Address space layout randomization

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Address space layout randomization (ASLR) is a computer security technique involved in preventing exploitation of memory corruption vulnerabilities.^[1] In order to prevent an attacker from reliably redirecting code execution to, for example, a particular exploited function in memory, ASLR randomly arranges the address space positions of key data areas of a process, including the base of the executable and the positions of the stack, heap and libraries. When applied to the kernel, this technique is called kernel address space layout randomization (KASLR).^[2]