To simulate a firewall attack using OMNeT++ that encompasses making a network environment in which a malicious node tries to bypass or overwhelm a firewall, either through port scanning, Denial of Service (DoS), or using firewall misconfigurations. The aim of the simulation is to know how attackers may circumvent or overload firewall protections and how firewalls respond under such conditions.
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Key Components for a Firewall Attack Simulation:
- Legitimate Nodes: Clients and servers, which communicate via a firewall for secure access.
- Firewall: A node that examines and filters traffic according to predefined rules (e.g., allow or block certain protocols, IPs, or ports).
- Attacker Node: The malicious node, which tries to bypass the firewall by utilizing vulnerabilities or transmitting malicious traffic.
- Attack Types:
- Port Scanning: The attacker scans for open ports on the firewall or its protected services.
- DoS Attack: The attacker overwhelms the firewall with a high volume of traffic to disable or bypass it.
- Traffic Manipulation: The attacker transmits forged or manipulated packets to trick the firewall into permitting unauthorized access.
Step-by-Step Guide to Simulate a Firewall Attack Using OMNeT++
- Install OMNeT++ and INET Framework
- We can download and install OMNeT++ from here.
- Install the INET framework from INET GitHub repository. INET framework offers essential tools for network simulation, containing components for TCP or IP, UDP, and firewalls.
- Understand Firewall Attack Types
- Port Scanning: The attacker attempts to detect open ports by transmitting requests to a range of ports.
- DoS Attack: The attacker floods the firewall with excessive traffic to overwhelm it, potentially triggering it to fail or drop legitimate traffic.
- Traffic Manipulation: The attacker manipulates packets, like spoofing IP addresses, to trick the firewall into permitting unauthorized traffic.
- Set Up Network Topology in NED
Describe a network with a firewall among the client and server. The firewall examines traffic, even though the attacker attempts to either overload or bypass the firewall’s rules.
Example NED File for Firewall Attack Simulation:
network FirewallAttackNetwork {
submodules:
firewall: Router {
@display(“p=200,200”);
}
client: StandardHost {
@display(“p=100,200”);
}
server: StandardHost {
@display(“p=300,200”);
}
attacker: StandardHost {
@display(“p=150,250”);
}
connections allowunconnected:
client.ethg++ <–> Eth100M <–> firewall.ethg++;
server.ethg++ <–> Eth100M <–> firewall.ethg++;
attacker.ethg++ <–> Eth100M <–> firewall.ethg++; // Attacker sends traffic through the firewall
}
Explanation:
- Firewall: A router node, which filters traffic among the client and server rely on predefined rules.
- Client: A legitimate node that communicates with the server via the firewall.
- Server: The destination node, which the client and attacker are attempting to reach.
- Attacker: The malicious node that attempts to bypass the firewall or introduce an attack versus the server.
- Configure Legitimate Traffic
Describe the legitimate communication among the client and the server, which passes through the firewall.
Example omnetpp.ini Configuration for Legitimate Traffic:
[General]
network = FirewallAttackNetwork
sim-time-limit = 100s
# Server configuration (listening on TCP port 80)
**.server.numApps = 1
**.server.app[0].typename = “TcpServerApp”
**.server.app[0].localPort = 80
# Client configuration (sending TCP traffic to the server)
**.client.numApps = 1
**.client.app[0].typename = “TcpApp”
**.client.app[0].connectAddress = “server”
**.client.app[0].connectPort = 80
**.client.app[0].sendBytes = 1000B
**.client.app[0].tOpen = 1s
This configuration sets up the client to transmit TCP traffic to the server via the firewall. The firewall examines the traffic to make certain that only legitimate requests are forwarded.
- Configure Firewall Rules
To mimic a firewall, we can utilize INET’s Access Control List (ACL) functionality or set up the firewall as a router with packet filtering rules.
Example Firewall Configuration (Access Control List):
# Firewall configuration (allow traffic on port 80 and block other ports)
**.firewall.hasAcl = true
**.firewall.acl.rules = [
{permit tcp any any eq 80}, # Allow TCP traffic to port 80 (HTTP)
{deny ip any any} # Deny all other traffic
]
In this configuration:
- The firewall enables TCP traffic on port 80 (HTTP).
- All other traffic is blocked by default.
- Implement Firewall Attacks
- Port Scanning Attack
The attacker node transmits packets to several ports on the firewall, trying to detect open ports.
Example C++ Code for PortScanningApp (Port Scanning Application):
#include “inet/applications/base/ApplicationBase.h”
#include “inet/common/packet/Packet.h”
#include “inet/networklayer/common/L3AddressResolver.h”
class PortScanningApp : public inet::ApplicationBase {
protected:
virtual void initialize(int stage) override;
virtual void handleMessage(cMessage *msg) override;
virtual void scanPorts();
public:
PortScanningApp() {}
virtual ~PortScanningApp() {}
};
Define_Module(PortScanningApp);
void PortScanningApp::initialize(int stage) {
if (stage == inet::INITSTAGE_APPLICATION_LAYER) {
// Start port scanning after 1 second
scheduleAt(simTime() + 1.0, new cMessage(“startScan”));
}
}
void PortScanningApp::handleMessage(cMessage *msg) {
if (strcmp(msg->getName(), “startScan”) == 0) {
scanPorts();
}
delete msg;
}
void PortScanningApp::scanPorts() {
for (int port = 1; port <= 1024; port++) { // Scan ports from 1 to 1024
inet::Packet *packet = new inet::Packet(“ScanRequest”);
// Set destination as the firewall, targeting different ports
auto controlInfo = new inet::Ipv4ControlInfo();
controlInfo->setDestAddr(inet::L3AddressResolver().resolve(“firewall”));
controlInfo->setDestPort(port);
packet->setControlInfo(controlInfo);
send(packet, “out”);
}
}
In this code:
- PortScanningApp makes packets and transmits them to several ports on the firewall to identify open or filtered ports.
