Database queries attracting denial-of-service attacks make systems vulnerable to overload. Learn how attackers exploit resources to hinder site access and examples like "macof" attacks on outdated switches.

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CWE-1387: Hierarchical Connections Between Software Weaknesses

CWE-1416: Incorrect Initialization of Resource

Discover how database queries can be exploited to perform denial-of-service attacks, overwhelming target systems. Explore examples like "macof" attacks on vulnerable switches.

CWE-400: Denial of Service & Resource Management Vulnerabilities

Database queries that require a significant amount of processing time make for attractive targets by denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. An attacker can easily overwhelm the site by writing a few lines of Perl code that generate sufficient traffic to surpass the site's capacity to handle it. Consequently, legitimate users would be unable to access the site. Exploiting available resources involves making the target machine perform significantly more work and consume more resources in fulfilling a request than what the attacker needs to initiate one.

A notable instance illustrating this concept pertains to certain outdated switches that were vulnerable to "macof" attacks, named after a tool developed by Dugsong. These attacks inundated a switch with combinations of random IP and MAC addresses, thereby depleting the switch's cache. This cache stored information specifying which port corresponded to each MAC address. Once the cache was exhausted, the switch would fail in an insecure manner and revert to acting as a hub, broadcasting all network traffic across all ports and creating opportunities for basic sniffing attacks.

CWE-400: Denial of Service By Overwhelming Resource Management

CWE-400: Denial of Service By Overwhelming Resource Management

Is your System Free of Underlying Vulnerabilities? Find Out Now

Is your System Free of Underlying Vulnerabilities?
Find Out Now