ARP Spoofing Detection via MAC-IP Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network security methods fail to reliably ensure a correspondence between a host's Layer 2 MAC address and Layer 3 IP address, making them vulnerable to spoofing and denial of service attacks, where attackers can intercept or deny network traffic by falsifying MAC addresses.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method that receives ARP packets and compares the source MAC address with a verified MAC address from an ARP Table, using a memory interface to access and match IP addresses, thereby detecting and preventing address spoofing by ensuring the integrity of MAC addresses associated with IP addresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ARP packets are received and MAC addresses are verified against ARP Table using memory interfaces, then network security against spoofing attacks is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary verification of MAC addresses against the ARP Table before processing network packets. By pre-establishing correct MAC-IP mappings in the ARP Table and performing memory-based verification, the system prevents spoofing attacks before they can compromise network security, rather than reacting after attacks occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The ARP Table serves as an intermediary data structure between network packets and security verification. Instead of directly comparing packet MAC addresses against multiple possible addresses, the system uses the ARP Table as a mediating reference that stores verified MAC-IP mappings, simplifying the verification process while maintaining security.
2Reliability
If MAC address verification is performed for every packet, then spoofing detection is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex multi-step MAC address verification with direct memory-based lookup and comparison operations. By substituting mechanical/sequential verification processes with memory interface operations, the system achieves fast packet processing while maintaining reliable spoofing detection through efficient memory access patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the verification parameter from checking multiple possible MAC addresses sequentially to comparing against a single pre-verified MAC address stored in the ARP Table. This parameter change transforms the verification process into a simple memory lookup and comparison operation, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining detection accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of detecting address spoofing includes receiving an ARP packet at a network device. The ARP packet includes a first address associated with a first network layer and a second address associated with a second network layer. The method also includes accessing a first memory searchable by the first address to obtain a memory reference and retrieving a third address associated with the second network layer from a second memory using the memory reference. The method further includes comparing the second address with the third address and detecting address spoofing if a match is not present between the second address and the third address.