From the course: CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst (CySA+) (CS0-003) Cert Prep

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Code execution attacks

Code execution attacks

- [Narrator] Code execution attacks are a special class of attack where the attacker exploits a vulnerability in a system that allows them to run commands on that system. There are many different ways that an attacker might gain this foothold on a system, but it's normally through some resource that the target system exposes to the world. For example, a public-facing web server must expose ports 80 and/or 443 to the world, and those ports provide access to the web server such as Apache or Microsoft IIS. If an attacker learns of a code execution vulnerability in that web server software, the attacker may exploit that vulnerability on an unpatched server and use it to execute whatever commands they desire on the system. This condition, where an attacker runs commands of his or her choice, is known as arbitrary code execution. When it takes place from a remote system, it's also known as remote code execution. Attackers using code execution vulnerabilities may perform any action they…

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