How to debug a stackoverflowexception in .NET

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WinDbg can get the job done, including even getting a sensible (clr) stack trace.
You’ll need to get WinDbg unless you’ve already installed it with Visual Studio or Windows SDK.
Note: “WinDbg Preview” with the new GUI has worked fine for me.

I suggest to start your process from WinDbg, but of course you can also attach it to a running process if this suits you better.

Note: Right after starting the process, the CLR is not loaded, and .loadby SOS.dll clr will fail (“unable to find module ‘clr’). You have to wait for the CLR to be loaded. To stop execution once that happens perform:

  • sxe ld clr

Once the CLR is loaded you’ll have to perform the following steps to break on StackOverflowException (enter in the command window / line):

  • .loadby SOS.dll clr (not .loadby sos clr—this can lead to the extension being loaded twice)
  • !stoponexception -create System.StackOverflowException
  • g (continues debugging)

trigger the StackOverflowException / wait for it to happen

  • !clrstack (will print the stacktrace)

Notable sources:

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