> if there were a buffer overflow in a unikernel process, wouldn't it potentially give the exploit full-system access
Yes
> whereas a normal operating system would detect the out-of-bounds memory access and kill the process?
No. A buffer overflow in a normal operating system usually results in the the attacker gaining control over the process that the buffer overflow occurred in. This is not as bad as an attacker gaining full system access, but is generally plenty for an attacker to accomplish their goals.
Yes
> whereas a normal operating system would detect the out-of-bounds memory access and kill the process?
No. A buffer overflow in a normal operating system usually results in the the attacker gaining control over the process that the buffer overflow occurred in. This is not as bad as an attacker gaining full system access, but is generally plenty for an attacker to accomplish their goals.