CSCI 1650

Lectures

12/03/2025	`NUL`	`Final Exam`

12/01/2025	`0x15`	`Review Day`
Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive
11/26/2025	`NUL`	`Thanksgiving Recess`
No class The Security Mindset (optional)
11/24/2025	`0x14`	`Special Topics (Blind Code Reuse)`
Lecture code \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Hacking Blind
11/19/2024	`0x13`	`Toolchain-based Hardening (cont'd)`
Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Hardening ELF binaries using Relocation Read-Only (`RELRO`) Enhance application security with `FORTIFY_SOURCE`
11/17/2025	`NUL`	`Guest Lecture`
Never a dill moment: Exploiting machine learning pickle files PickleBall: Secure Deserialization of Pickle-based Machine Learning Models (optional)
11/12/2025	`0x12`	`Toolchain-based Hardening (cont'd)`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive BreakInSecurity: Format Strings DynaGuard: Armoring Canary-based Protections against Brute-force Attacks (optional)
11/10/2025	`0x11`	`Toolchain-based Hardening`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Buffer overflow protection Strong stack protection for GCC C-Based Toolchain Hardening Cheat Sheet Memory Translation and Segmentation StackGuard: Automatic Adaptive Detection and Prevention of Buffer-Overflow Attacks (optional)
11/05/2025	`0x10`	`Advanced Code Reuse`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Function pointer Modern Binary Exploitation: Stack Pivoting Practical Return-Oriented Programming
11/03/2024	`0xf`	`Just-In-Time Code Reuse (cont'd)`
Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Just-In-Time Code Reuse: On the Effectiveness of Fine-Grained ASLR (optional) Shuffler: Fast and Deployable Continuous Code Re-Randomization (optional)
10/29/2025	`0xe`	`Memory Disclosure \| Just-In-Time Code Reuse`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Google Drive Position Independent Code (PIC) Exploiting Format String Vulnerabilities Exploiting Linux and PaX ASLR's weaknesses on 32- and 64-bit systems
10/27/2025	`0xd`	`Return-Oriented Programming (cont'd)`
Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Introduction to Return-Oriented Programming `ROPgadget` \| `ropeme` \| `ropshell` The Geometry of Innocent Flesh on the Bone: Return-into-`libc` without Function Calls (optional)
10/22/2025	`NUL`	`Midterm Exam`

10/20/2025	`0xc`	`Address Space Layout Randomization \| Return-Oriented Programming`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Modern Binary Exploitation: Address Space Layout Randomization Return-oriented Programming: Exploitation without Code Injection On the Effectiveness of Address-Space Randomization (optional) Surgically returning to randomized lib(c) (optional)
10/15/2025	`0xb`	`Return-to-libc (cont'd) \| Code Reuse`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Google Drive `ret2libc` chaining, `%esp` lifting x86-64 buffer overflow exploits and the borrowed code chunks exploitation technique (optional)
10/13/2025	`NUL`	`Indigenous Peoples' Day`
No class Reflections on Trusting Trust (optional)
10/08/2025	`0xa`	`Non-Executable Memory \| Return-to-libc`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Executable space protection x86 `NX` support Modern Binary Exploitation: `ret2libc` Advanced return-into-`lib`(`c`) exploits Getting around non-executable stack
10/06/2025	`0x9`	`Shellcode Development (cont'd)`
Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Modern Binary Exploitation: Shellcoding Shellcoding for Linux ~~and Windows~~ Tutorial Writing `ia32` alphanumeric shellcodes English Shellcode (optional)
10/01/2025	`0x8`	`Shellcode Development`
Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Linux System Call Table Online x86 Assembler \| Linux assemblers
09/29/2025	`0x7`	`Code Injection`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive NOP sled technique `jmp *%esp` technique
09/24/2025	`0x6`	`Control-flow Hijacking (cont'd)`
Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Buffer overflow \| Stack buffer overflow Smashing The Stack For Fun And Profit Buffer Overflows for Beginners Introduction \| Part 1 \| Part 2 Using GDB to Develop Exploits
09/22/2025	`0x5`	`Control-flow Hijacking`
Lecture code \| Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive `nm(1)` \| `objdump(1)` \| `gdbinit`
09/17/2025	`0x4`	`Basic Concepts (cont'd)`
Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive x86 Assembly x86 Instruction Set Reference
09/15/2025	`0x3`	`Basic Concepts (cont'd)`
Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Linux x86 Program Start Up Load-time reloc. of shared libraries Anatomy of a Program in Memory
09/10/2025	`0x2`	`Basic Concepts`
Lecture notes \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive Introduction to ELF \| ELF¹⁰¹ The ELF file format `elf(5)` \| `readelf(1)` \| `objdump(1)`
09/08/2025	`0x1`	`Introduction`
Lecture slides \| Lecture video: Zoom, Google Drive

