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Attack-Surface Classes

beginner12 min readLesson 196 of 204

Integer overflow, path traversal, injection, parsing confusion: the recurring bug classes, how each becomes exploitable, and the shape of the fix.

The recurring classes

  • Integer overflow in allocation math — width * height * 4 in 32-bit wraps, you allocate 40 bytes, the loop writes 4 billion. Every parser that sizes a buffer from untrusted integers needs a checked multiply (__builtin_mul_overflow on GCC/Clang).
  • Path traversal — user-controlled ../../etc/passwd through a join function. The fix class: canonicalize, then verify the result stays under the trusted root — after resolving .., not before.
  • Injection — any function that composes code/commands from strings (SQL, shell, format strings). The fix class: parameterize or quote with a whitelist escaper; never filter characters from the middle of a string.
  • Parsing confusion — two parsers disagree on where a token ends (request smuggling is exactly this). The fix class: one canonical parser; if you must have two, they must share the tokenizer.

The economics

Attackers automate the classes, not the instances. That is why the deliverable here is never "fixed the bug" — it is "closed the class, with a regression test that fails if it ever reopens."