icmp6 - A security assessment tool for attack vectors based on ICMPv6 packets
icmp6 [
-i INTERFACE] [-s SRC_ADDR[/LEN]] [-d DST_ADDR] [-S
LINK_SRC_ADDR] [-D LINK-DST-ADDR] [-c HOP_LIMIT] [-y FRAG_SIZE] [-u
DST_OPT_HDR_SIZE] [-U DST_OPT_U_HDR_SIZE] [-H HBH_OPT_HDR_SIZE] [-t
TYPE[:CODE] | -e CODE | -A CODE -V CODE -R CODE] [-r TARGET_ADDR] [-x
PEER_ADDR] [-c HOP_LIMIT] [-m MTU] [-O POINTER] [-p PAYLOAD_TYPE] [-P
PAYLOAD_SIZE] [-n] [-a SRC_PORTL[:SRC_PORTH]] [-o DST_PORTL[:DST_PORTH]] [-X
TCP_FLAGS] [-q TCP_SEQ] [-Q TCP_ACK] [-V TCP_URP] [-w TCP_WIN] [-M] [-j
PREFIX[/LEN]] [-k PREFIX[/LEN]] [-J LINK_ADDR] [-K LINK_ADDR] [-b
PREFIX[/LEN]] [-g PREFIX[/LEN]] [-B LINK_ADDR] [-G LINK_ADDR] [-f] [-L | -l]
[-z] [-v] [-h]
icmp6 allows the assessment of IPv6 implementations with respect to a
variety of attack vectors based on ICMPv6 error messages. It is part of the
SI6 Networks' IPv6 Toolkit: a security assessment suite for the IPv6
Protocols.
This tool has two modes of operation: "active" and
"listening". In active mode, the tool attacks a specific target
without listening to any incoming traffic, while in "listening" mode
the tool listens to traffic on the local network, and launches an attack in
response to such traffic. Active mode is employed if an IPv6 Destination
Address is specified. "Listening" mode is employed if the
"-L" option (or its long counterpart "--listen") is set.
If both an attack target and the "-L" option are specified, the
attack is launched against the specified target, and then the tool enters
"listening" mode to respond incoming packets with ICMPv6 error
messages.
The tool supports filtering of incoming packets based on the Ethernet Source
Address, the Ethernet Destination Address, the IPv6 Source Address, and the
IPv6 Destination Address. There are two types of filters: "block
filters" and "accept filters". If any "block filter"
is specified, and the incoming packet matches any of those filters, the
message is discarded (and thus no ICMPv6 error messages are sent in response).
If any "accept filter" is specified, incoming packets must match the
specified filters in order for the tool to respond with ICMPv6 error messages.
icmp6 takes its parameters as command-line options. Each of the options
can be specified with a short name (one character preceded with the hyphen
character, as e.g. "-i") or with a long name (a string preceded with
two hyphen characters, as e.g. "--interface").
The icmp6 tool supports IPv6 fragmentation, which might be of use to circumvent
layer-2 filtering and/or Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS). However,
IPv6 fragmentation is not enabled by default, and must be explicitly enabled
with the "-y" option.
-
-i INTERFACE, --interface INTERFACE
- This option specifies the network interface that the tool
will use. If the destination address ("-d" option) is a
link-local address, or the "listening" ("-L") mode is
selected, the interface must be explicitly specified. The interface may
also be specified along with a destination address, with the
"-d" option.
-
-s SRC_ADDR, --src-address SRC_ADDR
-
This option specifies the IPv6 source address (or IPv6 prefix) to be used
for the Source Address of the attack packets. If a prefix is specified,
the Source Address is randomly selected from that prefix. If this option
is left unspecified, the IPv6 Source Address of the attack packets is
randomly selected from the prefix ::/0.
-
-d DST_ADDR, --dst-address DST_ADDR
-
This option specifies the IPv6 Destination Address of the victim. It can be
left unspecified only if the "-L" option is selected (that is,
if the tool is to operate in "listening" mode).
When operating in "listening" mode ("-L" option), the
IPv6 Destination Address is selected according to the IPv6 Source Address
of the incoming packet.
-
-S SRC_LINK_ADDR, --src-link-address SRC_LINK_ADDR
-
This option specifies the link-layer Source Address of the attack packets.
If left unspecified, the link-layer Source Address is randomized.
-
-D DST_LINK_ADDR, --dst-link-address DST_LINK_ADDR
-
This option specifies the link-layer Destination Address of the attack
packets. If left unspecified, it is set to that of the local router (for
non-local destinations) or to that corresponding to the destination host
(for local hosts).
