Individual skill
performing-return-oriented-programming
Methodology for building Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) chains to bypass NX/DEP by reusing existing code gadgets, covering gadget discovery, calling-convention argument setup, ret2libc, ret2syscall (execve), one_gadget, stack alignment, JOP, and stack pivoting across x86/x64/ARM64 during authorized engagements.
internal/tools/skills/data/binary-exploitation/performing-return-oriented-programming/SKILL.md
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- Last checked
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- cybersecurity Repository topic
- security Repository topic
- bug-bounty Repository topic
- automation Repository topic
- autonomous-pentesting Repository topic
- ai-agent Repository topic
- ai-security Repository topic
- ethical-hacking Repository topic
- golang Repository topic
- penetration-testing Repository topic
- binary-exploitation Declared skill tag
- return-oriented-programming Declared skill tag
- exploit-development Declared skill tag
- engineering Derived category
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# Performing Return-Oriented Programming
## When to Use
- During authorized exploitation when you control the saved return address (via stack overflow, write-what-where, etc.)
but **NX/DEP** prevents executing injected shellcode on the stack.
- When you need to call an existing function (`system`, `execve`, `mprotect`) or invoke a syscall with attacker-chosen
arguments by chaining small `...; ret` gadgets.
- When choosing between ret2libc (call a libc function), ret2syscall (raw `sys_execve`, common in static binaries),
ret2dlresolve, SROP (when gadgets are scarce), or stack pivoting (off-by-one / short overflows).
- On ARM64 targets where `ret` jumps to `x30` and instructions cannot be entered mid-instruction, requiring JOP or
pivot-based approaches.
## Critical: Concepts/Steps Most Often Missed