Exploitation : Components of an Exploit : Payloads

Payloads

A payload is the actual code that executes on the target system after an exploit successfully executes. There are a couple of types of payloads: reverse shell and bind shell. The major difference between a reverse shell and a bind shell is how the shell enables you to connect to the exploited system.
A reverse shell creates a connection from the target machine back to you as a command prompt. A bind shell, on the other hand, attaches a command prompt to a listening port on the exploited system. You can connect to the bind shell to access the exploited system.