What is Lanceproof? Understanding This Type of Security Vulnerability

Lanceproof is a term used in the context of computer security to describe a type of vulnerability that allows an attacker to bypass certain security measures and gain unauthorized access to a system or network.

A lanceproof vulnerability arises when a security mechanism, such as a firewall or intrusion detection system, is designed to block all incoming traffic except for specific types of traffic that are deemed safe. However, an attacker can exploit this security mechanism by crafting malicious traffic that is specifically designed to evade detection by the security mechanism. This type of attack is known as a "lanceproof" attack.

For example, suppose a company has a firewall that blocks all incoming traffic except for traffic from trusted sources. An attacker might try to exploit this security mechanism by crafting malicious traffic that appears to come from a trusted source, but actually contains malicious code or data. If the firewall is not configured to detect this type of traffic, the attacker may be able to bypass the security mechanism and gain unauthorized access to the system or network.

The term "lanceproof" was coined by the computer security expert Dan Kaminsky in 2007, and it has since been widely adopted in the security community as a way to describe this type of vulnerability.