Binary Exploitation

Binaries, or executables, are machine code for a computer to execute. For the most part, the binaries that you will face in CTFs are Linux ELF files or the occasional windows executable. Binary Exploitation is a broad topic within Cyber Security which really comes down to finding a vulnerability in the program and exploiting it to gain control of a shell or modifying the program's functions.

Common topics addressed by Binary Exploitation or 'pwn' challenges include:

• Registers
• The Stack
• Calling Conventions
• Global Offset Table (GOT)
• Buffers
  • Buffer Overflow
• Return Oriented Programming (ROP)
• Binary Security
  • No eXecute (NX)
  • Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR)
  • Stack Canaries
  • Relocation Read-Only (RELRO)
• The Heap
  • Heap Exploitation
• Format String Vulnerability