hacktricks/reversing-and-exploiting/linux-exploiting-basic-esp/stack-overflow/ret2ret.md

# Ret2ret & Reo2pop

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## Ret2ret

The main goal of this technique is to try to **bypass ASLR by abusing an existing pointer in the stack**.

Basically, stack overflows are usually caused by strings, and **strings end with a null byte at the end** in memory. This allows to try to reduce the place pointed by na existing pointer already existing n the stack. So if the stack contained `0xbfffffdd`, this overflow could transform it into `0xbfffff00` (note the last zeroed byte).

If that address points to our shellcode in the stack, it's possible to make the flow reach that address by **adding addresses to the `ret` instruction** util this one is reached.

Therefore the attack would be like this:

* NOP sled
* Shellcode
* Overwrite the stack from the EIP with **addresses to `ret`** (RET sled)
* 0x00 added by the string modifying an address from the stack making it point to the NOP sled

Following [**this link**](https://github.com/florianhofhammer/stack-buffer-overflow-internship/blob/master/ASLR%20Smack%20and%20Laugh%20reference%20-%20Tilo%20Mueller/ret2ret.c) you can see an example of a vulnerable binary and [**in this one**](https://github.com/florianhofhammer/stack-buffer-overflow-internship/blob/master/ASLR%20Smack%20and%20Laugh%20reference%20-%20Tilo%20Mueller/ret2retexploit.c) the exploit.

## Ret2pop

In case you can find a **perfect pointer in the stack that you don't want to modify** (in `ret2ret` we changes the final lowest byte to `0x00`), you can perform the same `ret2ret` attack, but the **length of the RET sled must be shorted by 1** (so the final `0x00` overwrites the data just before the perfect pointer), and the **last** address of the RET sled must point to **`pop <reg>; ret`**.\
This way, the **data before the perfect pointer will be removed** from the stack (this is the data affected by the `0x00`) and the **final `ret` will point to the perfect address** in the stack without any change.

Following [**this link**](https://github.com/florianhofhammer/stack-buffer-overflow-internship/blob/master/ASLR%20Smack%20and%20Laugh%20reference%20-%20Tilo%20Mueller/ret2pop.c) you can see an example of a vulnerable binary and [**in this one** ](https://github.com/florianhofhammer/stack-buffer-overflow-internship/blob/master/ASLR%20Smack%20and%20Laugh%20reference%20-%20Tilo%20Mueller/ret2popexploit.c)the exploit.

## References

* [https://github.com/florianhofhammer/stack-buffer-overflow-internship/blob/master/NOTES.md](https://github.com/florianhofhammer/stack-buffer-overflow-internship/blob/master/NOTES.md)

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