Glossary
PDB path
The path of the debug symbols file recorded in a PE file's CodeView debug record, often revealing the build machine's folders and user name.
When a program is linked with debug information, the debug directory holds a CodeView RSDS record with a GUID, an age and the full path of the .pdb file, for example C:\build\m64\Release\m64.pdb. The GUID and age identify the exact symbols on a symbol server.
For investigators the path is a fingerprint of the author's environment: project names, folder layouts and sometimes a user name (C:\Users\<name>\source\repos\…). The same path across samples links them to one developer or build system. Paths can be edited or stripped; see PE timestamps for the matching debug time.