Of the many varieties of software security exploits, none are more basic, straightforward, and potentially devastating as the buffer overflow attack. A well executed attack on poorly protected program can grant the attacker full access to the computer. To understand this attack, we begin by analyzing the memory layout of typical Linux machines and how data is manipulated by programs. With a little understanding, we can build to exploit an innocuous sorting program by simply passing in a nefarious list of numbers. But first, we must understand the source of the exploit - the stack buffer.
