From the course: ISC2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) (2024) Cert Prep

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Race condition vulnerabilities

Race condition vulnerabilities

From the course: ISC2 Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) (2024) Cert Prep

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Race condition vulnerabilities

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- [Instructor] Race conditions are a particularly dangerous security flaw that require careful attention from software developers. A race condition occurs when the proper functioning of a security control depends upon the timing of activities performed by the computer or the user. If the timing doesn't occur as expected, the software may behave in an unexpected manner, causing a significant security vulnerability. A common example of a race condition is the time of check to time of use, or talk-to vulnerability. In a talk-to vulnerability, software checks to see whether an activity is authorized, and then some time elapses before it performs the action that it checked. Let's take a look at an example of a bank account. Imagine an ATM machine that dispenses cash. The algorithm for this machine might work like this. The user inserts an ATM card, enters a PIN. The machine verifies the PIN and checks the available account balance. The user requests an amount of money. And then the machine…

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