Chapter 7: Practical Overflow Example

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Overview

By the end of November 2004, another vulnerability to buffer overflow was detected in Microsoft Internet Explorer. This time, it was the IFRAME tag. Just before Christmas, an exploit appeared, which wasn't quite useable but already published across the Internet. By that time, the number of vulnerable computers was counted in the millions. The hackers didn't even dare to dream about such a wonderful Christmas gift. True hackers spend their Christmas holidays not at the festive table but in the company of the monitor!

The New Year came, and security holes in programs remained. How do you reanimate an exploit? How do you rewrite the shellcode? How do you protect the computer against attacks? All of these topics will be covered in this chapter.