C

Overview

C is the foundation of operating systems, network stacks, and the tooling everyone else builds on. For a security practitioner, C is the language of memory: buffer overflows, use-after-free, and the exploit primitives that turn a crash into code execution all live here. Learning C is learning how software actually breaks.

Why learn C

• Most kernels, libraries, and daemons are written in C — to find their bugs you must read it.
• Memory-corruption vulnerabilities are C bugs at heart.
• It is the prerequisite for serious binary exploitation and reverse engineering.

Security applications

• Buffer overflow and memory-corruption analysis
• Binary exploitation and shellcode
• Reverse engineering compiled software
• Writing custom low-level tooling
• Kernel and driver security review

Planned curriculum

1. Pointers and memory layout
2. The stack and the heap
3. Buffer overflows from first principles
4. Format string vulnerabilities
5. Use-after-free and double-free
6. Reading disassembly alongside source
7. Writing exploit primitives
8. Defensive coding and mitigations

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