What is a primary concern when deploying an application that uses hash-based checksums for monitoring?

Using hash-based checksums for monitoring applications primarily raises concerns about the security of the checksum database format. Hash functions are designed to create a unique output (the checksum) based on the input data. If the format in which these checksums are stored is insecure, it can lead to various vulnerabilities.

For example, if an attacker can access the checksum database, they might find ways to manipulate the checksums or the data being validated by them. If the checksum format is not properly secured, an attacker could generate a valid checksum for malicious data, thereby bypassing security measures meant to prevent unauthorized modifications. Ensuring that the checksum database format is robust and protected against tampering is crucial to maintaining the application's integrity.

The other concerns listed, such as storage or memory requirements, while relevant to performance, do not directly compromise security in the same way that a poorly constructed checksum database format could. Similarly, while buffer overflow attacks are a valid concern for any application, they are not specifically related to the use of hash-based checksums in monitoring. Therefore, the primary focus should indeed be on the security of the checksum database format to prevent potential exploitation by attackers.