Types of ARP poisoning attacks

Active ARP Poisoning

In active ARP poisoning, also known as ARP spoofing, the attacker sends forged ARP responses to the target devices on the network. The attacker pretends to be the legitimate device by associating their own MAC address with the IP address of the target device in the ARP cache of other devices. As a result, network traffic intended for the target device is redirected to the attacker’s machine. The attacker can intercept, modify, or block the traffic as desired.

Passive ARP Poisoning

In passive ARP poisoning, the attacker does not actively send forged ARP responses. Instead, they monitor the network and collect ARP cache information from legitimate devices. By passively listening to ARP requests and responses, the attacker can gather information about the IP-to-MAC address mappings of devices on the network. This information can be used for further attacks or reconnaissance purposes.

Both active and passive ARP poisoning attacks can be used for malicious purposes, such as eavesdropping on network traffic, performing man-in-the-middle attacks, or disrupting network communication. It is important to implement security measures to detect and prevent ARP poisoning attacks, such as using secure network protocols, implementing network segmentation, and regularly monitoring network activity for suspicious behavior.

The ARP Poisoning, also known as ARP Spoofing, is a type of cyberattack that takes advantage of the ARP (Address Resolution Protocol). ARP is a protocol that maps an IP address to a MAC address within a local network. However, ARP lacks authentication mechanisms, and this is what the attack exploits.

The attacker sends fake ARP responses to a specific host on the network, thus linking the attacker’s MAC address to the IP address of another host, such as the network’s gateway. As a result, the target host sends all its network traffic to the attacker instead of the intended host.