What is a buffer overflow?

Question

Options

• AA type of virus
• BA type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate software
• CA type of denial-of-service attack
• DA type of software vulnerability

• B
  5% (1)
• C
  10% (2)
• D
  86% (18)

Explanation

Option D is correct because a buffer overflow is a software vulnerability that occurs when a program writes more data to a fixed-size buffer than it can hold, causing data to overflow into adjacent memory - which attackers can exploit to execute arbitrary code or crash a system.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (virus): A virus is a specific category of malicious code that self-replicates; a buffer overflow is a flaw in code, not a piece of malware.
• B (malware disguising itself): That describes a Trojan horse, not a buffer overflow.
• C (denial-of-service): While a buffer overflow can sometimes cause a crash that resembles DoS, the overflow itself is the underlying vulnerability - DoS is a potential outcome, not the definition.

Memory tip: Think of a buffer like a glass of water - if you pour in more than it holds, it overflows onto the surface below. In software, that "surface" is adjacent memory, and an attacker can carefully control what spills there to hijack program execution.

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