Question 4 - PT0-003 discussion

A SYN flood attack exploits the TCP handshake by sending a succession of SYN requests to a target's system. Each request initializes a connection that the target system must acknowledge, thus consuming resources.

Step-by-Step Explanation

Understanding the Script:

ip = IP('192.168.50.2'): Sets the destination IP address to 192.168.50.2.

tcp = TCP(sport=RandShort(), dport=80, flags='S'): Creates a TCP packet with a random source port, destination port 80, and the SYN flag set.

raw = RAW(b'X'*1024): Adds 1024 bytes of data to the packet.

p = ip/tcp/raw: Combines the IP, TCP, and RAW layers into a single packet.

send(p, loop=1, verbose=0): Sends the packet in an infinite loop without verbose output.

Purpose of SYN Flood:

Resource Exhaustion: By sending numerous SYN requests, the target's connection table fills up, preventing legitimate connections.

Denial of Service: The target system becomes overwhelmed and unable to process further requests, effectively causing a denial of service.

Detection and Mitigation:

Rate Limiting: Implement rate limiting on SYN packets.

SYN Cookies: Use SYN cookies to handle the connection requests without allocating resources immediately.

Firewalls and IDS: Deploy firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) to detect and mitigate SYN flood attacks.

Reference from Pentesting Literature:

SYN flood attacks are a classic example of a denial-of-service attack and are commonly discussed in penetration testing guides and HTB write-ups for understanding network-based attacks.

Penetration Testing - A Hands-on Introduction to Hacking

HTB Official Writeups