shatter attack

noun

A means of bypassing security restrictions between processes in a session by having a less privileged process inject code into the message loop of a more privileged one.

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Meanings

nounshatter attack (plural shatter attacks)

plural shatter attacks

  1. WindowsA means of bypassing security restrictions between processes in a session by having a less privileged process inject code into the message loop of a more privileged one.

Origin

Coined in a paper in 2002 by Chris Paget: Exploiting design flaws in the Win32 API for privilege escalation.

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Cite this entry
APA

shatter attack. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatter%20attack

MLA

“shatter attack.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatter%20attack. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shatter attack,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shatter%20attack.

Source: shatter attack on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.