A buffer overflow attack can be used to modify the target process's address space to control the process execution.

A buffer overflow attack can be used to modify the target process's address space to control the process execution.

• A. Target process's address space
• B. The network interface card
• C. The boot sector
• D. The user accounts database

Answer: (A)

Buffer overflow vulnerabilities let an attacker overwrite memory beyond what a program allocated, which can corrupt the process’s memory region and its control data. When a running process’ address space—its code, data, stack, and heap layout—is altered, the attacker can manipulate how the process executes. A classic goal is to replace or redirect control flow, such as overwriting a return address or a function pointer, so the process runs attacker-supplied code or jumps to a chosen instruction sequence. That’s how you gain execution control within the target process. The other options lie outside the scope of a single process’s memory space. The network interface card is hardware/drivers, not the process’s memory; the boot sector is used during system boot and not directly modifiable by a running process’s overflow; and the user accounts database is system-wide data that’s not the immediate target of a typical process-level overflow to control its own execution. Therefore, the target process’s address space is the correct focus.

Buffer overflow vulnerabilities let an attacker overwrite memory beyond what a program allocated, which can corrupt the process’s memory region and its control data. When a running process’ address space—its code, data, stack, and heap layout—is altered, the attacker can manipulate how the process executes. A classic goal is to replace or redirect control flow, such as overwriting a return address or a function pointer, so the process runs attacker-supplied code or jumps to a chosen instruction sequence. That’s how you gain execution control within the target process.

The other options lie outside the scope of a single process’s memory space. The network interface card is hardware/drivers, not the process’s memory; the boot sector is used during system boot and not directly modifiable by a running process’s overflow; and the user accounts database is system-wide data that’s not the immediate target of a typical process-level overflow to control its own execution. Therefore, the target process’s address space is the correct focus.