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Difficulty: MediumCommon Network Attack Types and Vectors

During a network incident investigation, a technician notices that several workstations on a local subnet received IP configuration settings within the 192.168.99.0/24192.168.99.0/24 network range instead of the standard internal 10.10.0.0/1610.10.0.0/16 range. Further inspection reveals that a malicious host flooded the network with forged requests to exhaust the legitimate pool of IP addresses and then responded to client broadcasts with its own default gateway settings. Which of the following attack types has taken place?

  1. Rogue DHCP server attackAnswer
  2. B
    ARP poisoning attack
  3. C
    DNS cache poisoning attack
  4. D
    Port 23 protocol downgrade attack

Answer

Rogue DHCP server attack
The correct option describes a Rogue DHCP server attack. In this attack vector, an unauthorized device answers client DHCP discover/request broadcasts and supplies malicious IP configuration details (such as setting itself as the default gateway). This is typically preceded by a DHCP starvation attack that consumes all available leases on the legitimate DHCP server.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the observed symptoms
Workstations received unauthorized IP addresses (192.168.99.0/24192.168.99.0/24) and gateway settings, while the legitimate IP address pool was exhausted.
Exhausting legitimate IP address pools (DHCP starvation) allows an attacker to step in and act as the primary configuration provider for new hosts.
2
Identify the protocol responsible for dynamic IP distribution
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) operates at the application layer to distribute IP addresses, subnet masks, and default gateway configurations.
The symptoms specifically describe unauthorized configuration parameters being handed out via broadcast responses.
3
Match the mechanism to the correct attack classification
The mechanism matches a Rogue DHCP server attack (enabled by DHCP starvation).
By impersonating a valid DHCP server, an attacker redirects victim traffic through their controlled default gateway.

Key Concept

Rogue DHCP Server and Starvation Attack Vectors
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Common Network Attack Types and Vectors

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