GATE CS 2002 Q2.20 — Runtime Environments

The correct option is B.

Dynamic linking postpones the loading and binding of shared libraries until the program is executed. This introduces significant security vulnerabilities because:

• The search path used to locate these dynamic libraries (such as LD_LIBRARY_PATH in Linux or the system search path in Windows) is resolved dynamically at runtime.
• An attacker can exploit this by manipulating the search path or placing a malicious library with the same name in a directory that is searched before the legitimate library (a vulnerability known as DLL hijacking or library preloading). As a result, the application may unknowingly load and execute unauthorized code.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A and C are vague, non-technical assertions.
• D is incorrect because cryptographic signatures and verification mechanisms can indeed be applied to dynamic libraries; the vulnerability lies in the runtime path resolution itself.