Which attack type involves sending a payload so large that it consumes all system resources, making web services unavailable?

Which attack type involves sending a payload so large that it consumes all system resources, making web services unavailable?

• A. Frame Injection
• B. SOAPAction
• C. Oversize Payloads
• D. Web API

Answer: (C)

Excessive input size as a denial technique targets the server’s ability to process data. When a payload is pushed beyond what the service can safely handle, the system may allocate large amounts of memory, CPU time, or I/O to parse and process that data. If enough such requests arrive, resources become exhausted, causing slowdowns or complete unavailability for legitimate users. This is the specific idea behind unused resources being consumed by oversized payloads. The other terms don’t describe this resource-exhaustion pattern. Frame injection concerns manipulating how content is displayed or loaded in frames, which is more about UI and trust than exhausting server resources. SOAPAction is a header used in SOAP messaging to indicate the intent of a request, not a technique to overwhelm a service. Web API refers to the interface itself, not an attack method.

Excessive input size as a denial technique targets the server’s ability to process data. When a payload is pushed beyond what the service can safely handle, the system may allocate large amounts of memory, CPU time, or I/O to parse and process that data. If enough such requests arrive, resources become exhausted, causing slowdowns or complete unavailability for legitimate users. This is the specific idea behind unused resources being consumed by oversized payloads.

The other terms don’t describe this resource-exhaustion pattern. Frame injection concerns manipulating how content is displayed or loaded in frames, which is more about UI and trust than exhausting server resources. SOAPAction is a header used in SOAP messaging to indicate the intent of a request, not a technique to overwhelm a service. Web API refers to the interface itself, not an attack method.