elf_getphdrnum - Man Page

retrieve the number of program headers in an ELF file

Synopsis

#include <libelf.h>

int elf_getphdrnum("Elf *elf", size_t *dst );

Description

The elf_getphdrnum() function stores the number of program headers associated with the ELF descriptor elf into the variable pointed to by dst.

If the number of program headers exceeds the representable range of the e_phnum field in the ELF header, the ELF specification allows encoding the true count in section header 0’s sh_info field, and sets e_phnum to the reserved value PN_XNUM (always 0xFFFF). This function transparently handles that case.

The function also ensures the returned count of program headers does not exceed the number that can actually be addressed in the program header table. This is important when indexing into the array returned by elf32_getphdr() or elf64_getphdr().

Parameters

elf

A pointer to an Elf descriptor. The descriptor must represent an ELF binary with Elf_Kind ELF_K_ELF .

dst

On success, the number of program headers in elf is written here.  Must not be NULL.

Return Value

Returns 0 on success and stores the result in dst. Returns -1 on failure and sets elf_errno.  Returns -1 without setting errno if elf is NULL .

See Also

elf32_getphdr(3), elf64_getphdr(3), libelf(3), elf(5)

Attributes

InterfaceAttributeValue
elf_getphdrnum()Thread safetyMT-Safe

Reporting Bugs

Report bugs to <elfutils-devel@sourceware.org> or https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/.

Referenced By

elf32_getphdr(3).

2025-06-30 Libelf Programmer's Manual