Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is a system-level memory protection feature that is built into the operating system starting with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. DEP enables the system to mark one or more pages of memory as non-executable. Marking memory regions as non-executable means that code cannot be run from that region of memory, which makes it harder for the exploitation of buffer overruns.
Se combinarmos com as informações do seu próprio link, determinaremos que, quando combinado com o ASLR (que requer o NX-bit), a DEP se torna sinônimo do NX. Especificamente, a implementação do ASLR no Windows Server 2016 exige isso.
But when it is combined with other technologies like Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), it helps prevent common buffer overflow vulnerabilities in Windows Internet Explorer and the add-ons that it loads. No additional user interaction is required to provide this protection, and no new prompts are introduced.
Além disso:
Microsoft added ASLR functionality in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. On this platform, DEP is implemented through the automatic use of PAE kernel in 32-bit Windows and the native support on 64-bit kernels. Windows Vista DEP works by marking certain parts of memory as being intended to hold only data, which the NX or XD bit enabled processor then understands as non-executable.
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