When operating in "listening" mode, the link-layer Destination
Address is set to the link-layer Source Address of the incoming packet.
-
-c HOP_LIMIT, --hop-limit HOP_LIMIT
-
This option specifies the Hop Limit to be used for the Redirect messages. If
this option is left unspecified, the Hop Limit is randomized to a value
between 64 and 243.
-
-y SIZE, --frag-hdr SIZE
-
This option specifies that the ICMPv6 error messages must be fragmented. The
fragment size must be specified as an argument to this option.
-
-u HDR_SIZE, --dst-opt-hdr HDR_SIZE
-
This option specifies that a Destination Options header is to be included in
the outgoing packet(s). The extension header size must be specified as an
argument to this option (the header is filled with padding options).
Multiple Destination Options headers may be specified by means of multiple
"-u" options.
-
-U HDR_SIZE, --dst-opt-u-hdr HDR_SIZE
-
This option specifies a Destination Options header to be included in the
"unfragmentable part" of the outgoing packet(s). The header size
must be specified as an argument to this option (the header is filled with
padding options). Multiple Destination Options headers may be specified by
means of multiple "-U" options.
-
-H HDR_SIZE, --hbh-opt-hdr HDR_SIZE
-
This option specifies that a Hop-by-Hop Options header is to be included in
the outgoing packet(s). The header size must be specified as an argument
to this option (the header is filled with padding options). Multiple
Hop-by-Hop Options headers may be specified by means of multiple
"-H" options.
-
-t TYPE, --icmp6 TYPE
-
This option specifies the Type and Code of the ICMPv6 error message in the
form "--icmp6 TYPE:CODE". If left unspecified, the ICMPv6 error
message defaults to "Parameter Problem, Erroneous header field
encountered" (Type 4, Code 0).
Note: Other options (such as "--icmp6-unreachable") provide an
alternative for setting the ICMPv6 Type and Code.
-
-e, --icmp6-dest-unreach
-
This option sets the ICMPv6 Type to "1" (Destination Unreachable),
and allows the user to specify the ICMPv6 Code, in the form
"--icmp6-dest-unreach CODE".
Note: this option is an alternative to the "-t" option for setting
the ICMPv6 Type and Code.
-
-E, --icmp6-packet-too-big
-
This option sets the ICMPv6 Type to "1", and the ICMPv6 Code to
"0" (Packet Too Big).
Note: this option is an alternative to the "-t" option for setting
the ICMPv6 Type and Code.
-
-A, --icmp6-time-exceeded
-
This option sets the ICMPv6 Type to "3" (Time Exceeded), and
allows the user to specify the ICMPv6 Code, in the form
"--icmp6-time-exceeded CODE".
Note: this option is an alternative to the "-t" option for setting
the ICMPv6 Type and Code.
-
-R, --icmp6-param-problem
-
This option sets the ICMPv6 Type to "4" (Parameter Problem), and
allows the user to specify the ICMPv6 Code, in the form
"--icmp6-param-problem CODE".
Note: this option is an alternative to the "-t" option for setting
the ICMPv6 Type and Code.
-
-m MTU, --mtu MTU
-
This specifies the value of the "MTU" field of ICMPv6 Packet Too
Big error messages.
-
-O POINTER, --pointer POINTER
-
This option specifies the value of the "Pointer" field of ICMPv6
Parameter Problem error messages.
-
-p TYPE, --payload-type TYPE
-
This option specifies the payload type to be included in the ICMPv6 Payload.
Currently supported payloads are "TCP", "UDP", and
"ICMP6". The payload-type defaults to "TCP".
When the tool operates in "Listening" mode, this option specifies
the type of packets the tool will listen to. In listening mode, an
additional type can be specified: "IP6"; this will cause the
tool to listen to all IPv6 traffic.
-
-P SIZE, --payload-size SIZE
-
Size of the payload to be included in the ICMPv6 Payload (with the payload
type being specified by the "-p" option). By default, as many
bytes as possible are included, without exceeding the minimum IPv6 MTU
(1280 bytes).
-
-n, --no-payload
-
This option specifies that no payload should be included within the ICMPv6
error message.
-
-C HOP_LIMIT, --ipv6-hlim HOP_LIMIT
-
This option specifies the Hop Limit of the IPv6 packet included in the
payload of the ICMPv6 error message. If this option is left unspecified,
the Hop Limit is randomized to a value between 64 and 243.
