A segmentation fault can be exploited maliciously through a technique known as buffer overflow. This occurs when more data is written into a buffer than it can handle, causing an overwrite of adjacent memory locations. If the overwritten area contains executable code, this could lead to arbitrary code execution. The attacker may inject malicious code or alter control flow by overwriting function pointers or return addresses. Additionally, if the overwritten segment includes security-critical data, such as user privileges, it could result in privilege escalation. However, modern systems have defenses against these attacks like non-executable stack and address space layout randomization (ASLR).
