Computer memory refers to a physical device that is used to store sequences of instructions (programs) or data (program state information) on a temporary or permanent basis for use in a computer.
6
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1answer
120 views
How to properly delete all data from cell phones?
Lately I've been thinking to get rid of some old smartphones; among them an Android device and a Blackberry. Not selling or recycling them is the ideal solution, however, I still would like to know ...
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2answers
129 views
Can unencrypted keys & logins be kept out of program memory?
No matter what technique is used to store encryption keys & logins, it seems that all roads lead back to program memory (as far as I know), as an unencrypted version of the keys & logins will ...
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0answers
41 views
How much can I recover memory data from memory dump created when BSOD occurred? [closed]
Let's say in Windows 7 every Windows setting is set to default. Computer suddenly goes onto BSOD, and creates memory dump automatically. In this case, how much would one be able to read into memory ...
1
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1answer
111 views
Linux Runtime Memory protection [closed]
I'm searching for a solution to protect process memory at runtime level in Linux (just like GameGuard in Windows). I googled many times but didn't get any useful information.
Does anyone know any ...
2
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1answer
107 views
US Department of Labor Watering Hole Attack
So I read this article about how the US Department of Labor's website was compromised and users were redirect to a site that installed malware:
...
3
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2answers
106 views
how does a return to system allow an attacker to evade a non-executable stack?
I am learning about return to system call attacks for a security class. I understand that in this kind of attack, attackers replace the standard return value for a stack frame with the address of a ...
3
votes
3answers
228 views
An OS that does not trust its RAM?
I wonder if it is possible to write a kernel that would keep all of its RAM encrypted, storing the key in the CPU cache, so that the machine would be resistant to cold-boot attacks?
3
votes
1answer
188 views
How dangerous is a virus introduced to a malicious website in chrome?
I am using Google's Chrome browser under Linux (Ubuntu) 64 bit for web browsing.
If I a virus uses for example a leak in the flash player, the virus will get the privileges of the user who started ...
172
votes
13answers
28k views
Are passwords stored in memory safe?
I just realized that, in any language, when you save a password in a variable, it is stored as plain text in the memory.
I think the OS does its job and forbids processes from accessing each other's ...
2
votes
3answers
130 views
PGP on hibernation files?
I was afraid reading this: This $299 tool is reportedly capable of decrypting BitLocker, PGP, and TrueCrypt disks in real-time
Seem to me that PGP and other sensible tools have to lock memory to ...
0
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0answers
59 views
How to use the Volatality Framework for Linux [closed]
I'm trying to run Volatality Framework on Linux memory Image but all the modules are for Windows,
So there are some other plug-ins available for Linux. Now it is asking for "--profile=XXXXX"
How I ...
4
votes
1answer
117 views
Do 64-bit applications have any security merits over 32-bit applications?
A particular article from arstechnica.com stated this.
One of these protective measures is called Address Space Layout Randomization, ASLR, and it works by moving DLLs and application memory into ...
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0answers
303 views
Exploit Double free() Vulnerability PoC [closed]
I don't understand about this bug very much
This is something that I know about this bug
If use free() with freed pointer it can trigged this bug
Need to have at least 2 pointer with allocate memory
...
4
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2answers
354 views
Memory Dumping - Cause for concern in Virtualization?
Recently, I started exploring threats to Virtual machines in general. The first question that popped into my head was whether a host machine can dump its entire memory onto a file, and inspect the ...
9
votes
4answers
746 views
Why encrypt data in memory?
I saw that KeePass not only encrypts its password-database-file, it also can encrypt the passwords it holds in memory. This is just an example. I thinking of a new project dealing with sensitve / ...
7
votes
4answers
404 views
Why don't computers check whether there are memory contents in some memory space?
Buffer overflow occurs because it writes to memory spaces that are used by, or will be used by other parts of the program.
Computer programs usually write to the memorylocation that has been ...
4
votes
1answer
150 views
What attacks does a W^X policy prevent against?
Write xor Execute (W^X) is a policy that a block (page) of memory cannot be marked as both writeable and executable at the same time.
What attacks does W^X prevent, with and without the following:
...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
How to make / dump contents of memory for forensics analysis?
I work as a Information Security analyst and was recently tasked to look into Incident response + computer forensics related topics. For starters, I am experimenting on my PC which is running Windows ...
5
votes
2answers
156 views
Why did it take so long to enforce memory permissions?
From the Wikipedia page on DEP.
DEP was introduced on Linux in 2004 (kernel 2.6.8[2]), on Windows in 2004 with Windows XP Service Pack 2,[3] while Apple introduced DEP when they moved to x86 in ...
