Zip bombs leverage the way compression algorithms work to pack massive amounts of data into a tiny file.
While there isn't a single "official" academic paper solely on a file by that exact name, the most famous "interesting paper" on this specific subject—often associated with extreme compression files—is by researcher David Fifield . Key Concepts of Zip Bombs
Do not attempt to download or unzip files with names like this unless you are in a secure, isolated virtual environment, as they can instantly freeze your operating system. File: STAB.STAB.STAB.zip ...
: You can find detailed breakdowns of how these files bypass security on platforms like BleepingComputer or through technical write-ups on GitHub .
: The classic method (like the famous 42.zip) where a zip file contains zips, which contain zips, eventually expanding to petabytes of data. Zip bombs leverage the way compression algorithms work
: These are typically used by attackers to disable antivirus scanners (which crash while trying to scan the expanded data) or as a "denial of service" attack. Notable Resources
: As detailed in David Fifield’s research , these "overlap" files inside the archive so they don't need layers. A tiny 46 KB file can expand to 4.5 PB (petabytes) of data in a single layer. : You can find detailed breakdowns of how
If you are looking for technical analysis or a "paper" style deep dive, these resources cover the mechanics: