environment;
• a hardware memory based nested data structure operative to store data capturing an execution path taken during simulated execution flow of instrumented debuggee source code;
• a code execution module operative to simulate execution of the instrumented source code virtually out-of-process in an isolated execution environment, record memory writes in said memory delta buffer generated as a result of said simulated execution, store data capturing an execution path taken during the simulated execution of said instrumented source code using said nested data structure and insert checkpoints into said memory delta buffer, wherein each checkpoint corresponds to particular points in time of the simulated execution;
• a dump file parser operative to obtain symbol variables from at least one of a memory dump file and debuggee process memory, and to determine which variables in said memory dump file and said memory delta buffer are sensitive;
• a replacement module operative to replace field values of sensitive variables in said memory dump file with replacement text and generate a redacted memory dump file;
• and
• a debugger module operative to use said redacted memory dump file in said production debugging session, thereby preventing users from seeing sensitive original field values.

A method of redacting sensitive information in a production debugging session, the method comprising:

• instrumenting source code corresponding to a debuggee application, utilizing a memory dump file and/or debugee process memory, to insert hook functions into said debuggee application and simulating execution of instrumented source code virtually out of process;
• recording memory writes generated by the simulation in a memory delta buffer;
• generating a nested data structure documenting simulated execution flow of said instrumented source code utilizing collected runtime execution information whereby logpoints are entered into said nested data structure;
• generating checkpoints into said memory delta buffer wherein each checkpoint corresponds to a particular point in time of the simulated execution of the instrumented source code;
• obtaining symbol variables from at least one of a memory dump file and debuggee process memory and said memory delta buffer;
• for a bug correlated with sensitive personal customer information, providing a user to request authorization from the customer to access the sensitive personal customer information;
• and
• upon receipt of authorization, using the sensitive personal customer information for that customer only in the production debugging session.