Brocade Communications Systems 6650 manual TCP SYN attacks

TCP SYN attacks

Syntax: ip icmp burst-normal value burst-max value lockup seconds

The burst-normalvalue parameter can be from 1 through 100,000 packets per second. The burst-maxvalue parameter can be from 1 through 100,000 packets per second. The lockup value parameter can be from 1 through 10,000 seconds.

This command is supported on Ethernet and Layer 3 interfaces.

The number of incoming ICMP packets per second is measured and compared to the threshold values as follows:

•If the number of ICMP packets exceeds the burst-normalvalue, the excess ICMP packets are dropped.

•If the number of ICMP packets exceeds the burst-maxvalue, all ICMP packets are dropped for the number of seconds specified by the lockup value. When the lockup period expires, the packet counter is reset and measurement is restarted.

In the example, if the number of ICMP packets received per second exceeds 5,000, the excess packets are dropped. If the number of ICMP packets received per second exceeds 10,000, the device drops all ICMP packets for the next 300 seconds (5 minutes).

TCP SYN attacks

TCP SYN attacks exploit the process of how TCP connections are established to disrupt normal traffic flow. When a TCP connection starts, the connecting host first sends a TCP SYN packet to the destination host. The destination host responds with a SYN ACK packet, and the connecting host sends back an ACK packet. This process, known as a “TCP three-way handshake,” establishes the TCP connection.

While waiting for the connecting host to send an ACK packet, the destination host keeps track of the as-yet incomplete TCP connection in a connection queue. When the ACK packet is received, information about the connection is removed from the connection queue. Usually there is not much time between the destination host sending a SYN ACK packet and the source host sending an ACK packet, so the connection queue clears quickly.

In a TCP SYN attack, an attacker floods a host with TCP SYN packets that have random source IP addresses. For each of these TCP SYN packets, the destination host responds with a SYN ACK packet and adds information to the connection queue. However, because the source host does not exist, no ACK packet is sent back to the destination host, and an entry remains in the connection queue until it ages out (after approximately a minute). If the attacker sends enough TCP SYN packets, the connection queue can fill up, and service can be denied to legitimate TCP connections.

To protect against TCP SYN attacks, you can configure the Brocade device to drop TCP SYN packets when excessive numbers are encountered. You can set threshold values for TCP SYN packets that are targeted at the router itself or passing through an interface, and drop them when the thresholds are exceeded.

For example, to set threshold values for TCP SYN packets targeted at the router, enter the following command in global CONFIG mode.

Brocade(config)# ip tcp burst-normal 10 burst-max 100 lockup 300

To set threshold values for TCP SYN packets received on interface 1/1/3, enter the following commands.

Brocade ICX 6650 Security Configuration Guide	269
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