The Intermediate Computer Exploitation Development course introduces students to foundational exploit development concepts through hands-on construction and analysis of memory corruption–based exploits in Linux and Windows environments. The course focuses on understanding how vulnerabilities manifest at the binary and memory level, how shellcode and staged payloads are developed, and how common defensive mechanisms are bypassed. Students progress through fundamental exploit development concepts, including assembly language, shellcode creation, and binary analysis, to building functional exploits that integrate multiple defensive bypass techniques. Emphasis is placed on exploit mechanics, payload staging, and defensive mitigation awareness rather than tool-driven exploitation or operational tradecraft. The course culminates in a structured exploitation exercise requiring students to finalize, refine, and validate a working exploit.
Intended Audience: This course is intended for experienced cyber operators, vulnerability analysts, and developers who already possess strong foundational knowledge of Linux or Windows systems and are seeking an introduction to exploit development. Students should be comfortable with command-line environments, basic scripting, binary debugging, and low-level system concepts. This course is NOT intended for students new to exploitation or general computer network exploitation techniques. Familiarity with exploitation workflows, scripting, and operating system internals is strongly recommended.