Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition

Chapter 0x500. SHELLCODE

So far, the shellcode used in our exploits has been just a string of copied and pasted bytes. We have seen standard shell-spawning shellcode for local exploits and port-binding shellcode for remote ones. Shellcode is also sometimes referred to as an exploit payload, since these self-contained programs do the real work once a program has been hacked. Shellcode usually spawns a shell, as that is an elegant way to hand off control; but it can do anything a program can do.

Unfortunately, for many hackers the shellcode story stops at copying and pasting bytes. These hackers are just scratching the surface of what's possible. Custom shellcode gives you absolute control over the exploited program. Perhaps you want your shellcode ...