The key difference between spoofing and flooding lies in the mechanism used to attack a network device and the result they aim to achieve regarding traffic handling.
Spoofing, specifically ARP spoofing as described in the reference, involves forging an identity (like an ARP message with a fake MAC-to-IP mapping) to trick a host into sending traffic intended for another destination to the attacker. Flooding, such as MAC address flooding, attempts to overwhelm a network device's (like a switch's) capacity to handle legitimate information (like MAC addresses) to force it into a mode where it forwards traffic less intelligently, often sending data to many ports, including the attacker's.
Understanding Spoofing (ARP Spoofing Example)
Based on the reference:
- Definition: "ARP spoofing attacks are attempts to redirect traffic to an attacking host by sending an ARP message with a forged identity to a transmitting host."
- Mechanism: The attacker sends fake Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) messages onto a local network. These messages incorrectly link the attacker's MAC address with the IP address of a legitimate network device (like the default gateway or another computer).
- Goal: To intercept traffic intended for the legitimate device. The victim host updates its ARP cache with the forged information and starts sending data meant for the legitimate device to the attacker's machine instead.
- Target: Primarily targets the ARP cache of individual hosts.
Understanding Flooding (MAC Address Flooding Example)
Based on the reference:
- Definition: "MAC address flooding is an attempt to redirect traffic to a single port by associating that port with all MAC addresses in the VLAN."
- Mechanism: The attacker floods a switch with Ethernet frames, each containing a different fake source MAC address, all sourced from the attacker's port. This overwhelms the switch's MAC address table (CAM table), which stores MAC-to-port mappings.
- Goal: When the MAC address table becomes full or overwhelmed, the switch may enter a fail-open mode. Instead of forwarding traffic only to the specific port associated with the destination MAC address, it starts broadcasting (flooding) incoming frames out of all ports within the VLAN (except the ingress port). This allows the attacker, listening on their port, to potentially capture traffic intended for any other device in the VLAN.
- Target: Primarily targets the switch's MAC address table.
Key Differences Summarized
Here's a table highlighting the main distinctions based on the reference:
| Feature | Spoofing (ARP Spoofing) | Flooding (MAC Address Flooding) |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Forging identity (e.g., ARP messages) | Overwhelming a device's capacity (e.g., MAC address table) |
| Goal | Redirect specific traffic intended for another device | Force a device into a less secure forwarding mode (e.g., flooding) |
| Target | Host's ARP cache | Switch's MAC address table (CAM table) |
| Reference Quote | "sending an ARP message with a forged identity" | "associating that port with all MAC addresses in the VLAN" |
| Result | Victim sends traffic to attacker thinking it's the target | Switch floods traffic out of many ports, including attacker's |
In essence, spoofing tricks a host into sending traffic the wrong way by lying about identity, while flooding overwhelms a switch to make it send all traffic (or significant portions) out to the attacker.
