Overview

CSCI 1650 covers software exploitation techniques and state-of-the-practice mechanisms for hardening software. The course begins with a summary of prevalent software defects, typically found in applications written in memory unsafe languages, like C/C++, and proceeds with studying traditional and modern exploitation techniques, ranging from classical code injection and code reuse up to the latest goodies (e.g., JIT-ROP). It also covers defenses against certain vulnerability classes and the way(s) to bypass them. Students will be introduced to advanced software exploitation techniques and countermeasures, and study (in depth) the boundaries and effectiveness of standard hardening mechanisms, such as address space randomization and stack and heap protections.

Prerequisites

Grading

10% Participation (Ed Discussion)
60% Assignments (CTF-like write-ups)
10% Midterm
20% Final

Acknowledgments

This course would not be possible without the support and assistance of the following people:

Meetings

Instructor

Vasileios (Vasilis) Kemerlis

Teaching Assistants

Maya Magavi (HTA)
  • echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/mmagavi/'
  • CIT 207 + Zoom (Mon. 5PM – 7PM)
Alexander Portland (TA)
  • echo apor^tlan@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
  • CIT 201 + Zoom (Wed. 1PM – 3PM)
Bahar Birsel (TA)
  • echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/bbirsel/'
  • Zoom (Tue. 6PM – 8PM)
Caroline Cahill (TA)
  • echo ccahill^5@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
  • CIT 205 + Zoom (Mon. 12PM – 2PM)
James Hu (TA)
  • echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/jhu74/'
  • Zoom (Fri. 3PM – 5PM)
Javier Fernandez Garcia (TA)
  • echo jferna^35@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
  • CIT 101 + Zoom (Tue. 8PM – 10PM)
Kamyar Mirfakhraie (TA)
  • echo kmir^fakh@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
  • B&H 161 + Zoom (Thu. 5PM – 7PM)
Kendra Lee (TA)
  • echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/klee165/'
  • Zoom (Thu. 12PM – 2PM)
Lucy Gramley (TA)
  • echo lgram^ley@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
  • CIT 165 + Zoom (Wed. 6PM – 8PM)
Pauline Nguyen (TA)
  • echo pn^guye37@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
  • Zoom (Sun. 1PM – 3PM)
Subham Kumar Das (TA)
  • echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/sdas52/'
  • B&H 161 + Zoom (Thu. 5PM – 7PM)
Thu Luu (TA)
  • echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/tluu6/'
  • CIT 210 + Zoom (Tue. 4PM – 6PM)
Yen Chu (TA)
  • echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/ychu12/'
  • Zoom (Sat. 11AM – 1PM)
Yu Nie (TA)
  • echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/ynie8/'
  • CIT 207 + Zoom (Fri. 3PM – 5PM)

Communication

Announcements

12/04/2024 Final exam.
12/02/2024 Lecture 0x17 posted.
11/27/2024 Final is on 12/04/2024.
11/27/2024 No class today.
11/25/2024 Lecture 0x16 posted.
11/20/2024 Assignment 0x4 is due today.
11/20/2024 Lecture 0x15 posted.
11/18/2024 Lecture 0x14 posted.
11/13/2024 Assignment 0x4 is due on 11/20/2024.
11/13/2024 Lecture 0x13 posted.
11/11/2024 Lecture 0x12 posted.
11/06/2024 Assignment 0x4 posted.
11/06/2024 Assignment 0x3 is due today.
11/06/2024 Lecture 0x11 posted.
11/04/2024 Lecture 0x10 posted.
10/30/2024 Assignment 0x3 is due on 11/06/2024.
10/30/2024 Lecture 0xf posted.
10/28/2024 Lecture 0xe posted.
10/23/2024 Assignment 0x3 posted.
10/23/2024 Assignment 0x2 is due today.
10/23/2024 Midterm Exam.
10/21/2024 Lecture 0xd posted.
10/16/2024 Assignment 0x2 is due on 10/23/2024.
10/16/2024 Midterm is on 10/23/2024.
10/16/2024 Lecture 0xc posted.
10/14/2024 No class today.
10/09/2024 Assignment 0x2 posted.
10/09/2024 Assignment 0x1 is due today.
10/09/2024 Lecture 0xb posted.
10/07/2024 Lecture 0xa posted.
10/02/2024 Assignment 0x1 is due on 10/09/2024.
10/02/2024 Lecture 0x9 posted.
09/30/2024 Lecture 0x8 posted.
09/25/2024 Assignment 0x1 posted.
09/25/2024 Lecture 0x7 posted.
09/23/2024 Lecture 0x6 posted.
09/18/2024 Lecture 0x5 posted.
09/16/2024 Lecture 0x4 posted.
09/11/2024 Lecture 0x3 posted.
09/09/2024 Lecture 0x2 posted.
09/04/2024 Lecture 0x1 posted.
09/04/2024 Welcome to CSCI 1650!