-
-r ADDRESS, --target-addr ADDRESS
-
This option specifies the Source Address of the IPv6 packet that is embedded
in the ICMPv6 error message. If left unspecified, it is set to the same
address as the IPv6 Destination Address of the outer packet.
When operating in "Listening mode", the tool automatically embeds
a piece of the received packet (unless otherwise specified by the
"-n" option), and hence the IPv6 Source Address of the embedded
IPv6 packet is set accordingly.
-
-x ADDRESS, --peer-addr ADDRESS
-
This option specifies the Destination Address of the IPv6 packet that is
embedded in the ICMPv6 error message. If left unspecified, it is set to a
random value.
When operating in "Listening mode", the tool automatically embeds
a piece of the received packet (unless otherwise specified by the
"-n" option), and hence the IPv6 Destination Address of the
embedded IPv6 packet is set accordingly.
Note: since the victim host is expected to check that the ICMPv6 error
message corresponds to an ongoing communication instance, when operating
in "active mode", this option should be set to a value that
corresponds to an ongoing communication instance.
-
-o PORT, --target-port PORT
-
This option specifies the Source Port of the TCP or UDP packet contained in
the ICMPv6 Payload. If a port range is specified in the form "-o
LOWPORT:HIGHPORT" the tool will send one ICMPv6 error message for
each port in that range.
Note: This option is meaningful only if "TCP" or "UDP"
have been specified (with the "-p" option).
-
-a PORT, --peer-port PORT
-
This option specifies the Destination Port of the TCP or UDP packet
contained in the ICMPv6 Payload. If a port range is specified in the form
"-o LOWPORT:HIGHPORT" the tool will send one ICMPv6 error
message for each port in that range.
Note: This option is meaningful only if "TCP" or "UDP"
have been specified (with the "-p" option).
-
-X TCP_FLAGS, --tcp-flags TCP_FLAGS
-
This option specifies the flags of the TCP header contained in the ICMPv6
Payload. The flags are specified as "F" (FIN), "S"
(SYN), "R" (RST), "P" (PSH), "A" (ACK),
"U" (URG), "X" (no flags). If left unspecified, only
the "ACK" bit is set.
Note: This option is meaningful only if "TCP" has been specified
(with the "-p" option).
-
-q SEQ_NUMBER, --tcp-seq SEQ_NUMBER
-
This option specifies the Sequence Number of the TCP header contained in the
ICMPv6 Payload. If left unspecified, the Sequence Number is randomized.
Note: This option is meaningful only if "TCP" has been specified
(with the "-p" option).
-
-Q ACK_NUMBER, --tcp-ack ACK_NUMBER
-
This option specifies the Acknowledgment Number of the TCP header contained
in the ICMPv6 Payload. If left unspecified, the Acknowledgment Number is
randomized.
Note: This option is meaningful only if "TCP" has been specified
(with the "-p" option).
-
-V URG_POINTER, --tcp-urg URG_POINTER
-
This option specifies the Urgent Pointer of the TCP header contained in the
ICMPv6 Payload. If left unspecified, the Urgent Pointer is set to 0.
Note: This option is meaningful only if "TCP" has been specified
(with the "-p" option).
-
-w TCP_WIN, --tcp-win TCP_WIN
-
This option specifies the Window of the TCP header contained in the ICMPv6
Payload. If left unspecified, the Window is randomized.
Note: This option is meaningful only if "TCP" has been specified
(with the "-p" option).
-
-j SRC_ADDR, --block-src SRC_ADDR
-
This option sets a block filter for the incoming packets, based on their
IPv6 Source Address. It allows the specification of an IPv6 prefix in the
form "-j prefix/prefixlen". If the prefix length is not
specified, a prefix length of "/128" is selected (i.e., the
option assumes that a single IPv6 address, rather than an IPv6 prefix, has
been specified).
-
-k DST_ADDR, --block-dst DST_ADDR
-
This option sets a block filter for the incoming Neighbor Solicitation
messages, based on their IPv6 Destination Address. It allows the
specification of an IPv6 prefix in the form "-k
prefix/prefixlen". If the prefix length is not specified, a prefix
length of "/128" is selected (i.e., the option assumes that a
single IPv6 address, rather than an IPv6 prefix, has been specified).
-
-J SRC_ADDR, --block-link-src SRC_ADDR
-
This option sets a block filter for the incoming packets, based on their
link-layer Source Address. The option must be followed by a link-layer
address (currently, only Ethernet is supported).
