What is an exploit?

An exploit is a piece of code or a technique that takes advantage of a specific vulnerability to make a system do what the attacker wants. The vulnerability is the open window; the exploit is the person climbing through it. Once an exploit for a popular product is published, attackers often scan the whole internet for vulnerable systems within days, sometimes hours. That is why patching internet-facing systems quickly matters so much. After a successful exploit, the attacker usually starts new connections, downloads tools or moves to other machines, and that activity can be visible on the network even when the exploit itself was not.

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