Graduation Year
2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.Cp.
Degree Name
MS in Computer Engineering (M.S.C.P.)
Degree Granting Department
Computer Science and Engineering
Major Professor
Jay Ligatti, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Mehran Mozaffari Kermani, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Yao Liu, Ph.D.
Keywords
Buffer Overflows, Computer Security, Format String Attacks
Abstract
Format String attacks, first noted in June 2000 [1], are a type of attack in which anadversary has control of the string argument (the format string) passed to a string format function (such as printf). Such control allows the attacker to read and write arbitrary program memory. To prevent these attacks, various methodologies have been proposed, each with their own costs and benefits. I present a novel solution to this problem through argument width counting, ensuring that such format functions cannot access stack memory beyond the space where arguments were placed. Additionally, I show how this approach can be expanded to all variadic functions, and demonstrate an implementation of this approach within a C compiler.
Scholar Commons Citation
Ward, Brennan, "Preventing Variadic Function Attacks Through Argument Width Counting" (2022). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/9828
