How to Implement Password Sniffing Attacks in NS2

To implement the password sniffing attack in the simulation NS2 that has needs to include simulating a scenario in which a malicious node interrupts and logs packets that encompass sensitive details like passwords, sent across the network. Whereas NS2 does not explicitly mimic the encryption or plaintext passwords, we can replicate the performance of a password sniffing attack by recording traffic among the nodes and analysing particular packet content, like TCP/FTP payloads. Now, we provide the implementation steps to execute a password sniffing attack in NS2 in which malicious node listens to the communication among the two legitimate nodes and records the traffic to replicate the password interception.

Steps to Implement Password Sniffing Attack in NS2:

  1. Set Up the Network Topology:
  • Describe a network including legitimate nodes that communicate, like through FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
  • Launch a malicious node which performs as a sniffer that interrupting and recording the traffic among the legitimate nodes.
  1. Monitor and Log Traffic:
  • The malicious node uses NS2’s built-in tracing mechanism to log every packets it obtains.
  • The trace logs will encompass the details regarding the packets sent among the legitimate nodes that replicating a “password sniffing” attack in which the attacker takes sensitive data.
  1. Analyse the Captured Packets:
  • Analyse the trace file to find the packets which might include sensitive information such as in real-world scenarios, it can be plaintext passwords sent over FTP, after the simulation.

Tcl Script for Password Sniffing Attack Simulation:

# Create a new simulator

set ns [new Simulator]

# Open trace and nam files for output

set tracefile [open out.tr w]

$ns trace-all $tracefile

# Define nodes in the network

set n0 [$ns node]  ;# Legitimate node 1 (Client)

set n1 [$ns node]  ;# Legitimate node 2 (Server)

set n2 [$ns node]  ;# Malicious node (Sniffer)

# Create duplex links between the nodes

$ns duplex-link $n0 $n1 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n0 $n2 1Mb 10ms DropTail

$ns duplex-link $n1 $n2 1Mb 10ms DropTail

# Define TCP agents for legitimate communication between n0 and n1

set tcp0 [new Agent/TCP]

set sink0 [new Agent/TCPSink]

$ns attach-agent $n0 $tcp0

$ns attach-agent $n1 $sink0

$ns connect $tcp0 $sink0

# Create an FTP traffic source to simulate a password transmission

set ftp0 [new Application/FTP]

$ftp0 attach-agent $tcp0

$ns at 1.0 “$ftp0 start”

# Configure the malicious node to act as a sniffer

set nullAgent [new Agent/Null]

$ns attach-agent $n2 $nullAgent

# Procedure to simulate password sniffing by logging the intercepted packets

proc sniff_traffic {node} {

global ns

$ns at 1.5 “puts \”Malicious node intercepting traffic at node $node\””

}

# Schedule the sniffer to log traffic at regular intervals

$ns at 1.5 “sniff_traffic $n2”

# End the simulation after 10 seconds

$ns at 10.0 “finish”

proc finish {} {

global ns tracefile

$ns flush-trace

close $tracefile

exit 0

}

# Run the simulation

$ns run

Explanation of the Script:

  1. Nodes:
    • n0: Legitimate node (client) that replicating the user sending data like a password.
    • n1: Legitimate node (server) which mimicking the server receiving data.
    • n2: Malicious node (sniffer) that will interrupt and record the traffic among the nodes n0 and n1.
  2. Traffic:
    • A TCP connection is ascertained among the nodes n0 and n1, including FTP used to mimic the transmission of data which could contain a password.
    • The malicious node n2 is attached to a Null agent which does not send or modify traffic to perform as a sniffer. This will record all the packets it receives and that replicating a “password sniffing” attack.
  3. Sniffer Behaviour:
    • The sniffer (n2) records all the traffic it observes. The function sniff_traffic is known to replicate the logging of traffic by the malicious node.
  4. Analysis:
    • The trace file (out.tr) that needs to encompass thorough information regarding the packets sent among nodes n0 and n1. By analysing these trace file then we can replicate an attacker viewing the intercepted packets and seeking for sensitive data like passwords.

Example of Packet Capture in the Trace File:

In the trace file (out.tr), we can observe lines same to the following:

+ 1.001000000 _0_ -> _1_ : FTP DATA

+ 1.001000000 _2_ -> _1_ : TCP ACK

+ 1.002000000 _2_ -> _0_ : FTP DATA

The given lines show which the malicious node (n2) intercepted FTP traffic among the nodes n0 (client) and n1 (server).

Post-Simulation Analysis:

  1. Trace File Review:
    • Here, open the trace file and observe for lines in which the malicious node (n2) interrupted traffic among the nodes n0 and n1. We can extract the packet details like TCP payloads that to replicate taking sensitive data such as passwords.
  2. Payload Analysis (Simulated):
    • Whereas NS2 does not mimic the actual content of the packets like real passwords, within the real-world situations and we can investigate the payload to observe if sensitive information such as a password was transferred in the plaintext.
  3. Using NAM (Network Animator):
    • We can envision the network topology then monitor how the malicious node interrupts the communication using the network animator.

Example of Visualization:

  • NAM (Network Animator): We can use the network animator to envision the packet flows among the nodes and monitor the performance of the malicious node as it intercepts and records the traffic.

Enhancing the Simulation:

  • Multiple Sniffers: We can append several malicious nodes to replicate a more dispersed sniffing attack over the network.
  • Legitimate Encryption: We could also mimic the use of encryption like TLS/SSL by appending the latency or drops to signify how the encrypted traffic could avoid packet sniffing from achieving in the capturing legible data.

The above setup, we demonstrated the complete process to implement the password sniffing attacks, and simulate password interception in the NS2 simulation. We will also offer more precise details about this topic depending on your needs.

We provide assistance with the implementation of password sniffing attacks in the NS2 tool. If you require research guidance, feel free to reach out to us for exceptional support. Our developers specialize in analyzing specific packet content, including TCP and FTP payloads.