Buffer Overflow Prevention

Buffer overflow prevention is a set of techniques and practices in software development aimed at stopping buffer overflow vulnerabilities, where data exceeds the allocated memory buffer, potentially leading to crashes, data corruption, or security exploits like arbitrary code execution. It involves secure coding practices, compiler protections, and runtime mechanisms to detect and mitigate such issues. This concept is critical in low-level programming languages like C and C++, where manual memory management is common.

Also known as: Buffer overflow mitigation, Buffer overflow protection, Stack overflow prevention, Memory overflow security, BOF prevention

Why learn Buffer Overflow Prevention?

Developers should learn and apply buffer overflow prevention when working with memory-unsafe languages like C or C++, especially in systems programming, embedded systems, or security-sensitive applications such as operating systems, network services, or financial software. It helps prevent common security vulnerabilities like stack smashing or heap overflows, which can be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized access or cause system failures, making it essential for building robust and secure software.

Learning Resources

• docs: OWASP Buffer Overflow Prevention Cheat Sheet
• docs: CERT C Secure Coding Standard - ARR38-C
• video: Buffer Overflow Exploitation and Prevention - LiveOverflow YouTube
• course: Secure Coding in C and C++ - Coursera Course
• book: The Art of Software Security Assessment - Book by Dowd et al.