Timeline for Are interchangeable types a security vulnerability? Are they good vectors for attack?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26, 2023 at 9:40 | comment | added | mousetail 'he-him' | Actually the C code could be more insecure than the python code since you could cast a pointer of a different type and possibly trigger a segfault, possibly even a buffer overflow exploit. Of course, that still requires getting past the initial security boundary at which point it's basically game over anyways. | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 18:49 | comment | added | JimmyJames | @PhilipKendall That's a better way to put it. When I first started learning about this, I would be annoyed when people asked what the threat model was. Now I ask the same thing. There are techniques and approaches that can be evaluated without a specific threat-model but the answers are never cut-and-dried. At the very least, you need some more context. | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 18:46 | answer | added | JimmyJames | timeline score: 3 | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 18:27 | comment | added | Philip Kendall | @JimmyJames really the point I'm making is that you shouldn't ask any questions about security without having a threat model. | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 18:17 | comment | added | JimmyJames | @PhilipKendall I think it's a little dangerous to start from a point of assuming that 'something could only happen if X' when considering such questions. We have no context to understand how the wrong type might be applied. Running arbitrary code isn't the only possibility. | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 14:50 | answer | added | Doc Brown | timeline score: 1 | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 10:10 | answer | added | pjc50 | timeline score: 4 | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 9:58 | comment | added | Anon | @PhilipKendall 1: The API would hint to you what types it expects, and what it plans to do with that type. That could be discovery for maybe a buffer overflow? 2: You would pass arbitrary types if the api had interchangeable types? | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 9:40 | review | Close votes | |||
| Jan 29, 2023 at 3:04 | |||||
| Jan 23, 2023 at 9:32 | comment | added | Philip Kendall | If your threat model includes being able to run arbitrary code on the target platform, why do you care about the details of the API? If your threat model does not include being able to run arbitrary code on the target platform, how are you going to pass arbitrary types to the function? | |
| Jan 23, 2023 at 9:19 | history | asked | Anon | CC BY-SA 4.0 |