Security Warrior

Part I. Software Cracking

Part I of this book primarily focuses on software reverse engineering, also known as reverse code engineering or RCE. As you will read, RCE plays an important role in network security. However, until this book, it has received sparse coverage in the printed infosec literature. In Part I, after a brief introduction to assembly language (Chapter 1), we begin with RCE tools and techniques on Windows platforms (Chapter 2), including some rather unique cracking exercises. We next move into the more esoteric field of RCE on Linux (Chapter 3). We then introduce RCE on embedded platforms (Chapter 4)—specifically, cracking applications for Windows Mobile platforms (Windows CE, Pocket PC, Smartphone) on ARM-based processors. Finally, we cover overflow attacks (Chapter 5), and we build on the RCE knowledge gained in previous chapters to exploit a live buffer overflow.