Heap Exploitation

Definitions

1. The process of turning a bug in heap memory management, such as corruption of allocator metadata or object layouts, into controlled program behavior like arbitrary writes or code execution. Heap exploitation often depends on allocator internals, object grooming, and defeating modern mitigations.

   In plain English: Using bugs in a program's dynamic memory area to gain control over it.

   Example: "The researchers moved from a heap overflow to full heap exploitation by abusing corrupted free-list metadata."

Related Terms

• Encoded Payload
• Blind Command Injection
• Crash Exploitation
• Custom Shellcode
• Heap Overflow
• Heap Spray
• Hypervisor Escape
• Overwrite Attack