How Do I Load and Execute Native vs. Managed Executables Directly from Memory?

Direct Memory Execution of Executables: A Comparison of Native and Managed Code

Loading and running executables (.EXE files) directly from memory offers advantages over disk-based execution. While this is relatively simple for .NET (managed) executables, unmanaged executables (like notepad.exe or calc.exe) present a more significant challenge. Understanding this difference requires examining the loading and execution process.

.NET executables benefit from the Common Language Runtime (CLR). The CLR handles much of the complex work, including library loading, assembly verification, and providing a managed execution environment. This simplifies memory-based execution of .NET applications.

Native executables lack this runtime support. Loading and executing them from memory requires manual emulation of the Windows loader. This involves loading the Portable Executable (PE) file into memory, adjusting memory addresses through relocation and fixup processes, and finally locating the executable's entry point.

This manual process is intricate and prone to errors. For a simpler approach, launching the executable from disk using Process.Start is recommended. Alternatively, temporarily saving the embedded executable to disk before execution is a viable workaround.

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