Definition
Plain language
Rewriting something so it works on a different version or type of system.
As stated in the literature
Adapting code — here, an exploit — to a different build, platform, or configuration, e.g. moving from a research build to a production release with different mitigations enabled.
Also called: ported, porting
Why it matters: How hard it is to port an exploit to real production systems often decides whether a lab finding stays academic or becomes a live threat.
For example, an attack that works on a stripped-down test build may need substantial rework before it also runs against the shipping version with all its defenses turned on.
Heard on the show
“The line between "specializing from scratch" and "porting and tweaking existing designs" is fuzzier than the framing implies.”Episode 027 — When AI Agents Build the Serving Stack: A Bet on Bespoke Infrastructure