A Buffer Overflow Attack is a type of attack in cybersecurity that occurs when a program tries to write more data to a fixed-length block of memory, or buffer, than the buffer is allocated to hold.^[0] This can overwrite data values in adjacent memory locations^[1], corrupting or crashing the program. If the attacker can inject malicious code into the buffer, they may be able to gain control of the program and potentially the underlying system.

Buffer Overflow Attack Examples:

• Morris Worm^[2][3]

Buffer Overflow Synonyms

• BOF Attack^[4]
• Bufer Flow Overrun Attack^[2]
• Buffer Overwrite Attack^[5]

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