What is buffer overflow, an old vulnerability that’s causing new problems?

guest · May 29, 2019

What is buffer overflow, an old vulnerability that’s causing new problems?
May 29, 2019
https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/buffer-overflow-whatsapp/

Buffer overflow, a very dangerous kind of security vulnerability, has been haunting software developers and security experts for decades. At its core, buffer overflow is a very simple bug, but despite advances to security software and computer code security tools, it remains a source of concern.
How does buffer overflow happen?
Buffer overflow happens when data that is supposed to be stored in one part of memory exceeds its boundaries and spills into neighboring memory addresses.
Why is buffer overflow dangerous?
Crafty hackers find subtle ways to cause buffer overflow errors and use them to manipulate the behavior of applications for malicious purposes. For instance, a hacker might be able to exploit a buffer overflow vulnerability to alter a sensitive piece of memory, such as user privileges or the address of the recipient of a payment.
Click to expand...

Stack buffer overflow is a very popular and dangerous kind of buffer overflow. The memory space of every running application contains a “stack segment”.
But the stack also contains “return addresses,” sensitive bits of information that contain the numerical address of the instruction that the applications must execute after finishing its current function. Return addresses are like bookmarks that allow the program to remember its location as it hops from one part of the code to another.

A well-placed stack buffer overflow attack can alter return addresses, effectively enabling the attacker to force a program to jump to an arbitrary sequence of instructions, such as a set of commands that download and install a malicious app on the device.
Click to expand...

Rasheed187 · Jun 1, 2019

Yes, this is still a serious issue, it was actually the reason why I ended up on this forum. I knew that AV's back then weren't good enough to tackle buffer overflow exploits. But luckily Windows and popular apps like Chrome and Firefox have become hardened against these kind of attacks. But on smartphones, there is no third party defense tool, that's a big problem.

Log in or Sign up

What is buffer overflow, an old vulnerability that’s causing new problems?

guest Guest

Rasheed187 Registered Member

Log in or Sign up

What is buffer overflow, an old vulnerability that’s causing new problems?

guest Guest

Rasheed187 Registered Member

Useful Searches