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Questions and Answers

What is shellcode?

Code that is used to harden programs to resist attacks in new programs.
Code that is supplied by an attacker and saved in a buffer being overflowed (correct)
Code that is used to replace unsafe standard library routines.
Code that is used to detect and abort attacks in existing programs.

What is the traditional purpose of shellcode?

To transfer control to a user command-line interpreter. (correct)
To detect and abort attacks in existing programs.
To replace unsafe standard library routines.
To harden programs to resist attacks in new programs.

What can stack overflow variants target?

Shellcode functions
Network service daemons
Trusted system utilities
All of the above (correct)

What are the two broad defense approaches against buffer overflows?

Compile-time and run-time defenses (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the aim of compile-time defenses?

To harden programs to resist attacks in new programs. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What are safe coding techniques?

Auditing the existing code base and using safe libraries. (A) Signup and view all the answers

What can language extensions and safe libraries do?

Replace unsafe standard library routines. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What do stack protection mechanisms do?

Add function entry and exit code to check the stack for signs of corruption. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the aim of run-time defenses?

To detect and abort attacks in existing programs. (C) Signup and view all the answers

How can executable address space protection be achieved?

By blocking the execution of code in certain areas of memory. (A) Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Shellcode is code supplied by an attacker that is often saved in a buffer being overflowed.
Traditionally, shellcode transferred control to a user command-line interpreter.
Stack overflow variants can target shellcode functions, trusted system utilities, network service daemons, commonly used library code, etc.
Buffer overflows are widely exploited, and there are two broad defense approaches: compile-time and run-time defenses.
Compile-time defenses aim to harden programs to resist attacks in new programs.
Safe coding techniques include auditing the existing code base and using safe libraries.
Language extensions and safe libraries can replace unsafe standard library routines.
Stack protection mechanisms can add function entry and exit code to check the stack for signs of corruption.
Run-time defenses aim to detect and abort attacks in existing programs.
Executable address space protection can be done by blocking the execution of code on the stack.

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