Some vulnerabilities originate from errors in the management of memory allocated on a heap. Exploitation of such weak spots is more complicated compared to ‘regular’ stack overflow; so, many hackers security researchers have no idea how to approach them. Even the Cracking the Perimeter (OSCE) course doesn’t go beyond a trivial rewrite of SEH. In this article, I will explain the heap mechanics and show how to exploit its vulnerabilities.
Read full article →Quarrel on the heap. Heap exploitation on a vulnerable SOAP server in Linux
This paper discusses a challenging CTF-like task. Your goal is to get remote code execution on a SOAP server. All exploitation primitives are involved with the heap in one way or another; so, you’ll learn a lot about functions interacting with it. Also, you’ll reverse a Linux binary using a dynamic instrumentation framework.
Read full article →Routing nightmare. How to pentest OSPF and EIGRP dynamic routing protocols
The magic and charm of dynamic routing protocols can be deceptive: admins trust them implicitly and often forget to properly configure security systems embedded in these protocols. In this article, I will explain what nightmares can occur if the network admin doesn’t take a good care of the security of OSPF and EIGRP routing domains.
Read full article →First contact. Attacks on chip-based cards
Virtually all modern bank cards are equipped with a special chip that stores data required to make payments. This article discusses fraud techniques used to compromise such cards and methods used by banks to protect cardholders against attackers.
Read full article →Log4HELL! Everything you must know about Log4Shell
Up until recently, just a few people (aside from specialists) were aware of the Log4j logging utility. However, a vulnerability found in this library attracted to it a great attention from researches nowadays. Let’s take a closer look at the origin and operation mechanism of this bug and examine the available exploits to it.
Read full article →WinAFL in practice. Using fuzzer to identify security holes in software
WinAFL is a fork of the renowned AFL fuzzer developed to fuzz closed-source programs on Windows systems. All aspects of WinAFL operation are described in the official documentation, but its practical use – from downloading to successful fuzzing and first crashes – is not that simple.
Read full article →Cybercrime story. Analyzing Plaso timelines with Timesketch
When you investigate an incident, it’s critical to establish the exact time of the attack and method used to compromise the system. This enables you to track the entire chain of operations performed by the malefactor. Today, I will show how to do this using the Timesketch tool.
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