Wireless Vulnerabilities & Exploits
Wireless Vulnerabilities & Exploits
WVE ID: WVE-2005-0019
Type: Vulnerability
Status: Candidate
Classification:
Authentication Management
Design Flaw
Description:
The 802.11 standard does not authenticate management frames. This exposes wireless devices to spoofing attacks.
Discussion:
The 802.11 standard defines three types of frames each having several sub-types. Management frames are one of these types and are used for discovering wireless networks, associating stations with a network and breaking these associations.
Because these frames are not authenticated, an attacker can impersonate another device and send spoofed management frames that target either a specific station or an entire wireless network. An effective client DoS technique involves impersonating an access point by sending Deauthentication frames with that AP's BSSID to a single client or the broadcast address (all clients) to knock them off the wireless network.
Similarly an attacker can flood an access point with spoofed Association Requests and possibly overflow its association table causing the AP to stop responding.
Credits
References
URL:
http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/download/802.11-1999.pdf
WVE:
WVE-2005-0045
WVE:
WVE-2005-0046
WVE:
WVE-2005-0047
WVE:
WVE-2005-0048
Released: 2000-01-01
Submitter
Andrew
Lockhart
(alockhart@networkchemistry.com)
: Network Chemistry
Submitted: Mon Oct 24 17:33:12 -0700 2005
Candidate Date: Mon Oct 24 17:33:33 -0700 2005
