CMPS 4510 Vulnerability Analysis

Catalog Description

CMPS 4510 Vulnerability Analysis (4)

Identification and quantification of security weaknesses in programs, systems and networks. Topics include professional ethics, static binary analysis, dynamic binary analysis, anti-analysis techniques, risk assessment, penetration testing, vulnerability classification and mitigation techniques. Prerequisite: CMPS 3500

Prerequisites by Topic

Knowledge of formal computer language grammar
Basics of computer language translation
Completing CMPS 3140 (Theory of Computation) before taking this course is strongly recommended to obtain a stronger background in automata and formal languages.

Units and Contact Time

4 semester units. 3 units lecture (150 minutes), 1 unit lab (150 minutes).

Type

Selected elective for CS

Required Textbook

The Art of Software Security Assessment: Identifying and Preventing Software Vulnerabilities. Mark Dowd, John McDonald, Justin Schuh. Addison-Wesley, 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0-321-44442-4.

Recommended Textbook and Other Supplemental Materials

None

Coordinator(s)

Melissa Danforth

Student Learning Outcomes

This course covers the following ACM/IEEE CS2013 (Computer Science) Body of Knowledge student learning outcomes:

CS-IAS/Foundational Concepts in Security
CS-IAS/Principles of Secure Design
CS-IAS/Defensive Programming
CS-IAS/Threats and Attacks
CS-PL/Static Analysis
CS-SE/Software Construction

ABET Outcome Coverage

The course maps to the following performance indicators for Computer Science (CAC/ABET):

3e. An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security, and social issues and responsibilities.
3j. An ability to apply mathematical foundations, algorithmic principles, and computer science theory in the modeling and design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates comprehension of the tradeoffs involved in design choices.

Lecture Topics and Rough Schedule

Week	Chapter(s)	Topics
1	Chapters 1 and 2	Classic security goals (confidentiality, integrity, etc.), Threats, Vulnerabilities
2	Chapters 1 and 3	Audits, Threat exposure
3	Chapter 5	Memory corruption: buffer overflows, heap overflows
4	Chapter 5	Memory corruption: global and static data, shellcode, protection mechanisms
5	Chapter 6	C/C++ language issues
6	Chapter 8	String and character handling issues
7	Chapter 4	Auditing tools for source code and binary analysis
8 and 9	Chapter 7	Auditing techniques for source code analysis
10 and 11	Outside information	Auditing techniques for binary analysis
12 and 13	Chapters 9 and 10	Vulnerabilities and analysis for Unix/Linux systems
14 and 15	Chapters 11 and 12	Vulnerabilities and analysis for Windows systems

Design Content Description

Not applicable to this course.

Prepared By

Melissa Danforth on 31 July 2014

Approval

Approved by CEE/CS Department on [date]
Effective Fall 2016