DHCP Starvation DOS Attack Penetration Testing Example Demonstration with Kali
DHCP Starvation DOS Attack Penetration Testing Example Demonstration with Kali
DHCP Starvation is an attack that works by broadcasting vast numbers of DHCP requests with spoofed MAC addresses simultaneously.
I had showed my topology in the above snap, As you can see I have a router that acts as the DHCP server and a Kali linux 2.0 machine which is connected to the same network. The same steps can be followed to hack a Windows or a Linux DHCP server also. This is how my routers DHCP binding looks before the attempt,
Router (Before Attack)
R1#sh ip dhcp binding
Bindings from all pools not associated with VRF:
IP address Client-ID/ Lease expiration Type
Hardware address/
User name
R1#
I used yersinia tool to perform the attack, this yersinia comes in built to your Kali operating system. Open terminal, type yersinia -G and press enter.
Click on Launch Attack. Select the tab DHCP and check the second box sending DISCOVER packet and press OK. Within seconds, hundreds of DHCP requests will be sent and the router will be busy handling all our requests and wont be able to handle IP addresses to genuine users. Below logs are taken after the attack,
Router (After Attack)
R1#sh ip dhcp bindingRouter couldnt respond, I had taken the below output after 10 mins.
% The DHCP database could not be locked. Please retry the command later.
R1#
R1#sh ip dhcp binding
Bindings from all pools not associated with VRF:
IP address Client-ID/ Lease expiration Type
Hardware address/
User name
120.0.0.4 3669.9348.85d1 Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.5 7add.b556.f179 Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.6 347b.0c74.8013 Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.7 f976.c10d.205f Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.8 b2de.b66b.5b30 Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.9 32cd.4b14.c1f7 Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.10 d0fd.bd17.a548 Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.11 e4be.180a.3fbd Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.12 559b.e206.ffd0 Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.13 4e64.0231.a81d Mar 01 2002 12:20 AM Automatic
120.0.0.14 ac61.c36b.8931 Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
120.0.0.15 763d.5c2f.0d07 Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
120.0.0.16 d738.1831.3ffa Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
120.0.0.17 0f64.dc31.3bfd Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
120.0.0.18 beae.bf51.f15b Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
120.0.0.19 b511.3b23.4732 Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
120.0.0.20 e682.902a.2069 Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
120.0.0.21 d253.6658.b71c Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
120.0.0.22 11ed.8f0f.f330 Mar 01 2002 12:21 AM Automatic
--More--
As you can see, all the IPs are assigned to Kalis duplicate DHCP requests. To stop the attack, click on List attackts and Cancel all attacks.
Mitigation
To secure our network from this attack, we have two options.1) DHCP Snooping
2) Port Security
Cisco IOS Mitigation
To enable DHCP Snooping on a Cisco IOS switch, follow these steps:switch(config)# ip dhcp snooping
!Enables DHCP Snooping globally!
switch(config)# ip dhcp snooping vlan <vlan_id> {,<vlan_id>}
!Enables DHCP Snooping for Specific VLANs!
switch(config-if)# ip dhcp snooping trust
!Sets the interface to trusted state; can then pass DHCP replies!
switch(config-if)# ip dhcp snooping limit rate <rate>
!Sets rate limit for DHCP Snooping!
To know more about DHCP snooping, visit http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/lan/catalyst6500/ios/12-2SX/configuration/guide/book/snoodhcp.html
Cisco CatOS Mitigation
To mitigate DHCP Starvation attacks with port security on CatOS, use the following:set port security 5/1 enable
set port security 5/1 port max 1
set port security 5/1 violation restrict
set port security 5/1 age 2
set port security 5/1 timer-type inactivity
