Skip to content

TCP RST Flood

Jump to bottom
yukı edited this page Aug 24, 2023 · 3 revisions

Introduction:

The TCP RST flood attack is a sophisticated type of Denial of Service (DoS) attack that exploits vulnerabilities in the TCP protocol's connection reset mechanism. This attack aims to overwhelm a target server or network by inundating it with an excessive number of RST (Reset) packets. The consequences of a successful TCP RST flood attack can include severe resource exhaustion and the impairment of legitimate network activities.

Understanding TCP RST Flood Attacks:

In the TCP protocol, the RST packet serves the purpose of forcibly terminating an established connection. A TCP RST flood attack involves flooding the victim server with an enormous volume of RST packets, often employing techniques like IP address spoofing or the generation of random source IP addresses. By doing so, the attacker forces the targeted server to allocate resources for processing these packets.

During a TCP RST flood attack, the attacker overwhelms the victim's resources, including memory, CPU cycles, and network bandwidth. This flood of RST packets consumes these resources rapidly, causing a variety of issues such as degradation in performance, disruptions in services, and, in the worst case, rendering the system completely unresponsive.

Implications of TCP RST Flood Attacks:

The consequences of TCP RST flood attacks can be dire for the targeted systems and networks:

  • Denial of Service (DoS): The barrage of RST packets inundates the victim server, depleting its resources and resulting in denial of service for legitimate users. Critical services become unavailable, leading to financial losses, negative user experiences, and harm to the victim's reputation.

  • Resource Depletion: TCP RST flood attacks lead to substantial exhaustion of server resources like memory, CPU cycles, and network bandwidth. The excessive load imposed by the attack can destabilize the system, causing crashes, slowdowns, or even system unavailability.

  • Connection Disruption: The high volume of RST packets interferes with the proper functioning of TCP connections. Legitimate connections might be forcibly terminated, causing connection instability, potential data loss, and necessitating the re-establishment of connections.

How the script deals with that:

  • Rate-Limit.
  • Stateful Packet Inspection.
  • Anti-Spoofing.
  • Other methods.
Clone this wiki locally