Vulnerabilities
Stack Overflow Vulnerability
Also known as: Stack buffer overflow, Stack smashing
Definition
A buffer overflow that occurs on the program stack, typically overwriting the saved return address or local function pointers to redirect execution.
Examples
- CVE-2003-0352 (DCOM RPC) — Blaster worm leveraged a stack overflow.
- CVE-2019-0708 (BlueKeep) — Remote Desktop service stack overflow.
Related terms
Buffer Overflow
A memory-safety flaw where a program writes past the end of an allocated buffer, corrupting adjacent memory and often enabling code execution.
Heap Overflow
A buffer overflow that occurs in dynamically allocated memory, often corrupting allocator metadata, function pointers, or object virtual tables.
Memory Corruption
An umbrella term for vulnerabilities where a program writes outside the bounds of intended memory, undermining type-safety, control flow, or data integrity.
Exploit
A piece of code, data, or technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability to cause unintended behaviour such as code execution, privilege escalation, or information disclosure.
Secure Coding
Secure Coding — definition coming soon.
Vulnerability
A weakness in a system, application, or process that an attacker can exploit to violate confidentiality, integrity, or availability.