# Integer Overflow
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## Basic Information
At the heart of an **integer overflow** is the limitation imposed by the **size** of data types in computer programming and the **interpretation** of the data.
For example, an **8-bit unsigned integer** can represent values from **0 to 255**. If you attempt to store the value 256 in an 8-bit unsigned integer, it wraps around to 0 due to the limitation of its storage capacity. Similarly, for a **16-bit unsigned integer**, which can hold values from **0 to 65,535**, adding 1 to 65,535 will wrap the value back to 0.
Moreover, an **8-bit signed integer** can represent values from **-128 to 127**. This is because one bit is used to represent the sign (positive or negative), leaving 7 bits to represent the magnitude. The most negative number is represented as **-128** (binary `10000000`), and the most positive number is **127** (binary `01111111`).
### Max values
For potential **web vulnerabilities** it's very interesting to know the maximum supported values:
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Rust" %}
```rust
fn main() {
let mut quantity = 2147483647;
let (mul_result, _) = i32::overflowing_mul(32767, quantity);
let (add_result, _) = i32::overflowing_add(1, quantity);
println!("{}", mul_result);
println!("{}", add_result);
}
```
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="C" %}
```c
#include
#include
int main() {
int a = INT_MAX;
int b = 0;
int c = 0;
b = a * 100;
c = a + 1;
printf("%d\n", INT_MAX);
printf("%d\n", b);
printf("%d\n", c);
return 0;
}
```
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
## Examples
### Pure overflow
The printed result will be 0 as we overflowed the char:
```c
#include
int main() {
unsigned char max = 255; // 8-bit unsigned integer
unsigned char result = max + 1;
printf("Result: %d\n", result); // Expected to overflow
return 0;
}
```
### Signed to Unsigned Conversion
Consider a situation where a signed integer is read from user input and then used in a context that treats it as an unsigned integer, without proper validation:
```c
#include
int main() {
int userInput; // Signed integer
printf("Enter a number: ");
scanf("%d", &userInput);
// Treating the signed input as unsigned without validation
unsigned int processedInput = (unsigned int)userInput;
// A condition that might not work as intended if userInput is negative
if (processedInput > 1000) {
printf("Processed Input is large: %u\n", processedInput);
} else {
printf("Processed Input is within range: %u\n", processedInput);
}
return 0;
}
```
In this example, if a user inputs a negative number, it will be interpreted as a large unsigned integer due to the way binary values are interpreted, potentially leading to unexpected behavior.
### Other Examples
* [https://guyinatuxedo.github.io/35-integer\_exploitation/int\_overflow\_post/index.html](https://guyinatuxedo.github.io/35-integer\_exploitation/int\_overflow\_post/index.html)
* Only 1B is used to store the size of the password so it's possible to overflow it and make it think it's length of 4 while it actually is 260 to bypass the length check protection
* [https://guyinatuxedo.github.io/35-integer\_exploitation/puzzle/index.html](https://guyinatuxedo.github.io/35-integer\_exploitation/puzzle/index.html)
* Given a couple of numbers find out using z3 a new number that multiplied by the first one will give the second one:
```
(((argv[1] * 0x1064deadbeef4601) & 0xffffffffffffffff) == 0xD1038D2E07B42569)
```
* [https://8ksec.io/arm64-reversing-and-exploitation-part-8-exploiting-an-integer-overflow-vulnerability/](https://8ksec.io/arm64-reversing-and-exploitation-part-8-exploiting-an-integer-overflow-vulnerability/)
* Only 1B is used to store the size of the password so it's possible to overflow it and make it think it's length of 4 while it actually is 260 to bypass the length check protection and overwrite in the stack the next local variable and bypass both protections
## ARM64
This **doesn't change in ARM64** as you can see in [**this blog post**](https://8ksec.io/arm64-reversing-and-exploitation-part-8-exploiting-an-integer-overflow-vulnerability/).
Learn AWS hacking from zero to hero with htARTE (HackTricks AWS Red Team Expert)!
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* Discover [**The PEASS Family**](https://opensea.io/collection/the-peass-family), our collection of exclusive [**NFTs**](https://opensea.io/collection/the-peass-family)
* **Join the** 💬 [**Discord group**](https://discord.gg/hRep4RUj7f) or the [**telegram group**](https://t.me/peass) or **follow** us on **Twitter** 🐦 [**@hacktricks\_live**](https://twitter.com/hacktricks\_live)**.**
* **Share your hacking tricks by submitting PRs to the** [**HackTricks**](https://github.com/carlospolop/hacktricks) and [**HackTricks Cloud**](https://github.com/carlospolop/hacktricks-cloud) github repos.