SNMP Reflection DDoS Attacks

Highlights from a Prolexic DDoS Threat Advisory

2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
TM
SNMP Attacks on the Rise
Since April 11, 2014, Prolexic has observed a marked
resurgence in the use of Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) reflection attacks
SNMP is a commonly-used protocol in many devices for
the home and office
SNMP devices like printers, routers, servers, modems,
and desktops can provide DDoS reflection and
amplification for attackers

2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
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Why SNMP?
Although the latest version is more secure,
devices more than about three years old use
SNMP v2, which is openly accessible to public
request by default
Protocol-based attacks rise and fall in popularity;
right now new SNMP reflection tools in the
underground are driving a surge in popularity of
this attack

2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
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SNMP Attack Statistics
2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
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SNMP Attacks in 2014
14 DDoS campaigns using the protocol have been
observed since April 11, 2014
As devices are discovered to be participating in
attacks, their IP addresses are blacklisted by the
Internet community, leading to smaller attack sizes
However, malicious actors will continue to identify
additional devices vulnerable to SNMP reflection
The remaining vulnerable servers are continuing to
make this attack dangerous

2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
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How SNMP Attacks Work
GetBulk: Dumps many values stored on the device
IP addresses on a router, what kind of toner is in
the printer, or similar data
The tool sends GetBulk requests to vulnerable
SNMP-enabled devices, pretending to be the target
The device then sends the GetBulk information to the
target

2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
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How SNMP Attacks Work (continued)
The resulting response can be greatly
amplified
In one real attack, a single 37-byte request packet
generated a 64,000-byte response split across 44
packets
This is an amplification factor of more than 1,700
times
Any device configured to listen to SNMP v2
requests could become a reflector in such an
attack

2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
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Dont Be Part of an Attack: Configure Your SNMP
Devices Properly
It is essential that network administrators help take
down vulnerable devices
Scan for devices on your network that have the
default public community string and limit public
access
Devices such as printers shouldnt be open to the
Internet
When possible, use SNMP v3

2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
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Threat Advisory: NTP AMP DDoS toolkit
Download the threat advisory, Threat Advisory:
SNMP Reflection DDoS Attacks
This DDoS threat advisory includes:
How to identify an attack from the SNMP Refelector
DDoS tool
Analysis of the source code
Payload analysis
IDS Snort rule and attack signatures
Remediation instructions for owners of devices that
support the SNMP v2 protocol


2014 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARD
TM
About Prolexic (now part of Akamai)
We have successfully stopped DDoS attacks for more
than a decade
Our global DDoS mitigation network and 24/7 security
operations center (SOC) can stop even the largest
attacks that exceed the capabilities of other DDoS
mitigation service providers