Author(s): Chance Wilkinson
Mentor(s):
Institution UVU
A stack buffer overflow occurs when a stack-based buffer exceeds its allocated memory, causing unintended behavior. This vulnerability can lead to program crashes, data corruption, or worse, exploitation by attackers to gain unauthorized access or execute malicious actions. While stack buffer overflows can cause significant software errors, they are also commonly exploited in cyberattacks. This paper aims to explore the concept of stack smashing, demonstrating how attackers leverage buffer overflows to compromise systems, and discusses various techniques for defending against these vulnerabilities. Through examples of affected programs, we highlight the mechanisms of stack overflow attacks and present strategies for mitigating such risks.