what do “hackers” mean by finding a “vulnerability”. It’s hard to understand how there can be a gap in code that grants that much access.

Question

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**Thank you guys for all the great answers I am enlightened. Computers are fascinating to me so this is a real treat!

In: 1007

Answer 1

A program is a set of computer instructions to do something. A vulnerability happens when someone can trick a program into running something it shouldn’t.

Computer operating systems operate in layers, so if a program has a vulnerability it can offer a chance to elevate code. If, for instance, a browser has a vulnerability then it could give random internet code a chance to run under the user’s rights. Or if a privileged service has one, a user could escalate code into having admin rights.