get env variable of the particular process using gdb

penv_runtime.sh

#!/bin/sh
#
# get env variable of the particular process. It can show variables that were created at runtime. Requires root privileges
# usage: sudo penv_runtime.sh pid var_name
#

pid=$1
var_name=$2

var_value=`gdb -q -batch -ex "attach $pid" -ex 'call (char*) getenv("'$var_name'")' -ex 'detach' | egrep '^\$1 ='`

if [ "$var_value" == '$1 = 0x0' ]
then
  # variable empty or does not exist
  echo -n
else
  # gdb returns $1 = hex_value "string_value"
  var_hex=`echo "$var_value" | awk '{print $3}'`
  var_value=`echo "$var_value" | sed -r -e 's/^\$1 = '$var_hex' //;s/^"//;s/"$//'`
  
  echo -n "$var_value"
fi