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The Shellcoder's Handbook: Discovering and Exploiting Security Holes 1st Edition

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 32 ratings

There is a newer edition of this item:

  • Examines where security holes come from, how to discover them, how hackers exploit them and take control of systems on a daily basis, and most importantly, how to close these security holes so they never occur again
  • A unique author team-a blend of industry and underground experts- explain the techniques that readers can use to uncover security holes in any software or operating system
  • Shows how to pinpoint vulnerabilities in popular operating systems (including Windows, Linux, and Solaris) and applications (including MS SQL Server and Oracle databases)
  • Details how to deal with discovered vulnerabilities, sharing some previously unpublished advanced exploits and techniques

Editorial Reviews

Review

essential for administrators who want to secure computer systems under their management& -- Computer Weekly, March 2004

“…80%…anyone developing their own software may be surprised by how easily flaws can be exploited and fixed…” (
PC Utilities, July 2004)

“…essential for administrators who want to secure computer systems under their management…” (Computer Weekly, March 2004)

"...has caused some raised eyebrows in the technical community..." (www.infoworld.com, 17 March 2004)

From the Back Cover

Uncover, exploit, and close security holes in any software or operating system

Every day, patches are created to cover up security holes in software applications and operating systems. But by the time you download a patch, it could be too late. A hacker may have already taken advantage of the hole and wreaked havoc on your system. This innovative book will help you stay one step ahead. It gives you the tools to discover vulnerabilities in C-language-based software, exploit the vulnerabilities you find, and prevent new security holes from occurring.

The Shellcoder’s Handbook is written by a unique author team, consisting of "white hat" corporate security experts and underground hacker-cracker types, who are the most respected contributors to Bugtraq, a vulnerability tracking mailing list. They take you from introductory-level exploitation and exposing vulnerabilities in binaries to advanced content on kernel overflows. In addition, they provide you with advanced techniques to close new security holes that are not yet known to the public but could cause devastating consequences. With all this information, you'll be able to develop your own discovery process and quickly determine whether a security hole is truly exploitable. The methods discussed will also dramatically improve your penetration testing skills in order to achieve a "100% Penetration Rate Guaranteed."

The Shellcoder's Handbook shows you how to:

  • Find out where security holes come from and how to close them so they never occur again
  • Pinpoint vulnerabilities in popular operating systems (including Windows, Linux, and Solaris) and applications (including MS SQL Server and Oracle databases)
  • Write exploits for use with filters and hack closed source systems to understand what countermeasures need to be taken
  • Deal with discovered vulnerabilities using previously unpublished advanced exploits and techniques

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley; 1st edition (April 2, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 644 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0764544683
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764544682
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 1.4 x 9.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 32 ratings

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
32 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2005
In the last few months I've read several white hat/black hat books on security, and I must say that this one is the best. Not for the completely new to the subject, and a little too quick to explain some complex topics, but still a great book. I have only two complaints, which aren't making me give this book less than a 5:

1. There's a lot of errors in the content, and following such an advance book when you can't trust the code gets complicated.

2. There are a few chapters, particularly in section 3, where the style hasn't been neutralized, and you can absolutely tell that the book was written by 5 different people with almost no coordination.

Other than that, excellent book. I'm looking forward to buying Database Hacker's Handbook, by the same editor.
13 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2013
Great book for super users of Unix/Linux OS. System Administrators will find this book a fantastic go-to reference for network protection.
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2021
Seems good but definitely can be an advanced topic to understand
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2016
Art of exploitation is far better than this.
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2005
I love this book, I have been gradually working through it over the last two months. I have been brushing up on C and Assembly as I go so that I can truly understand all the material.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2004
Here's how this ambitious learning resource is laid out:

PART 1 INTRO TO EXPLOITATION ON LINUX x86

1) Before You Begin
2) Stack Overflows
3) Shellcode
4) Introduction to Format String Bugs
5) Introduction to Heap Overflows

PART 2 EXPLOITING MORE PLATFORMS: Windows, Solaris, and Tru64

6) The Wild World of Windows
7) Windows Shellcode
8) Windows Overflows
9) Overcoming Filters
10) Introduction to Solaris Exploitation
11) Advanced Solaris Exploitation
12) HP Tru64 Unix Exploitation

PART 3 VULNERABILITY DISCOVERY

13) Establishing a Working Environment
14) Falut Injection
15) The Art of Fuzzing
16) Souce Code Auditing: Finding Vulnerabilities in C-based Languages
17) Instrumented Investigation: A manual approach
18) Tracing for Vulnerabilities
19) Binary Auditing: Hacking Closed Source Software

PART 4 ADVANCED MATERIALS

20) Alternative Payload Strategies
21) Writing Exploits that Work in the Wild
22) Attacking Database Software
23) Kernel Overflows
24) Exploiting Kernel Vulnerabilities

This is not just another security book! The wizards from bugtraq have shared a significant portion of their craft and tools with us in this book. For that, I am most grateful. Given the technical prowess of many of the authors, I was pleasantly supprised by their willingness and ability to explain concepts in very detailed, clear, and concise manner.

After spending some time with this book, I became somewhat disappointed by the number of errors it contains. A few solid technical reviewers could have easily caught these errors and made the end product much better. Another disappoint is that all of the stuff that the book promises at the website still hasn't appeared.

This book is not for beginners. This book assumes reasonable competence with C, Assemply, and computer architecture... all at an intermediate level.

This book stands out for the info it provides. Other books have tease and hint at some of these concepts for maybe a sentence or two, but they never truly explain any of them. It's rare to find explanations of this material. There is no fluff and no confusion (except for errors in the examples). This is well done, and a joy to read. It is the definitivie text book for students of vulnerability discovery.
35 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2005
This book is absolutely excellent. One of the best, if not the best security book I have ever read.

As previously stated numerous times, it will require you have Assembly and C knowledge. If you don't know either one the book will move lightning fast and you will probably not have the ability to keep up. If you do know both, you should be able to take the book at a nice and steady speed.

Aside from difficulty, the rumors that it contains syntax errors ARE true. There are a few little errors in places like this (showing a typical off-by-one error to prove that C doesn't check boundries on arrays):

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

int array[5] = {1,2,3,4,5};

printf("%d",array[5];

}

While these errors ARE numerous and slightly annoying, the important thing to understand is that you get the general concepts they are trying to teach you. Anybody can fix the syntax to work correctly but if they don't know the logic behind the syntax it's no different than a car mechanic trying to fix a F-16 jet.

I am willing to overlook the syntax and lexical errors that appear in this book and give it a 5/5. I may be too light, but I think it's an absolutely essential book that everybody should read.

If you find yourself wanting to get a book, whether it be Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering, Rootkits: subverting the Windows kernel, or The Art of Computer Virus Research and Defense, while all excellent books (which I highly recommend you all read if this book interests you), if you have the ability to get The Shellcoders Handbook: Discovering and Exploiting Security Holes, you should.
10 people found this helpful
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