Jay Bosamiya Software Security Researcher

Pwning


Exploiting Chrome V8: Krautflare (35C3 CTF 2018)

In this challenge, we had to obtain remote code execution, simply by exploiting a 1-day bug that forgot the difference between -0 and +0. This has probably been one of the most difficult, fun, and frustrating bugs I have ever exploited. Read more...

Analysis for RE and Pwning tasks in CTFs

To either solve an RE challenge, or to be able to pwn it, one must first analyze the given binary, in order to be able to effectively exploit it. Since the binary might possibly be stripped etc (found using file) one must know where to begin analysis, to get a foothold to build up from. Read more...

Return Oriented Programming

Return Oriented Programming (ROP) is one of the classic exploitation techniques, that is used to bypass the NX (non executable memory) protection. Microsoft has incorporated NX as DEP (data execution prevention). Even Linux etc, have it effective, which means that with this protection, you could no longer place shellcode onto heap/stack and have it execute just by jumping to it. So now, to be able to execute code, you jump into pre-existing code (main binary,... Read more...

Exploitation Abstraction

Of course, when programming, all of us use abstractions, whether they be classes and objects, or functions, or meta-functions, or polymorphism, or monads, or functors, or all that jazz. However, can we really have such a thing during exploitation? Obviously, we can exploit mistakes that are made in implementing the aforementioned abstractions, but here, I am talking about something different. Read more...

Race Conditions & Exploiting Them

If a memory region (or file or any other resource) is accessed twice with the assumption that it would remain same, but due to switching of threads, we are able to change the value, we have a race condition. Read more...