What are heap overflow security vulnerabilities?

What are heap overflow security vulnerabilities?

Heap overflow vulnerabilities occur when a program writes more data to a heap memory area than it can hold, leading to potential exploits.

How can attackers exploit these vulnerabilities?

Attackers can exploit heap overflows to overwrite memory, potentially allowing them to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.

What are some common prevention techniques?

Common prevention techniques include using safe memory management functions, implementing bounds checking, and employing security features like Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR).

Can you give an example of a real-world attack?

One notable example is the 2014 attack on the Linux kernel, where a heap overflow vulnerability was exploited to gain elevated privileges.