Its primary purpose is to exhaust disk space (filling up the server's hard drive) or cause high CPU utilization, resulting in system failure.
Here is a deep report on its mechanics, purpose, and mitigation: 1. What is it?
A tiny compressed file (often only a few kilobytes or megabytes in size) that expands into a gargantuan amount of data (petabytes, exabytes, or "infinite" space) upon extraction. Infinite.zip
The most infamous example, 42.zip , is a 42-kilobyte file that, when fully extracted, expands to 4.5 petabytes (
"Infinite.zip"—often referred to in technical circles as a type of or decompression bomb (such as the famous 42.zip )—is a maliciously crafted archive file designed to crash, freeze, or overwhelm the storage capacity of any system that attempts to unpack it. Its primary purpose is to exhaust disk space
Systems should be configured to reject archives where the ratio of compressed-to-uncompressed size is suspiciously high.
When an antivirus scanner or user unzips the file, the decompression engine attempts to expand every layer, leading to an exponential increase in disk space usage. 3. Purpose and Impact A tiny compressed file (often only a few
It is used to overwhelm security software that attempts to scan within archives, preventing it from detecting other, actual malicious files. 4. Mitigation and Defense