CppCon 2026

This session dives deep into the world of vulnerabilities from a C++ developer's perspective. Using a simple embedded device as the playground, where the memory model is stripped to the bare essentials, attendees will explore how classic attacks like buffer overflows can be used to hijack control flow, inject code, and manipulate the stack.

Everyone has heard the warnings about buffer overflows, use-after-free, memory corruption, and other infamous vulnerabilities lurking in low-level code. But many developers accept that these traps should be avoided without truly understanding how the exploits work. In this talk, attendees will see hands-on examples of how memory vulnerabilities arise, how they’re exploited, and why they’re dangerous.

But this session is not just about breaking things, it is about building them right. We will explore how modern C++ techniques like smart pointers, bounded containers, and RAII can prevent these issues altogether. By the end of the talk, developers will not only understand the risks but feel confident applying C++ best practices to write safer, more robust code.

Whether you are a systems programmer, embedded developer, or security-minded engineer, this session will deepen your understanding of C++, not just as a powerful language, but as a tool for writing secure, reliable software.