How to Start Hping3 SYN Flood Attack Projects Using NS3

To start an hping3 SYN Flood Attack in NS3, we need to make a situation in which an attacker node creates a high volume of TCP SYN packets devastating a target server. This type of attack utilizes the TCP three-way handshake, to trigger resource exhaustion at server.

Following a step-by-step method to replicate Hping3 SYN Flood Attack using NS3:

Steps to Start Hping3 SYN Flood Attack Projects in NS3

  1. Set Up NS3
  • Install and build NS3:

./waf configure

./waf build

  • Test the installation:

./waf –run hello-simulator

  1. Understand SYN Flood Attacks
  • SYN Flood Overview:
    • A malicious attacker transmits a large amount of TCP SYN packets to a server without doing the handshake.
    • This triggers the server assigning the resources for half-open connections that potentially using their capacity.
  1. Define the Network Topology
  • Make a topology including:
    • Attacker Node: It makes SYN packets.
    • Victim Node: Target server in attack.
    • Legitimate Client Nodes: To create typical traffic.
  • Example Topology:

NodeContainer clientNodes, serverNode, attackerNode;

clientNodes.Create(2);    // Two legitimate clients

serverNode.Create(1);     // Server node

attackerNode.Create(1);   // Attacker node

PointToPointHelper p2p;

p2p.SetDeviceAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“10Mbps”));

p2p.SetChannelAttribute(“Delay”, StringValue(“2ms”));

// Connect nodes

NetDeviceContainer clientToServer = p2p.Install(NodeContainer(clientNodes, serverNode.Get(0)));

NetDeviceContainer attackerToServer = p2p.Install(NodeContainer(attackerNode.Get(0), serverNode.Get(0)));

  1. Assign IP Addresses
  • We can install the Internet stack and allocate the IPs to the nodes.

InternetStackHelper stack;

stack.Install(clientNodes);

stack.Install(serverNode);

stack.Install(attackerNode);

Ipv4AddressHelper address;

address.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

address.Assign(clientToServer);

address.SetBase(“10.1.2.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

address.Assign(attackerToServer);

  1. Simulate Legitimate Traffic
  • We need to insert typical TCP traffic among the legitimate clients and the server.
  • For instance, TCP Echo Traffic

uint16_t port = 8080;

Address serverAddress = InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address(“10.1.1.1”), port);

PacketSinkHelper packetSinkHelper(“ns3::TcpSocketFactory”, serverAddress);

ApplicationContainer serverApp = packetSinkHelper.Install(serverNode.Get(0));

serverApp.Start(Seconds(1.0));

serverApp.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

OnOffHelper clientTraffic(“ns3::TcpSocketFactory”, serverAddress);

clientTraffic.SetAttribute(“DataRate”, StringValue(“10Mbps”));

clientTraffic.SetAttribute(“PacketSize”, UintegerValue(1024));

ApplicationContainer clientApps = clientTraffic.Install(clientNodes);

clientApps.Start(Seconds(2.0));

clientApps.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

  1. Simulate the SYN Flood Attack
  • Generate SYN Packets:
    • The attacker transmits a high amount of TCP SYN packets deprived of accomplishing the handshake.

Example Code:

void SynFloodAttack(Ptr<Node> attacker, Ipv4Address targetAddress, uint16_t targetPort) {

Ptr<Socket> socket = Socket::CreateSocket(attacker, TypeId::LookupByName(“ns3::TcpSocketFactory”));

InetSocketAddress remote = InetSocketAddress(targetAddress, targetPort);

socket->Connect(remote);

for (int i = 0; i < 10000; ++i) {  // Send 10,000 SYN packets

Simulator::Schedule(MicroSeconds(i * 100), [=]() {

TcpHeader tcpHeader;

tcpHeader.SetFlags(TcpHeader::SYN);

Ptr<Packet> synPacket = Create<Packet>(1024);  // SYN packet payload

synPacket->AddHeader(tcpHeader);

socket->Send(synPacket);

});

}

}

Simulator::Schedule(Seconds(3.0), &SynFloodAttack, attackerNode.Get(0), Ipv4Address(“10.1.1.1”), 8080);

  1. Enable Packet Tracing
  • For analysis, we can seize traffic in Wireshark to utilize PCAP tracing.

PointToPointHelper p2p;

p2p.EnablePcapAll(“syn-flood-attack”);

  1. Run the Simulation
  • Now, we want to construct and run the simulation:

./waf –run syn-flood-attack

  • We examine the generated files like .pcap.
  1. Analyze the SYN Flood Attack
  • Wireshark Analysis:
    • Go to the .pcap file within Wireshark:

wireshark syn-flood-attack-0-0.pcap

    • Examine attack traffic to utilize filters:
      • TCP SYN Packets: tcp.flags.syn == 1 && tcp.flags.ack == 0
  • Expected Results:
    • High volume of SYN packets that are transmitted to the server.
    • For half-open connections, server resources to be exhausted.
  1. Implement Detection and Mitigation
  • We should replicate the countermeasures versus SYN Flood attacks:
    • Rate Limiting: Restrict the volume of SYN packets for each second.
    • TCP SYN Cookies: Avoid resource exhaustion to utilize SYN cookies.
    • Firewall Rules: Using these rules, obstruct repeated SYN packets from the similar IP.
  • Example: Detecting High SYN Rates

void MonitorSynTraffic(Ptr<const Packet> packet, const Address& srcAddr) {

static std::map<Address, int> synCount;

synCount[srcAddr]++;

if (synCount[srcAddr] > 100) {  // Threshold for suspicious activity

NS_LOG_UNCOND(“Potential SYN flood attack from: ” << srcAddr);

}

}

We have offered the step-by-step guide including coding snippets that helps you to simulate and examine the Hping3 SYN Flood Attack using NS2. You can also extend the simulation, if you want to enhance this project.

If you are facing challenges in initiating Hping3 SYN flood attack projects utilizing the NS3 tool, consider seeking assistance from the researchers at phdprojects.org. They are committed to delivering your projects with high efficiency and exceptional quality. Additionally, our team specializes in the TCP three-way handshake to induce resource exhaustion. We will support you in simulating your projects and provide you with the best ideas and topics for your work.