Meetings

MW 3PM – 4:20PM (T hour)
Smith-Buonanno Hall 106 (Zoom)

Instructor

`Vasileios (Vasilis) Kemerlis`

https://cs.brown.edu/~vpk
echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/vpk/'
Zoom (Mon. 6PM – 7PM)

Teaching Assistants

`Ruth Ukubay (HTA)`

echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/rukubay/'
CIT 269 + Zoom (Fri. 12PM – 2PM)

`Alice Song (TA)`

echo @cs.brown.edu|sed 's/^/zsong50/'
CIT 143 + Zoom (Tue. 7PM – 9PM)

`Aly Rajwani (TA)`

echo arajwan^2@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
CIT 143 + Zoom (Thu. 6:30PM – 8:30PM)

`Caden Schroeder (TA)`

echo cschroe^4@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
CIT 201 + Zoom (Mon. 12PM – 2PM)

`Elizabeth Gresalfi (TA)`

echo e^rgresal@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
CIT 165 + Zoom (Tue. 4PM – 6PM)

`Saswata Majumder (TA)`

echo smajum^14@cs.brown.edu|tr -d ^
CIT 227 + Zoom (Wed. 6PM – 8PM)

Communication

Announcements

12/03/2025	Final exam.
12/01/2025	Assignment `0x4` is due today.
12/01/2025	Review Day!
11/26/2025	Final is on 12/03/2025.
11/26/2025	No class today.
11/24/2025	Assignment `0x4` is due on 12/01/2025.
11/24/2025	Lecture `0x14` posted.
11/19/2025	Lecture `0x13` posted.
11/17/2025	Guest lecture.
11/12/2025	Assignment `0x4` posted.
11/12/2025	Assignment `0x3` is due today.
11/12/2025	Lecture `0x12` posted.
11/10/2025	Lecture `0x11` posted.
11/05/2025	Assignment `0x3` is due on 11/12/2025.
11/05/2025	Lecture `0x10` posted.
11/03/2025	Lecture `0xf` posted.
10/29/2025	Assignment `0x3` posted.
10/29/2025	Assignment `0x2` is due today.
10/29/2025	Lecture `0xe` posted.
10/27/2025	Lecture `0xd` posted.
10/22/2025	Assignment `0x2` is due on 10/29/2025.
10/22/2025	Midterm Exam.
10/20/2025	Lecture `0xc` posted.
10/15/2025	Midterm is on 10/22/2025.
10/15/2025	Assignment `0x2` posted.
10/15/2025	Lecture `0xb` posted.
10/14/2025	Assignment `0x1` is due today.
10/13/2025	No class today.
10/08/2025	Lecture `0xa` posted.
10/06/2025	Assignment `0x1` is due on 10/14/2025.
10/06/2025	Lecture `0x9` posted.
10/01/2025	Lecture `0x8` posted.
09/29/2025	Assignment `0x1` posted.
09/29/2025	Lecture `0x7` posted.
09/24/2025	Lecture `0x6` posted.
09/22/2025	Lecture `0x5` posted.
09/17/2025	Lecture `0x4` posted.
09/15/2025	Lecture `0x3` posted.
09/10/2025	Lecture `0x2` posted.
09/08/2025	Lecture `0x1` posted.
09/03/2025	Welcome to CSCI 1650!