(Preliminary!)

Attacking Mail Systems

In this assignment, you will attack each others' mail systems.

• Your grade for hw5 starts at 93.
• You will be given the source code to five other students' programs
• Your job is to attack these other programs

You will receive points as follow:

• 1 point for each distinct crash you can cause in a program
• 2 points if the crash is a segmentation fault, since segmentation faults are frequently convertible into penetrations
• 3 points for each distinct security hole, e.g., a way to read, overwrite, or delete someone else's mail or to gain extra system privileges you find

Conversely, you lose points for holes in your own code:

• 1 point for each crash
• 2 points for each segmentation fault or security hole

Yes, you can get more than 100 points on this assignment.

To avoid perverse incentives for late submission of hw4, I'm adding an extra penalty "feature"… The day after hw4 is due, you will receive the first batch of three programs to attack. You will receive three more a few days later, when all late submissions are in. However, since submitting hw4 late means that others have less time to attack it, people who submit hw4 late will not receive their target packages late. They will thus have less time to attack other people's programs, and extension requests will not be honored except under truly extraordinary circumstances.