Thanks to visit codestin.com
Credit goes to www.scribd.com

Scribd
Upload
12 views2 pages

Cyber Security Essentials Notes

Shellcode is a small code payload used to exploit software vulnerabilities, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands and gain control over systems. It is platform-dependent and faces challenges such as avoiding NULL bytes and managing size constraints. Integer overflow vulnerabilities occur when arithmetic operations exceed data type limits, leading to potential exploitation risks like denial of service and privilege escalation, which can be mitigated through input validation and safe coding practices.

Uploaded by

venkateshnutalapati48
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
12 views2 pages

Cyber Security Essentials Notes

Shellcode is a small code payload used to exploit software vulnerabilities, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands and gain control over systems. It is platform-dependent and faces challenges such as avoiding NULL bytes and managing size constraints. Integer overflow vulnerabilities occur when arithmetic operations exceed data type limits, leading to potential exploitation risks like denial of service and privilege escalation, which can be mitigated through input validation and safe coding practices.

Uploaded by

venkateshnutalapati48
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Cyber Security Essentials Notes

Shellcode
Definition:
Shellcode is a small piece of code used as the payload in the exploitation of software
vulnerabilities. Originally designed to spawn a shell (command-line interface), modern
shellcode can perform a wide range of tasks such as downloading files, executing
commands, or injecting malware.
Key Concepts:
● Purpose of Shellcode: Execute arbitrary code within a target process and gain control
over a system after exploiting a vulnerability.
● How Shellcode Works: Written in assembly language, injected into a vulnerable process,
and executes with the same privileges as the compromised process.
● Platform Dependency: OS-specific due to differences in system calls (e.g., Linux uses INT
0x80, Windows uses kernel32.dll).
● Locating kernel32.dll in Windows: Via Process Environment Block (PEB), Structured
Error Handling (SEH), or scanning for magic bytes 'MZ'.
● Challenges: Avoid NULL bytes, make shellcode alphanumeric, and manage size
constraints.
● Optimization Techniques: Use XOR operations, encode shellcode, and use stage-loading.

Example: NULL-Free Instruction:


MOV EBX, 0x00000000 ; Contains NULLs
XOR EBX, EBX ; NULL-free alternative
Tools & Repositories: Metasploit Framework, ShellForge, Milw0rm.com (historical).
Detection & Prevention: IDS/IPS, antivirus, and emulation tools like libemu.
Summary:
Shellcode is a powerful tool used in cyber attacks to gain control over systems.
Understanding its structure and behavior is essential for defending against exploitation.

Integer Overflow Vulnerabilities


Definition:
An Integer Overflow occurs when an arithmetic operation attempts to create a numeric
value that exceeds the maximum limit of the data type used to store it.
Key Concepts:
● Types of Integers: Signed and Unsigned.
● Overflow Scenarios: Signed and Unsigned overflow behaviors.
● Two’s Complement Representation: Used for signed integers.
● Common Vulnerable Operations: Multiplication, addition, or subtraction without
bounds checking.
Examples:
Signed Overflow: 127 (01111111) + 1 → -128 (10000000)
Unsigned Overflow: 255 (11111111) + 1 → 0 (00000000)
Exploitation Risks: Denial of Service, Buffer Overflows, Privilege Escalation, Arbitrary Code
Execution.
Mitigation Strategies:
● Input Validation
● Strong Typing
● Safe Integer Libraries (e.g., SafeInt)
● Compiler Flags (e.g., -ftrapv)

Detection Techniques: Monitor for abnormal CPU usage or failed operations, use static
analysis tools.
Summary:
Integer overflows are subtle but dangerous vulnerabilities that arise from improper
handling of numeric data.

You might also like