Bugtraq mailing list archives
Re: Future of buffer overflows ?
From: Crispin Cowan <crispin () WIREX COM>
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 22:19:31 -0800
Michal Zalewski wrote:
need to execute code passed on stack. Just it is the simpliest and most accurate way. All techniques - libsafe, StackGuard, PaX, etc - are still only a workarounds, not a solutions.
I take exception to this claim. StackGuard is not a workaround: for the vulnerabilities that StackGuard stops, it really stops them. There is not a way to craft a different attack against the same vulnerability such that it will bypass StackGuard. That is not to say that StackGuard is a complete solution: there are vulnerabilities that StackGuard does not protect against. But to beat StackGuard, you must go find a new vulnerability: tweeking the one StackGuard is blocking will not help. This is distinct from both the Openwall non-excutable stack segment, and the PAX non-executable data pages approaches. With those defenses, attacks that are stopped by Openwall and PAX can *always* be re-worked to bypass the Openwall and PAX defenses, *without* having to go find a new vulnerability to exploit. Crispin -- Crispin Cowan, Ph.D. Chief Research Scientist, WireX Communications, Inc. http://wirex.com Free Hardened Linux Distribution: http://immunix.org
Current thread:
- Re: Future of buffer overflows ? Granquist, Lamont (Nov 03)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: Future of buffer overflows ? Darren Reed (Nov 03)
- Re: Future of buffer overflows ? Michal Zalewski (Nov 03)
- Re: Future of buffer overflows ? Crispin Cowan (Nov 03)
- Re: Future of buffer overflows ? tseeker (Nov 03)
- Re: Future of buffer overflows ? Gerardo Richarte (Nov 03)
- Re: Future of buffer overflows ? Gerardo Richarte (Nov 03)