-
-K DST_ADDR, --block-link-dst DST_ADDR
-
This option sets a block filter for the incoming packets, based on their
link-layer Destination Address. The option must be followed by a
link-layer address (currently, only Ethernet is supported).
-
-b SRC_ADDR, --accept-src SRC_ADDR
-
This option sets an accept filter for the incoming packets, based on their
IPv6 Source Address. It allows the specification of an IPv6 prefix in the
form "-b prefix/prefixlen". If the prefix length is not
specified, a prefix length of "/128" is selected (i.e., the
option assumes that a single IPv6 address, rather than an IPv6 prefix, has
been specified).
-
-g DST_ADDR, --accept-dst DST_ADDR
-
This option sets a accept filter for the incoming packets, based on their
IPv6 Destination Address. It allows the specification of an IPv6 prefix in
the form "-g prefix/prefixlen". If the prefix length is not
specified, a prefix length of "/128" is selected (i.e., the
option assumes that a single IPv6 address, rather than an IPv6 prefix, has
been specified).
-
-B SRC_ADDR, --accept-link-src SRC_ADDR
-
This option sets an accept filter for the incoming Neighbor Solicitation
messages, based on their link-layer Source Address. The option must be
followed by a link-layer address (currently, only Ethernet is supported).
-
-G DST_ADDR, --accept-link-dst DST_ADDR
-
This option sets an accept filter for the incoming packets, based on their
link-layer Destination Address. The option must be followed by a
link-layer address (currently, only Ethernet is supported).
-
-f, --sanity-filters
-
This option automatically adds a "block filter" for the IPv6
Source Address of the packets.
Note: This option may be desirable when the tool operates in "Listening
mode" and is instructed to listen to "ICMP6" or
"IP6" packets (thus possibly avoiding packet loops).
-
-l, --loop
-
This option instructs the icmp6 tool to send periodic ICMPv6 error messages
to the victim node. The amount of time to pause between sending ICMPv6
error messages can be specified by means of the "-z" option, and
defaults to 1 second. Note that this option cannot be set in conjunction
with the "-L" ("--listen") option.
-
-z, --sleep
-
This option specifies the amount of time to pause between sending ICMPv6
error messages (when the "--loop" option is set). If left
unspecified, it defaults to 1 second.
-
-L, --listen
-
This instructs the icmp6 tool to operate in "Listening" mode
(possibly after attacking a given node). Note that this option cannot be
used in conjunction with the "-l" ("--loop") option.
-
-v, --verbose
-
This option instructs the icmp6 tool to be verbose. When the option is set
twice, the tool is "very verbose", and the tool also informs
which packets have been accepted or discarded as a result of applying the
specified filters.
-
-h, --help
-
Print help information for the icmp6 tool.
The following sections illustrate typical use cases of the
icmp6 tool.
Example #1
# icmp6 -i eth0 -L -p TCP -v
The tool employs the network interface "eth0", and operates in
"Listening" mode ("-L" option). Each ICMPv6 error message
will contain the ICMPv6 Payload as many bytes from the captured packet without
exceeding the minimum IPv6 MTU (1280 bytes). The tool will print detailed
information about the attack ("-v" option).
Example #2
# icmp6 --icmp6-packet-too-big -p ICMP6 -d 2001:db8:10::1 --peer-addr
2001:db8:11::2 -m 1240 -v
The tool will send an ICMPv6 Packet Too Big error message that advertises an MTU
of 1240 bytes. The ICMPv6 error message will be sent to the address "
"2001:db8:10::1". The ICMPv6 error message will embed an ICMPv6 Echo
Request message with the Source Address set to "2001:db8:10::1"
(i.e., Destination Address of the error message), and the Destination Address
set to "2001:db8:11::2) ("--peer-addr" option). The value of
the "Identifier" and "Sequence Number" fields of the
embedded ICMPv6 Echo Request message will be randomized. The tool will provide
detailed information about the attack ("-v" option).
RFC 5927 (available at <
http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5927.txt>) and
"Security Assessment of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)"
(available at
<
http://www.si6networks.com/publications/tn-03-09-security-assessment-TCP.pdf>)
for a discussion of ICMPv6 attacks against TCP.
The
icmp6 tool and the corresponding manual pages were produced by
Fernando Gont <
[email protected]> for SI6 Networks.
Copyright (c) 2011-2013 Fernando Gont.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or any later version
published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no
Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is available
at
<http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html>.