Re: thoughts on kernel security issues

[John Richard Moser <nigelenki@comcast.net>]

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Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 14:56:13 EST, John Richard Moser said:
> 
> 
>>This puts pressure on the attacker; he has to find a bug, write an
>>exploit, and find an opportunity to use it before a patch is written and
>>applied to fix the exploit.  If say 80% of exploits are suddenly
>>non-exploitable, then he's left with mostly very short windows that are
>>far and few, and thus may be beyond his level of UNION(task->skill,
>>task->luck) in many cases.
> 
> 
> Correct.
> 
> 
> 
>>If you can circumvent protection A by simply using attack B* to disable
>>protection A to do more interesting attack A*, then protection A is
>>smoke and mirrors. 
> 
> 
> You however missed an important case here.  If attack B is outside 
> UNTION(task->skill,  task->luck) protection A is *NOT* smoke-and-mirrors.
> 
> And for the *vast* majority of attackers, if they have a canned exploit for
> A and it doesn't work, they'll be stuck because B is outside their ability.

Yes, true; but someone wrote that canned exploit for them, so the actual
exploit writers will just adapt.  Those attackers I don't think write
their own exploits normally :)

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