HACKED! How a Buffer Overflow Exploit works, plus Code Red!

Summary

The video script narrates the story of the 'Code Red' computer worm, a notorious virus released in 2001 that exploited a buffer overrun vulnerability in Microsoft's IIS web servers. It details the worm's rapid spread, causing widespread internet disruption and targeting the White House. The script also includes an educational segment on buffer overruns, demonstrating how such exploits work with a C program example. It concludes with a discussion on security measures like DEP, stack canaries, and the importance of patching systems, highlighting the ongoing need for vigilance against cyber threats.

Takeaways

• 🗓️ The Code Red virus was released close to the 9/11 attacks, specifically on a Friday the 13th, causing a rapid spread of infection.
• 📉 The virus led to a quick societal impact with police, ATMs, and airline reservation systems being affected within hours.
• 💻 The infection targeted a vulnerability in the Internet Information Services (IIS), affecting large web servers and causing parts of the internet to disappear.
• 🔄 Code Red had a cyclical pattern of infection, attack, and waiting, with specific actions on different days of the month.
• 🔝 The worm was programmed to launch a massive DDoS attack on the White House, specifically targeting 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
• 🛠️ The buffer overrun exploit, a common security issue in software, was the technical root of the Code Red worm's success.
• 👨‍💻 Dave, a retired Microsoft engineer, provides an in-depth explanation of how buffer overflows work and demonstrates writing an exploit in C.
• 🛡️ Modern defenses against such exploits include safer programming practices, Data Execution Prevention (DEP), and stack canaries.
• 🔄 Code Red had a self-regulation mechanism; the presence of a 'no worm' file on the C: drive would halt the worm's activity.
• 🌐 The incident highlighted the need for proactive cybersecurity measures, leading to more frequent updates and improved security in software development.

Q & A

When was the Code Red worm released?

The Code Red worm was released just two months before the 9/11 attacks, on a Friday the 13th.

How quickly did the Code Red worm spread initially?

The virus was highly contagious, infecting more than 75,000 systems within 10 minutes of its release.

What was the impact of the Code Red worm on emergency services?

Within hours of the worm's release, the police in the Seattle area stopped responding to 9-1-1 calls due to the infection.

How did the Code Red worm affect financial systems?

ATMs around the nation and then globally stopped dispensing cash due to the worm's infection.

What was the primary target of the Code Red worm's DDoS attack?

The worm was programmed to launch a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack aimed at the White House, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

What was the significance of the 'ghost file' in the Code Red worm?

The 'ghost file' was a file that the worm searched for on web servers; the request for this non-existent file would trigger the worm's attack vector on vulnerable systems.

What security update was available prior to the Code Red worm that could have mitigated its impact?

An update named MS01-33 was available, which was labeled by Microsoft as critical and aimed to fix the buffer overrun vulnerability exploited by the worm.

How did the Code Red worm differentiate between infected and non-infected machines?

The worm kept track of infected machines and would periodically re-infect them, ensuring that even if the worm was removed, the underlying vulnerability would likely lead to reinfection.

What was the 'no worm' backdoor discovered in the Code Red worm?

A file named 'no worm' on the C drive could be created to shut down the worm's attacks, providing system administrators with time to remove the malware and update their servers.

What is a buffer overrun and how does it relate to the Code Red worm?

A buffer overrun is a classic security vulnerability in software where a program allows more data to be written to a buffer than it can hold, overwriting adjacent memory. The Code Red worm exploited a buffer overrun in the IIS web server extension to propagate itself.

What modern defenses are available against buffer overrun attacks?

Modern defenses include the use of safe string functions, data execution prevention (DEP), stack canaries, and guard pages that prevent or detect buffer overruns before they can be exploited.