What does the term "buffer overflow" refer to?

The term "buffer overflow" refers to an attack on system memory, which occurs when a program writes more data to a buffer than it can hold. Buffers are temporary storage areas in memory, and when they exceed their allocated size, the excess data can overwrite adjacent memory. This type of vulnerability can be exploited by attackers to inject malicious code or manipulate the execution flow of a program.

In practical terms, an attacker can use a buffer overflow to gain unauthorized access to a system, execute arbitrary code, or crash the application. This makes understanding and mitigating buffer overflow attacks vital for maintaining system security. The focus is on how these attacks leverage programming errors related to memory allocation and management, highlighting the importance of secure coding practices to prevent such vulnerabilities.