2
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1answer
126 views
Chrome: Finding vulnerabilities using AddressSanitizer
I'm reading about AddressSanitizer, a tool that can be used to find memory bugs for Chrome (and other C/C++ software). I'm a little curious about what the process of using the tool involves:
1) Is it ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Safely disable firewire/thunderbolt, patching up DMA exposure
I understand that Firewire 400/800 and Thunderbolt have DMA enabled, and a malicious hardware device can easily read and manipulate system memory at will. If I disable the software drivers for these ...
6
votes
6answers
567 views
Implications of securing data in RAM
Someone told me that his company is storing all application data (at least the sensitive data I guess) in RAM for security. Their application runs for long periods of time, so data stays in memory for ...
1
vote
1answer
166 views
A simple example for showing the use of Data Execution Prevention (DEP) security feature
I am finding it really hard to figure out why we need a DEP!
Microsoft states this about DEP:
The primary benefit of DEP is to help prevent code execution from data
pages.
Typically, code ...
2
votes
2answers
202 views
Possible trojan/virus in memory?
I've extracted objects (JPEGs) from processes` memory dumps (obtained with memdump command from volatility framework) and got strange results after searching the memory pages of the main thread of ...
2
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4answers
1k views
Detecting or preventing process memory injections on Windows (anti-hack)
Standard hacking case. Hack injects into a started game process and writes over process memory using WriteProcessMemory call.
The situation is like this:
we are hosting a game server
clients join ...
2
votes
3answers
144 views
Resources to learn about memory allocation & security
Are there any good online resources to pick up knowledge about how memory allocations affect security?
Its a new area for me, and any pointers on where to get started would be appreciated.
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2answers
645 views
environment variable accessibility in Linux
Perhaps this is a trivial question, but how accessible are environment variables in Linux between different users?
e.g. if Alice executes
export FAVORITE_FOOD=`cat /home/alice/fav_food.txt`
Can ...
8
votes
2answers
429 views
Protection of Keys/Passwords on Virtual Hardware (XEN, KVM, VMWare, etc.)
Is there any reasonable way to secure data on virtual hardware? What I mean by "virtual hardware" is the various hosted systems that one can rent from various online hosters, that run on top of XEN, ...
4
votes
2answers
274 views
Are there volatile memory chips which dont retain data after power off?
It was demonstrated that dram modules can retain information up to 10 min after power off in certain conditions. My question - are there memory types which will retain data 10 sec at max even if being ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Effects of DDoS attacks on memory use under Linux
Can someone whose Linux system is under DDoS attacks give me exact data on the effects of the Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC), the High Orbit Ion Cannon (HOIC), Slowloris, PyLoris, Hping etc. on memory ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Recover the prior contents of RAM from a turned-off PC?
I've heard that if your PC is turned off, then an attacker can recover the RAM from the last session. I find this hard to believe. How could it be done?
5
votes
1answer
1k views
Protect access to an SD card
How can I protect access to an SD card, so that only authorized users can read or modify the content of the SD card. Currently everybody who has physical access to the SD card can read or modify ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
OS with encrypted RAM?
Are there any applications, JIT frameworks or operating systems that focus on encrypted virtual memory, or perhaps virtual machines that do something similar? I know there are processors (albeit old, ...
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5answers
447 views
What should one do when he/she wants to protect him/her home--computer--?
As you know, deleting a file by pressing shift-delete or by using the Trash doesn't mean that the file is unrecoverable. It's data persists on your computer.
In day to day life, adversaries use ...
6
votes
3answers
834 views
SSD (Flash Memory) security when data is encrypted in place
I'm surveying current techniques on flash memory security. I've learned that the non-in-place update of flash memories prevent us from adapting the same encryption techniques that we used on hard ...
4
votes
3answers
153 views
Is there a common name for a software defect that leads to unexpected transfer of secret over the wire?
Suppose in a C++ program I use a memory region for temporarily storing an encryption key and don't overwrite that region afterwards. Then my program wants to send a data packet over the network.
Due ...
3
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1answer
79 views
How can one gain additional privileges from being able to read kernel memory?
Given the ability to read (but not write) arbitrary kernel memory as an unprivileged user, what approaches might one take to gain additional privileges on the system? Ignoring the 'trivial' method of ...
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6answers
651 views
How can the impact of cold boot attacks be minimized?
Short of powering down and maintaining physical security for sufficient time, what are effective strategies for keeping keys from being disclosed by cold-boot attacks, and can anything be done without ...
9
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4answers
976 views
How does System Memory Dump work?
So there are so many pen-testing tools that perform a memory dump on the system. How exactly do they work - what exactly happens ?
3
votes
1answer
348 views
Two questions about learning Linux exploit development fundamentals
getting ready to delve into the technical world of vulnerability assessment, and I have two questions about where to find certain information.
First, I plan on reading "Understanding the Linux ...
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votes
5answers
1k views
What is the benefit with using encrypted RAM Memory?
I sometimes hear that encryption is used for the RAM Memory, but I don't really understand why this is needed.
Why is RAM Memory needed to be encrypted? and is this done by the hardware, the ...