- Denial of Service (DoS) Attack
The attacker node transmits a large capacity of packets to the firewall to overwhelm it and trigger legitimate traffic to be dropped.
Example C++ Code for DoSAttackApp (Denial of Service Application):
#include “inet/applications/base/ApplicationBase.h”
#include “inet/common/packet/Packet.h”
#include “inet/networklayer/common/L3AddressResolver.h”
class DoSAttackApp : public inet::ApplicationBase {
protected:
virtual void initialize(int stage) override;
virtual void handleMessage(cMessage *msg) override;
virtual void floodFirewall();
public:
DoSAttackApp() {}
virtual ~DoSAttackApp() {}
};
Define_Module(DoSAttackApp);
void DoSAttackApp::initialize(int stage) {
if (stage == inet::INITSTAGE_APPLICATION_LAYER) {
// Start DoS attack after 1 second
scheduleAt(simTime() + 1.0, new cMessage(“startFlood”));
}
}
void DoSAttackApp::handleMessage(cMessage *msg) {
if (strcmp(msg->getName(), “startFlood”) == 0) {
floodFirewall();
}
delete msg;
}
void DoSAttackApp::floodFirewall() {
for (int i = 0; i < 1000; i++) { // Send 1000 packets to overwhelm the firewall
inet::Packet *packet = new inet::Packet(“FloodPacket”);
// Set the destination as the firewall
auto controlInfo = new inet::Ipv4ControlInfo();
controlInfo->setDestAddr(inet::L3AddressResolver().resolve(“firewall”));
packet->setControlInfo(controlInfo);
send(packet, “out”);
}
}
In this code:
- DoSAttackApp floods the firewall with a large amount of packets, trying to overwhelm its capacity and trigger it to drop legitimate traffic.
- Configure Attacker Node
In the omnetpp.ini file, set up the attacker node to either scan ports or introduce a DoS attack.
# Attacker configuration for performing the firewall attack
**.attacker.numApps = 1
**.attacker.app[0].typename = “PortScanningApp” # Switch to “DoSAttackApp” for DoS attack
- Monitor and Capture Traffic
Allow packet capture within OMNeT++ to monitor the network traffic and investigate how the firewall responds to the attacks.
Enable Packet Capture in omnetpp.ini:
# Enable packet capture to analyze firewall attacks
**.pcapRecorder.enable = true
**.pcapRecorder.packetFilter = “all”
**.pcapRecorder.file = “output/firewall_attack.pcap”
It will generate a .pcap file that can be investigated using Wireshark to learn the firewall’s response to the attack.
- Run the Simulation
We run the simulation in OMNeT++ and monitor how the firewall manages legitimate traffic from the client even though blocking or dropping malicious traffic from the attacker.
- Analyse Results
- Firewall Performance: Calculate how successfully the firewall blocks or filters malicious traffic.
- Packet Loss: Verify for any legitimate packet loss in the course of the DoS attack.
- Port Scan Detection: Examine how many ports the attacker effectively scans before being blocked or identified.
- Firewall Overload: Monitor whether the firewall becomes overwhelmed or crashes in the course of the DoS attack.
- Extend the Simulation
We can prolong the firewall attack simulation by inserting more aspects:
- Advanced Firewall Rules: Execute more complex firewall rules, which filter according to the protocol types, source IPs, or time-based rules.
- Intrusion Detection System (IDS): Execute an IDS to identify and record firewall attack tries (e.g., port scanning or DoS attacks).
- Spoofing Attack: Simulate attacks in which the attacker spoofs IP addresses to bypass the firewall’s filtering rules.
- Attack Detection and Mitigation: Execute automatic detection and mitigation strategies (e.g., throttling traffic, blacklisting IPs) when the firewall identifies an attack.
Example Projects for Firewall Attack Simulation:
- Basic Port Scanning Attack: Replicate a port scanning attack in which the attacker probes for open ports on the firewall and server.
- Denial of Service (DoS) Attack: Mimic a DoS attack in which the attacker floods the firewall with traffic, triggering it to fail or drop legitimate packets.
- Firewall Misconfiguration Exploitation: Replicate an attack where the firewall has weak or misconfigured rules, permitting the attacker to bypass it.
- Firewall Performance under Attack: Compute the firewall’s performance under distinct attack scenarios (DoS, port scanning) and investigate how it manages the load.
- Intrusion Detection System (IDS) with Firewall: Replicate a scenario in which an IDS operates together with the firewall to identify and log malicious activity.
Here, we have gathered the essential insights and examples projects of replication and execution for Firewall Attack projects within OMNeT++ simulation. We will be provided more informations for better understanding on this projects based on your requirements.
