What is a buffer overflow attack?
D2 · Threats · CompTIA Security+ SY0-701A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a fixed-size memory buffer than it can hold, overwriting adjacent memory. An attacker can use this to overwrite the return address and redirect execution to malicious code.
Types: stack overflow (most common — overwrites return address), heap overflow (corrupts heap metadata or objects).
Types: stack overflow (most common — overwrites return address), heap overflow (corrupts heap metadata or objects).
Buffer overflows are a memory safety vulnerability. Mitigations include: ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization), DEP/NX (non-executable memory), stack canaries, and safe coding languages. Common in C/C++ programs.